July 1 :
The Indian Minorities Foundation severely blasted USCIRF, claiming that the religious watchdog had published a "misguided" study with the intention of smearing India. Attempts by USCIRF to classify India with totalitarian countries such as China, North Korea, Cuba, Afghanistan, and Cuba were also condemned by the Indian Minorities Foundation, which further claimed that USCIRF was biased and had a hidden objective. They stated that the democratic structure in India is being disregarded in this comparison.
In a statement, the Indian Minorities Foundation criticized USCIRF for "overlooking India's democratic framework, vibrant civil society, and pluralistic history" by classifying India alongside authoritarian countries such as Afghanistan, Cuba, North Korea, Russia, and China. This inaccurate portrayal casts doubt on USCIRF's knowledge of the religious freedom situation in India and its reliability.
"India should be a country of particular concern," the Indian Minorities Foundation said in its response to the USCIRF's 2023 study. On June 26, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken presented a report expressing worry over the rise of anti-conversion legislation, demolition of houses and places of worship for minority communities in India, and hate speech.
The Indian NGO questioned the USCIRF's role, calling it a "agent of conflict" or a tool for peace. It questioned the validity of judging hate speech and free expression in relation to an individual's nation of origin and accused Blinken of bias.
According to the International Monetary Fund, it is perplexing that Blinken mentioned a "increase in anti-conversion laws" during his recent speech in Washington, DC, even though no new laws were enacted by any state throughout the time frame of the report.
"His all-encompassing claim about 'hate speech' contradicts the type of divisive rhetoric directed towards India and its elected officials that frequently comes from North America these days," the letter said. "According to the country of origin, the line between 'free speech' and 'hate speech' seems to blur."
In addition, the International Monetary Fund claimed that activists and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that have dealt with unrelated restrictions to religion or religious identity appear to have unjustly impacted the USCIRF's finding.
In the letter, the IMF brought attention to the fact that the USCIRF report goes too far in its divisive and obviously erroneous categorization of the Meitei as Hindu and the Kuki as Christian, which only serves to deepen the ethnic divisions already present in Manipur.
Regarding religious freedom, the IMF highlighted two points that show USCIRF does not respect India's unity and territorial integrity. The statement began by criticizing USCIRF's position on Kashmir and Article 370. It pointed out that USCIRF ignored the fact that revoking Article 370 was an attempt to make Jammu and Kashmir more economically integrated with India, promote equality of rights for all citizens, and increase economic development.
Secondly, the International Monetary Fund chastised USCIRF for using the term "transnational repression," which is new to Khalistan supporters and includes references to the Khalistani Movement. According to the report, USCIRF's reporting makes it seem like the biggest democracy in the world has a responsibility to back foreign forces that want to undermine India's sovereignty. According to the IMF, USCIRF's remarks, which frame the issue as one of "religious freedom," encapsulate everything that is problematic with its goal.
