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.
Coronavirus state-wise India update: Total number of confirmed cases, deaths on April 29
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.
Shrikanth (40), son of Itappa Moolya and resident of Kavoor, near Shanti Nagara Ground, Mangaluru, is said to be a close associate of Yuva Brigade (erstwhile Namo Brigade) leader Naresh Shenoy.
Comments
The hearing that never took place!
When case no.TP/1086/12-13 Eh was called at the office of the commissioner of the Mangalore city corporation on the 24th of March there was no response from either of the parties! That was because the complainant Sri Vinayak P.Baliga was absent as he had been sent out of the world- he had been brutally murdered in front of his house allegedly by hired killers on the 21st of March at around 6 am. The respondents were Dakshina Kannada Dravida Brahmins association, Sharada School and Tulunadu Trust who also did not choose to turn up. The allegations were that they have put up buildings on TS no.340 without proper license and have started using them without occupancy certificate by the corporation authorities. It was also alleged that the buildings are not being used for the purpose for which they were constructed and there were also violations and deviations from the plans which had been approved by the corporation. He had also stated that the narrow road was blocked due to parking of the vehicles waiting to pick up children from the school and problems were being caused in the residential locality due to these commercial activities.
To support his contention he had also submitted a communication from the commissioner of Mangalore city corporation no.e428:cr72:12-13 which had categorically stated that the buildings under survey no TS 340(part) under RS no.501, Kodiyalbail village had been granted permission to build as follows:
cellar- nil
ground floor-323.52 sq meters
1st floor 323.52 sq meters
2nd floor 323.52 sq meters
total 970.56 sq meters.
But on spot inspection it was found that the built up was as follows:
Cellar ---------323.52
Ground floor- 342.92
1st floor ---do---
2nd floor ---do---
3rd floor ---do---
4th floor ----do—(with acc sheet roof)
Total-----2015.04 sq meters.
So, it was not a minor violation but a build up space of more than twice the licensed area! The commissioner had also issued notice under section 308(1) of the Karnataka Municipal corporations act and had warned that unless the deviations were rectified within seven days of the date of the notice(which was dated 19-11-2012) it would be demolished at the cost of owners and the amount collected from them. They had also asked the respodents to submit the plans of the newly constructed building within seven days of the date of the notice! The fact is that it is 2016 and the building still exists and going strong! The road is still narrow and gets blocked. The residents till suffer and the Mangalore City corporation is in deep slumber. Perhaps that is a sign of ‘smartness’ for a city which aims to get the smart city tag!
With the complaint having become infructuous the violators can be happy for some more time! But, a group of citizens are planning to re submit the complaint or get impleaded into the case. But as a senior lawyer remarked such complaints are not civil cases and do not become extinct if the complainant is eliminated. We are waiting to see what action the commissioner will take on the issue which still exists. We are waiting for the demolition to start!
caption:
the photos show the narrow approach roads to the institutions.
another photo shows the old ailing parents of Vinayak Baliga.
The photos of the institutions occupying the buildings scheduled to be demolished.
Killing of the RTI Activist...... Silencing the Silent
It was well Planed Murder Plot, It was the start of the week and Mr. Vinyaka Baliga who was always punctual with his time got up dressed to go the temple, after which he had promised to take his aged father to have coffee at Hotel Taj Mahal, But as fate had it way at 5:30 am on Monday, 21st March 2016, Mr. Vinyaka Baliga was hacked to death by two helmet worn motorcyclist right in front of his house. This Cold blooded murder was not only designed to kill him but also to silence the RTI activity of the city by creating fear in their hearts. Many have strongly condemns such cowardly act by individuals. The Police department has taken all required measures in the interest of justice and has achieved initial success in arresting the few culprits.
Many individuals who share a concern for the welfare of the society visited Mr. Baliga’s house to pay homage to the departed soul. They were informed by the family members that Mr. Baliga has put lot of RTI against Electrical dept, Illegal buildings in the city and irregularities in temple administration. He was self made man and always fought for the right of people. He was very helpful towards others and has always spoken out against injustices. He had always kept his appointments update in a dairy, Whatever he did he never shared it with his family and they never knew what he was doing other than that they found neatly bundled paper which taken by the police and is under investigation.
There are many such Baliga’s doing their work silently and systematically, many a time not getting associated to any group or political party. These silent RTI activists are a threat to all those corrupt persons who use all unfair means to meet their objectives. These silent RTI activists become a very soft target for the corrupt persons who use all their might including the murder to silence them. Mr. Baliga is a standing example of the atrocities of these corrupt mafia, who have found loopholes in the system to scoop out revenue for themselves and their corrupt political partners. Nowadays even RTI reply is getting diluted there are high chance that you may get a wrong answer from a wrong department or an answer given that it is not found, or not within our jurisdiction
Corruption is now not in the system, but has “become the system”, everyone know that when you buy a land or flat, no one registers the same for 100% valuation, but anywhere between 30-60%.and this rule applies for law makers also, you cannot get a govt. Job without paying few lakhs, nowadays even transfer and promotion means you need to shell out some lakhs. So everyone is getting used to this system , when RTI activists ask questions on this kind of corruption, it angers them as how can anyone question this system and hence it is better to eliminate source so that the system is not disturbed
Now the recent govt move to have ACB so that Lokayutha will not only be toothless, but also without any claws to even scratch the corrupt, this fully fool proof system should be considered as the feather in the cap for our present government to protect the corrupt, so that the corrupt can at least sleep without the fear of being caught.
RTI activist are not born from fear, they fight for the cause of the public, to see that system is changed for our next generation. This move by the government looks like that their dream will take a longer time to be released but hope in heart will always fly high and that one day India will be free from these corrupt.
It is not easy to silences these silent RTI activists as public understand their strength and hence they standby with them. RTI activists are targeted for their commitment to bring about the changes. But by working as individuals they have become easy targets. Therefore, it is time for all RTI activists to join hands and become stronger. If a corrupt mafia can join hands for their very survival, why not the RTI activists stand united and thus become mightier than the corrupt system.
If you are an RTI activist it is time to join hands together and we request all RTI activists in DK to come together as one team, contact or SMS this mobile no. 9449058411 to move forward.
Article by: Rohan Shiri
Editor: Rajendar Kumar
RTI- Activists
Case taking another direction, anyways my humble request to the police department is find the accuse and punish them lawfully.
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