An impartial fee in the US has, for the fourth yr in a row, advisable that India’s authorities, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, be added to a spiritual freedom blacklist, saying that circumstances within the nation for non secular minorities “continued to worsen” all through 2022.
In its annual report on Monday, the US Fee on Worldwide Non secular Freedom (USCIRF) once more referred to as on the US Division of State to designate India as a “nation of specific concern”.
The impartial panel has made appeals for the designation since 2020. The label accuses a authorities of “systematic, ongoing [and] egregious violations” of spiritual freedom and opens the door to financial sanctions.
The physique stated that the Indian authorities “on the nationwide, state and native ranges promoted and enforced religiously discriminatory insurance policies” in 2022. These included “legal guidelines focusing on non secular conversion, interfaith relationships, the carrying of hijabs and cow slaughter, which negatively impression Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Dalits and Adivasis (indigenous peoples and scheduled tribes)”.
The report famous that about 14 % of India’s inhabitants of 1.4 billion is Muslim, about 2 % is Christian, and 1.7 % is Sikh. Almost 80 % of the nation is Hindu.
The panel additional asserts that the Indian authorities, led by Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Celebration (BJP), “continued to suppress vital voices — significantly non secular minorities and people advocating on their behalf”.
IAMC welcomes the @USCIRF‘s choice to suggest India as a Nation of Explicit Concern (CPC) for its extreme violations of human rights and non secular freedoms for the fourth consecutive yr.
CPC is a designation reserved for the world’s worst violators of spiritual freedom. pic.twitter.com/tlmxKE7thT
— Indian American Muslim Council (@IAMCouncil) Could 1, 2023
The US panel solely presents suggestions and has no skill to set coverage. There was little expectation the State Division would undertake the fee’s place, as Washington and New Dehli have continued to strengthen their ties in a bid to counter China’s affect within the Indo-Pacific area.
In its report, the non secular freedom watchdog famous the administration of US President Joe Biden “did not designate India” as a “nation of specific concern” after it made the advice in earlier years.
“The USA and India continued to keep up sturdy bilateral ties round financial commerce and know-how. Commerce reached $120 billion in 2022, making the US India’s largest buying and selling accomplice,” the report stated.
“President Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted on a number of events, together with the G20 and G7 Summits and the Quad Leaders Summit,” it added, the latter referring to the casual grouping of the US, India, Japan and Australia.
The Indian authorities didn’t instantly reply to the most recent report. Following final yr’s advice, New Delhi’s overseas ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi accused senior US officers of constructing “ill-informed” and “biased” feedback.
“As a naturally pluralistic society, India values non secular freedom and human rights,” Bagchi stated in an announcement on the time.
For its half, the Indian American Muslim Council stated the most recent USCIRF report “reaffirms what [the rights group] has been saying for years: that India’s authorities, below Prime Minister [Narendra Modi] has continued to systematically violate the non secular freedom of minority communities, significantly Muslims and Christians”.
Extra suggestions for blacklist
The report additionally referred to as on the Biden administration so as to add Afghanistan, Nigeria, Syria and Vietnam to its blacklist, and for the redesignation of Myanmar, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
The panel first made the advice for Afghanistan final yr, following the Taliban’s takeover of the nation in August 2021. Afghanistan has lengthy been on the fee’s watch listing, and the Taliban itself had been designated of “specific concern” in a number of the panel’s earliest studies, from 2000 and 2001.
The fee stated the group “violates the liberty of faith or perception of spiritual minorities; girls; members of the lesbian, homosexual, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI+) neighborhood; and Afghans with differing interpretations of Islam”.
In Nigeria, the report centered on a number of blasphemy convictions in 2022 in addition to mob violence associated to allegations of blasphemy. It famous that the Biden administration didn’t heed an identical advice made final yr, though Nigeria was briefly designated below the administration of former President Donald Trump.
In Syria, the panel highlighted authorities violence in opposition to the Druze communities amid the nation’s ongoing civil struggle.
In Vietnam, the fee stated, “authorities intensified their management and persecution of spiritual teams”, together with Montagnard and Hmong Protestants, Cao Dai followers, Hoa Hao Buddhists, Unified Buddhists and different non secular teams not registered with the federal government.
