India Trashes USCIRF Report On Religious Freedom As 'Politically Biased' | What The Report Says

As per the official statement from the Ministry of External Affairs, the report by the US federal government agency has been dismissed as "politically biased".

"Our views on the US Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) are well known. It is a biased organisation with a political agenda. It continues to misrepresent facts and peddles a motivated narrative about India. We reject this malicious report, which only serves to discredit USCIRF further," reads the official MEA statement.

The Indian government has further warned USCIRF from focusing on "such agenda driven efforts" and "utilise its time more productively on addressing the human rights issues in the United States."

What Does The Report Claim?

As per the recent report issued by the US federal agency, India has been flagged as a "Country of particular concern" when it comes to religious freedom.

The section on India points out the use of disinformation and misinformation - such as hate speech by government officials - to incite violent attacks against religious minorities in India.

As per USCIRF, the report highlights that in 2024, "individuals have been killed, beaten, and lynched by vigilante groups, religious leaders have been arbitrarily arrested, and homes and places of worship have been demolished. These events constitute particularly severe violations of religious freedom".

The agency also added that if members have been denied visas and stopped from visiting the country for observation, dating back to the Manmohan Singh government. As per the US agency, the visas of its members have been denied over allegations of "interference in India's internal affairs."

The report also highlighted the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act, Uniform Civil Code, the Waqf Amendment Bill and other legal changes such as anti-conversion laws and cow slaughter laws.

The commission pointed to the rise in attacks against Christian and Muslim communities in India, especially in the build up to the general elections.

"In the lead-up to the June 2024 elections, political officials increasingly wielded hate speech and discriminatory rhetoric against Muslims and other religious minorities,” the report added.

The USCIRF report further claimed that the Indian government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi "continues to repress and restrict religious communities through the enforcement of discriminatory legislation like anti-conversion laws, cow slaughter laws, and anti-terrorism laws”.

The US agency also referred to the detention of religious leaders, journalists, and human rights activists, without due process, with some cases extending over years.