AMN
Government of India today said that the US Religious Freedom report has once again failed to show proper understanding of India, its constitution and society.
Responding to a media query on the recent report by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, USCIRF, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said, New Delhi does not see the locus standi of a foreign entity like USCIRF to pronounce on the state of Indian citizens’ rights and it takes no cognizance of the report.
Saying that India is a vibrant pluralistic society founded on strong democratic principles, Mr Swarup said, the Indian Constitution guarantees fundamental rights to all its citizens including the right to freedom of religion.
The report has rapped India for failing to do enough to protect the rights of minorities.
It may be recalled that the BJP president Amit Shah has been named in the latest report of a US government body monitoring international religious freedom.
The report of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom says that Mr Shah was among those who championed an anti-conversion law that harasses Christians.
“Minority communities, especially Christians, Muslims, and Sikhs, experienced numerous incidents of intimidation, harassment, and violence, largely at the hands of Hindu nationalist groups,” the report alleged.
USCIRF alleged that members of the ruling BJP tacitly supported these groups and used religiously-divisive language to further inflame tensions.
“These issues, combined with longstanding problems of police bias and judicial inadequacies, have created a pervasive climate of impunity, where religious minority communities feel increasingly insecure, with no recourse when religiously-motivated crimes occur,” said USCIRF which has retained India in the Tier-2 Countries on religious freedom.
The new reports say that last year, religious tolerance in India deteriorated and that groups that intimidated and attacked minorities were “tacitly supported” by members of the BJP who used “religiously-divisive language to further inflame tensions”. The document singles out BJP parliamentarians Yogi Adityanath and Sakshi Maharaj for fuelling hate campaigns against Muslims.
