India Rejects US Commission Report on Religious Freedom as Biased
NEW DELHI, May 2: India on Thursday rejected the findings of a report released by a US government commission on religious freedom, the Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), saying it was a “biased organisation with a political agenda.” India also said it had no expectations from the US government commission to understand India’s diverse, pluralistic and democratic ethos.
New Delhi’s response came after the USCIRF released its 2024 annual report and recommended designating 17 countries, including India, as Countries of Particular Concern (CPCs), for “engaging in or tolerating particularly severe violations of the right to freedom of religion or belief.”
In a strong-worded response, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the USCIRF continued to “publish anti-India propaganda” masquerading as part of its annual report.
“The USCIRF released their report 2024 yesterday. They have been releasing their reports earlier as well. The USCIRF is known as a biased organisation with a political agenda. They continue to publish their propaganda on India, masquerading as part of an annual report,” Jaiswal said at a weekly press briefing.
“We really have no expectations that USCIRF will even seek to understand India’s diverse, pluralistic and democratic ethos. Their efforts to interfere in the largest electoral exercise in the world will never succeed,” he added.
The USCIRF report alleged that the BJP-led government imposed “discriminatory nationalist policies,” “perpetuated hateful rhetoric” and “failed to address communal violence” among minority communities.
The report also cited various instances, including Manipur violence, Haryana violence, and several Kashmiri leaders and separatists being detained when the Supreme Court, last year, upheld the government’s 2019 decision to scrap Article 370 that granted special status to the then state of Jammu and Kashmir.
(Manas Dasgupta)
