India

US Religious Freedom Panel Recommends India for Blacklist

MAY 2 2023·Updated MAY 8 2023

Story

Image credit: AP [via Al Jazeera]

The Facts

The independent US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has, for the fourth year in a row, requested the State Department designate India as a "country of particular concern" regarding its treatment of religious minorities.
Al Jazeera
The USCIRF argued that the conditions for religious freedom in India "continued to worsen" last year and that "the Indian government at the national, state, and local levels promoted and enforced religiously discriminatory policies...which negatively impact Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Dalits, and Adivasis [indigenous peoples]".
TheQuint
The USCIRF also claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government imposes "laws targeting religious conversion, interfaith relationships, the wearing of hijabs and cow slaughter," as well as "suppress[es] critical voices – particularly religious minorities and those advocating on their behalf."
Al Jazeera
The commission urged Pres. Joe Biden to impose targeted sanctions on Indian government agencies and officials, and recommended that Congress raise the issue during US-India bilateral meetings and hold hearings on this subject.
The Economic Times
Arindam Bagchi, an Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, rejected what he deemed "such misrepresentation" of facts, and asked the panel to "develop a better understanding of India, its plurality, its democratic ethos, and its constitutional mechanisms."
The Economic Times
The commission, which also asked Biden to include Afghanistan, Nigeria, Syria, and Vietnam on its blacklist, doesn’t have the power to set policy. This comes as US-India relations have recently grown stronger.
Al Jazeera

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

Modi’s government and his vigilante supporters continue to assault religious minorities, both legally and physically, and the USCIRF has been spot-on each year it has revealed these atrocities to the US government and the world. Now it’s up to Biden to respond to these cries for justice with diplomatic action to align US policies with the human rights norms of the international community.

FRC

Narrative B

Since its inception in 1998, the USCIRF has been corrupt and held a staunchly anti-India stance. While India has been bending over backward to welcome Muslim immigrants, this commission is maligning Modi and his party and lending support to Pakistan. Biden would be wise to ignore the USCIRF recommendations.