Deeply biased, driven by vote bank considerations: India rejects US report on religious freedom
- In Reports
- 10:09 PM, Jun 28, 2024
- Myind Staff
India on Friday dismissed a US government report criticising the state of religious freedom in the country, stating in a strongly worded response that the findings were “deeply biased” and “driven by vote bank considerations”.
“We have noted the release by the US State Department of its report on International Religious Freedom for 2023. As in the past, the report”.. We therefore reject it..." External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Friday.
He said, "The excise itself is a mix of imputations, misrepresentations, selective usage of facts, reliance on biased sources, and a one-sided projection of issues. This extends even to the depiction of our constitutional provisions and duly enacted laws of India."
Jaiswal said the report selectively highlighted incidents to promote a "preconceived narrative" and even seemed to question the integrity of certain legal judgments issued by Indian courts.
"In some cases, the very validity of laws and regulations are questioned by the report, as are the right of legislatures to enact them. The report also appears to challenge the integrity of certain legal judgments given by Indian courts," Jaiswal said.
The 2023 religious freedom report by the US State Department mentioned "violent attacks on minority groups", especially Muslims and Christians, including killings, assaults and vandalism of houses of worship. The report said that senior US officials had raised concerns about religious freedom issues with their Indian counterparts.
"In India, we see a concerning increase in anti-conversion laws, hate speech, demolitions of homes and places of worship for members of minority faith communities," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said when the report was released, in a rare direct rebuke of India, which shares close economic ties with Washington.
The State Department report also cited violence in the northeastern state of Manipur that started in May last year between Kuki and Meitei ethnic groups. This was mentioned in the 2023 Human Rights report by the US as well, which was also rejected by New Delhi.
Hitting out at the US over the report, Jaiswal said, "On its own part, the United States has even more stringent laws and regulations and would surely not prescribe such solutions for itself."
He stated that in 2023, India officially addressed numerous cases in the US involving hate crimes, racial attacks on Indian nationals, and other minorities.
Image source: PTI
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