MEA angered by United States agency report on 'religious freedom collapsing in India'

The Ministry of External Affairs has vehemently opposed a report by a United States federal government agency that said religious freedom was collapsing in India.

The MEA said on Thursday that the report by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) was 'biased' and with a 'political agenda'.

"Our views on the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) are well known. It is a biased organisation with a political agenda," external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. "It continues to misrepresent facts and peddles a motivated narrative about India. We reject this malicious report, which only serves to discredit USCIRF further," he said.

In a summary on its 'country update on India, USCIRF noted: "This report highlights how throughout 2024, individuals have been killed, beaten, and lynched by vigilante groups, religious leaders have been arbitrarily arrested, and homes and places of worship have been demolished. These events constitute particularly severe violations of religious freedom.

"It describes the use of misinformation and disinformation, including hate speech, by government officials to incite violent attacks against religious minorities and their places of worship. It further describes changes to and enforcement of India’s legal framework to target and disenfranchise religious minorities, including the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and several state-level anti-conversion and cow slaughter laws."

The MEA has urged USCIRF to desist from "such agenda driven efforts". "The USCIRF would also be well advised to utilise its time more productively on addressing human rights issues in the United States," the MEA spokesperson said.

What else the report says
The seven-page report on India has a section on the 'Citizenship (Amendment) Act' (CAA). The section addresses the incarceration of Umar Khalid, a former research scholar at JNU. Khalid was arrested on the charge of making provocative speeches in connection with the 2020 Delhi riots.

The USCIRF report also talks about the National Register of Citizens (NRC). "Human rights advocates argue that the National Register

of Citizens (NRC), in combination with the CAA, would allow the Indian government to expel those it deemed noncitizens, posing particular risk to the country’s Muslim population," the report says.

Expropriation and Demolition of Places of Worship and Muslim Property, Waqf Amendment Bill, Uniform Civil Code and Personal Status Laws, Anti-Conversion Laws, Anti-Cow Slaughter Laws and Attacks against Religious Minorities are some other sub-sections in the report.

In conclusion, the report noted: "Religious freedom conditions in India continue to follow a deteriorating and concerning trajectory. The Indian government continues to repress and restrict religious communities through the enforcement of discriminatory legislation like anti-conversion laws, cow slaughter laws, and antiterrorism laws."