Indian govt. rejects US report on religious minorities

The Indian government has rejected the findings of a United States report that criticized the treatment of religious minorities after Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi came to power last year.   The 2015 report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom said that since Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took over, religious minorities have been subject to derogatory comments by BLP-linked politicians and violent attacks and forced conversions by Hindu nationalist groups.

Since coming to power, the Indian leader’s agenda has focused on economic development. But some BJP figures and leaders of conservative Hindu groups have become noticeably more vocal in proclaiming that India is a Hindu nation. 

External Affairs Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said, “Our attention has been drawn to a report of the USCIRF which has passed judgement on religious freedom in India. “The report appears to be based on limited understanding of India, its Constitution and its society.”

The U.S. report said that as a result of its findings, India remained on the commission’s list of countries whose governments engage in or tolerate at least one of the elements of “the systematic, ongoing and egregious,” violations of religious freedom. India has been part of this list since 2009, well before the BJP came to power in New Delhi.  This ranks it alongside Afghanistan, Cuba and Russia among others, as a tier-two country, according to the commission, which makes policy recommendations to the U.S. president, the secretary of state and Congress based on its study of religious freedom around the world. Tier-one countries are those of “particular concern” and include Iraq, Pakistan and Syria.