Headlines
India rejects US panel report on religious freedom
New Delhi, May 1
India has rejected a US
government panel report that claims direct link between the 2014 general
elections and the spike in attacks on religious minorities in the
country.
The report by the US Commission on International
Religious Freedom (USCIRF) says that since the 2014 elections, religious
minority communities in India have been "subject to derogatory comments
by politicians linked to the ruling BJP" as well as "numerous violent
attacks and forced conversions by Hindu nationalist groups, such as RSS
and VHP".
External affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup
said: "Our attention has been drawn to a report of the USCIRF which has
passed judgement on religious freedom in India. The report appears to be
based on limited understanding of India, its constitution and its
society."
"We take no cognizance of the report," he said.
Union
minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party
said: "People, who are not fully aware of India, giving certificates on
religious freedom is wrong."
Biju Janata Dal MP Baijayant Panda
tweeted: "Not that we shouldn't introspect on religious freedom in
India, but a US report on it while #BaltimoreRiots is a bit rich.
Glass-houses/pots/kettles."
He was referring to the widespread
protests in the US over the death in police custody of a black man in
Baltimore - the latest in a string of deaths of unarmed black men and
teens in shootings incidents or assault by police.
Congress
spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi however tweeted: "How can Obama's
praise for Modi be accepted and flaunted while rejecting US Commission's
findings on religious intolerance u/ Modi's watch!"
The USCIRF,
an "independent, bipartisan US federal government commission" whose
members are appointed by the president and the Congressional leadership
of both political parties, released its 2015 Annual Report on Thursday.
The
report, which devoted five pages to India, has recommended that India
along with 10 countries be placed in the Tier 2 Countries of Particular
Concern standard. India is along with Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Cuba,
Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Laos, Malaysia, Russia, and Turkey in the Tier 2.
"Countries
of Particular Concern" are defined as those where particularly severe
violations of religious freedom are tolerated or perpetrated - Central
African Republic, Egypt, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Syria, Tajikistan, and
Vietnam.
The report, which devotes a section to "Hindu
Nationalist Groups and Forced Conversions", mentions the proposed "Ghar
Wapsi" plan of RSS leader Mohan Bhagwat on Christmas Day last year as
well as the other reported incidents of "ghar wapsi" (re-conversions) by
Hindu rightwing groups.
On the anti-conversion law passed by
some states, it claims the law is "one-sided" and is "only concerned
about conversions away from Hinduism but not towards Hinduism".
The
report also notes US President Barack Obama's comments on religious
freedom in India, including during his visit to India in January and
during the US National Prayer Breakfast address in February.
Obama
in his town hall event in New Delhi had "underscored the importance of
religious freedom to India's success", urging the country to not be
"splintered along the lines of religious faith".
The report also
noted that Modi in this February, at an event honouring Catholic saints,
had stated publicly for the first time, that his government "will
ensure that there is complete freedom of faith" and added that "the
statement is notable given longstanding allegations that, as Chief
Minister of Gujarat in 2002, Mr. Modi was complicit in anti-Muslim riots
in that state". It also said that the US had revoked his tourist visa
in light of these allegations.
The report makes six
recommendations to the US government, including to "integrate concern
for religious freedom into bilateral contacts with India", including the
future Strategic Dialogues, at both the federal and provincial level".
It
also recommends to "Increase the US embassy's attention to issues of
religious freedom and related human rights, including through visits by
the ambassador and other officials to areas where communal and
religiously-motivated violence has occurred or is likely to occur".
Another
is to "urge the central Indian government to press states that have
adopted anti-conversion laws to repeal or amend them to conform with
internationally-recognized human rights standards".
It also seeks
urging the Indian government "to publicly rebuke government officials
and religious leaders that make derogatory statements about religious
communities".