Washington, DC: Religious liberty in India has been hampered by the backing of the state, the International Commission on Religious Freedom says. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has stated that the violations of freedom of religion of minorities in India, Pakistan, China, Saudi Arabia, North Korea, Syria, Iran, and Russia are alarming. Tony Perkins, chairman of the American Religious Freedom Commission, said some groups that are perpetrating violence against religious minorities in India are getting indirect protection. India, which was earlier in the second tier, has been elevated to the list of most worrisome countries this year.
The USCIRF is an independent commission set up by the US Congress to study and report on religious freedom in the world. However, India completely rejected the US findings. Foreign Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava has said that India is suppressing the findings of the US Religious Freedom Commission report. The remarks against India are partisan and false. This is not new. But this time, false reporting is at a new level, a foreign spokesman said.
The US-based Hindus for Human Rights said the Commission’s remarks against India were painful but welcome. The Hindu Commission thanked the American Commission for publishing a credible research report. The organization also demanded that the Modi government in India withdraw from blaming the American Commission for the truth. According to statistics from the United Christian Forum, there have been several incidents of violence against Christians in India in the last four months.
