Washington: In Washington, a Hindu Body has called the USCIRF report on religious freedom a work of “Hinduphobic” commission members. Muslim and Christian groups hailed the observations made in it. They demanded that the US should declare India as a “country of particular concern”.
In the context of religious freedom, US Commission for International Religious Freedom report recommended to the Biden Administration to designate India, China, Pakistan, Afghanistan and 11 other nations as “countries of particular concern”.
The recommendations are not binding on the US government.
HinduPACT in a statement alleged that the USCIRF has been taken over by “Indophobic and Hinduphobic members”. HinduPACT is an initiative of the World Hindu Council of America.
The USCIRF’s recommendation received applaud by American Muslim Institution (AMI) and its associate organisations. They said that religious freedom conditions in India “significantly worsened” in 2021.
The Federation of Indian-American Christian Organisations and the Indian-American Muslim Council in separate statements reportedly applauded the USCIRF recommendation.
There was a special virtual congressional briefing organised a day after the release of the report. In the meeting USCIRF Commissioner Anurima Bhargava had alleged that Indian government officials were tolerating and engaging in religious persecution of Muslims and Christians with prolific mob violence.
These allegations have been dismissed by India.
Senior US government officials have told lawmakers, “India has a vibrant civil society, an independent judiciary and a mature functional democracy, which has enough mechanisms to address the internal human rights concerns if any.”
In a statement HinduPACT slammed USCIRF.
“This year’s report follows a pattern of reports that have appeared in previous years. Based on publicly available information on topics like the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and Kashmir, the USCIRF report is a copy-and-paste of talking points peddled by an agglomeration of Islamist groups working with radical Islamist group Justice for All on whose platform USCIRF commissioners appear regularly,” alleged Utsav Chakrabarti, executive director of HinduPACT.
“It is now obvious that the USCIRF has been taken over by the Indophobic and Hinduphobic members. Many of these members have attended India and Hindu bashing events. It is no surprise that their selective observations are meant to promote a political agenda and further their electoral reach in select communities,” said Ajay Shah, president of the World Hindu Council of America (VHPA).
Koshy George, Federation of Indian-American Christian Organisations, in a statement, suggested that the President and the US Administration accept the USCIRF recommendations. They should name India as a “country of particular concern” while it could still help protect American interests in that region for the long-term.
“This could also go a long way in helping the Union of India remain a functioning liberal democracy with respect for all religious and linguistic minorities,” he said.
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