Washington, Apr 29: A US government panel on Tuesday called for India to be put on a religious freedom blacklist over a "drastic" downturn under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, triggering a sharp rebuttal from New Delhi.
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom recommends but does not set policy, and there is virtually no chance the State Department will follow its lead on India, an increasingly close US ally.
In an annual report, the bipartisan panel narrowly agreed that India should join the ranks of "countries of particular concern" that would be subject to sanctions if they do not improve their records.
"In 2019, religious freedom conditions in India experienced a drastic turn downward, with religious minorities under increasing assault," the report said.
It called on the United States to impose punitive measures, including visa bans, on Indian officials believed responsible and grant funding to civil society groups that monitor hate speech.
The commission said that Modi's Hindu nationalist government, which won a convincing election victory last year, "allowed violence against minorities and their houses of worship to continue with impunity, and also engaged in and tolerated hate speech and incitement to violence."
It pointed to comments by Home Minister Amit Shah, who notoriously referred to mostly Muslim migrants as "termites," and to a citizenship law that has triggered nationwide protests.
It also highlighted the revocation of the autonomy of Kashmir, which was India's only Muslim-majority state, and allegations that Delhi police turned a blind eye to mobs who attacked Muslim neighborhoods in February this year.
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The Indian government, long irritated by the commission's comments, quickly rejected the report.
"Its biased and tendentious comments against India are not new. But on this occasion, its misrepresentation has reached new levels," foreign ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava said.
"We regard it as an organization of particular concern and will treat it accordingly," he said in a statement.
The State Department designates nine "countries of particular concern" on religious freedom -- China, Eritrea, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
The commission asked that all nine countries remain on the list. In addition to India, it sought the inclusion of four more -- Nigeria, Russia, Syria and Vietnam.
Pakistan, India's historic rival, was added by the State Department in 2018 after years of appeals by the commission.
In its latest report, the commission said that Pakistan "continued to trend negatively," voicing alarm at forced conversions of Hindus and other minorities, abuse of blasphemy prosecutions and a ban on the Ahmadi sect calling itself Muslim.
India's citizenship law fast-tracks naturalization for minorities from neighbouring countries -- but not if they are Muslim.
Modi's government says it is not targeting Muslims but rather providing refuge to persecuted people and should be commended.
But critics consider it a watershed move by Modi to define the world's largest democracy as a Hindu nation and chip away at independent India's founding principle of secularism.
Tony Perkins, the commission's chair, called the law a "tipping point" and voiced concern about a registry in the northeastern state of Assam, under which 1.9 million people failed to produce documentation to prove that they were Indian citizens before 1971 when mostly Muslim migrants flowed in during Bangladesh's bloody war of independence.
"The intentions of the national leaders are to bring this about throughout the entire country," Perkins told an online news conference.
"You could potentially have 100 million people, mostly Muslims, left stateless because of their religion. That would be, obviously, an international issue," said Perkins, a Christian activist known for his opposition to gay rights who is close to President Donald Trump's administration.
Three of the nine commissioners dissented -- including another prominent Christian conservative, Gary Bauer, who voiced alarm about India's direction but said the ally could not be likened to non-democracies such as China.
"I am deeply concerned that this public denunciation risks exactly the opposite outcome than the one we all desire," Bauer said.
Trump, who called for a ban on Muslim immigration to the US when he ran for president, hailed Modi on a February visit to New Delhi.
Appreciating the work of police, who have arrested four suspects in connection with the murder, RSS Kshetreeya Sanghachalak V Nagaraj said, "If the involvement of PFI and SDPI in a larger conspiracy is proved, we will seek a ban on them from the Centre."
Comments
If RSS and other chillar saffron pillas are banned....then all Muslim based parties will surely back off....try it
..India will be a Better place to live......
if u say to ban SDPI and PFI wht abt the killers who killed more thn 1000's of Muslim & Dalits in india who will ban those who killed this muslims & dalits they are nationlist this RSS VHP ABVP Sangi shld b banned first in india if you ban this guys thn india will b peace country y u all involving kerala in this in kerala they kill for political reason @mohan and @nirmal u mean to ban all the parties in kerala and in india thn only RSS will rule the country no it will never happen everyone hve rights in india dont point others b4 pointing others look into you wht you guys are upto thn point others for ban or anything wht RSS do notice tht firts insted saying to other parites
First RSS should be banned. Then automatically there wont be any problem, coz the root cause of all the hatred is from this organization.
Also Ban Praveen Poojary killers & thier organization like Bajarang dal , VHP , HJV and Gow rakshak sangs ! !
How about RSS involved in various terrorist activity....I am not a member of both parties....but who are these tapaories to ban....
Same way why don't they ask central govt to ban gang, which is involved in killing Udupi Praveen Poojary?
A new TWIST to hide the real CULPRITS who were caught few days back... We all know cheddis evil agenda ... We dont trust them anymore....
How many times you asked centre When RSS members were hacked to death in Kerala . multiple times in a year ........? that means LDF UDF Congress......CPM and other parties should be banned for killing RSS members ?
If it was possible . then long back would have done .......this is GOD's World .....No evil can claim as its own.......Wa jaa'a haqq wa zahakal bathil ...........Falsehood should persih ...as it is bound to perish .......
and remember RSS is not patriotic not Hindu Organization..........and who are you to ask centre ......BJP elected not to control but to maintain a country
cpm and BJP are in open war in kerala and killing each other , never find any wrong on them ... any govt ruled in India since 70 years never find any guilty on RSS , where as most of the reports pointed its direct hands and some times its ideology behind it ...
central govt may hurriedly take action , if anybody approach action against PFI , as they effortlessly working to ban ZAkir naik and his org.. and keen to ban triple talaq.
Ban Also the Killers of
Ghandhi
Dabolkar
Panesar
Karkera
Akhlaq
hahahahahaha, what are these guys upto, they kill their own members and point out other organization.
when go rakshak killed the bjp worker, why did you keep quiet, did u ask govt to ban go rakshak.
This clearly says their intention is communal hatred.
America enlisted RSS in one of the Biggest Terrorist organization. Assam123.com.
The agenda of banning PFI and SDPI already there since RSS is running the central govt. But its hard nuts crack.
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