ISLAMABAD – In a worst embarrassment for PM Modi, US government panel seekIndia’s blacklisting.
A US government panel has asked authorities to place India on the religiousfreedom blacklist amidst Prime Minister Modi’s inhuman tactics against theMuslim and other minority groups in India.
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) in its annualreport has placed India on the countries of ‘Particular Concern’ in themanner of religious freedom after significant research made in thisaccount. It is funded by an independent arbiter to look at the religiousfreedom record of nations without considering their relations with the USA.
The report is primarily based on the recent citizenship curbs imposed bythe Indian government on Muslims in Assam which the USA had previouslytermed as ‘fundamentally discriminatory’.——————————
In 2019, religious freedom conditions in India experienced a drastic turndownward, with religious minorities under increasing assault.
The commission highlighted that after a convincing win in election 2019,Modi’s government allowed violence against minorities and worship places(mosques and churches) were attacked.
It mentions comments of the home minister, Amit Shah, who called Muslimsmigrants as “termites”, and to a citizenship law that has triggerednationwide protests.
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The report also noted the annexation of Occupied Kashmir, India’s onlyMuslim-majority state, and how Delhi police turned a blind eye to mobsattacking Muslim populated areas in February this year.——————————
It suggests placing a ban on India if it does not improve its record. Itcalls for punitive measures including visa bans on Indian officialsbelieved responsible and increasing funding of civil society groups thatmonitor hate speech.
However, the USA is not likely to take any action against the country onthe base of this report as the bipartisan panel does not set policy in theState Department. Nonetheless, the report has earned sharp criticism fromNew Delhi.
The Indian government, which has always denied commissions comments, wasquick to reject the report this time as well.
“It’s biased and tendentious comments against India are not new. But onthis new occasion, its misrepresentation has reached new levels,” a foreignministry spokesman, Anurag Srivastava said.
