India rebuffed the US Commission on International Religious Freedom’s report on Thursday, denouncing it as “biased” and asserting that the organization lacks the understanding to grasp the country’s diverse, pluralistic, and democratic principles. The report accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of “enforcing discriminatory nationalist policies.”
“The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is known as a biased organization with a political agenda. They continue to publish their propaganda on India masquerading as part of an annual report,” Randhir Jaiswal, an official spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs stated during a press briefing on Thursday.
“We have no expectation that USCIRF will even seek to understand India’s diverse, pluralistic and democratic ethos. Their efforts to interfere in the largest electoral exercise of the world will never succeed,” he continued.
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) was established by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 as a federal government commission. USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by the President, as well as by the leaders of the political parties in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
According to a report released by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) on Wednesday, the Indian government reportedly failed to address communal violence, which had a disproportionate impact on Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Dalits, Jews, and Adivasis (indigenous peoples) last year.
“In 2023, religious freedom conditions in India continued to deteriorate. The government, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), reinforced discriminatory nationalist policies, perpetuated hateful rhetoric, and failed to address communal violence disproportionately affecting Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Dalits, Jews, and Adivasis (indigenous peoples). Continued enforcement of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), and anti-conversion and cow slaughter laws resulted in the arbitrary detention, monitoring, and targeting of religious minorities and those advocating their behalf,” the report stated.
“Both news media and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) reporting on religious minorities were subjected to strict monitoring under FCRA regulations. In February 2023, India’s Ministry of Home Affairs suspended the FCRA license of the Centre for Policy Research, an NGO dedicated to reporting on social issues and state capacity, including discrimination against religious and ethnic minorities. Similarly, authorities raided the offices and homes of NewsClick journalists, including Teesta Setalvad for her reporting on anti-Muslim violence during the 2002 Gujarat riots,” it also added.