What business does the USCIRF have in meddling in other country's affairs?
- In Current Affairs
- 05:42 PM, May 14, 2020
- Vijendra Agrawal
I express my strongest resentment that India has been wrongfully labeled a CPC (Country of Particular Concern) by USCIRF. It is based on flawed perceptions and assumptions which are biased and selective by the policy analyst(s) and uses skewed media bites from newspapers like the New York Times and Washington Post (often referred to as “fake” by none other than President Trump). Labelling India a CPC is further based on the flawed interpretation of recently enacted CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act), imaginative conclusions regarding NRC (National Register of Citizens) which is yet to be implemented, the cow-slaughter and anti-conversion laws, and the removal of discriminatory Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir
The biased reporters in the Western media and the analyst(s) at USCRIF are hardly familiar with India’s longstanding political landscape, its pluralistic society, and the changing demographics and political climate. The limited textbook knowledge about India and the handpicked citations from the biased media is not enough to label India a CPC. India embodies an ancient civilization and culture, time tested and thriving democracy, and a deeply rooted co-existence of many diverse religious groups including >15% Muslims. The Muslims in India have far greater freedom of expression and practicing their religion unlike Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, and other minorities in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and many Islamic countries. There are mosques, temples, gurudwaras, and churches in India to meet the diverse needs of all religious groups. A less discussed fact is that the daily offerings in Hindu temples are used to subsidize the cost of the pilgrimage to Mecca; a sign of benevolence and kind-heartedness of Hindus enabling Muslims to conduct religious practices in their holiest place of worship.
Reports/Media: A frequent reference to phrases such as, “Hindu militants,” “Hindu extremism,” and blaming the current democratically elected government for a, “culture of hate and bigotry,” are just a few examples that are central to giving rise to Hinduphobia. The USCRIF report fails to maintain objectivity by deliberately ignoring numerous statements by the leaders of various political parties to promote separatist agenda and hatred and incite the Hindu-Muslim divide. Why? There is no mention of the fact that Muslim majority state (Jammu and Kashmir) systematically persecuted Kashmiri Brahmins and rendered them “homeless” almost overnight. The report only references the removal of article 370 only negatively which empowers girls to be educated and upholds equal rights and freedom of expression and religion for all. Why not mention the protection of Muslim women’s right to divorce against the reprehensible, and purportedly religious, practice of Talaq which is now illegal because of the very government accused of promoting a culture of hate and bigotry?
Protests: While quoting recent protests opposing CAA/NRC, the USCRIF ignores significant evidence about the acts of violence, intimidation, and inconveniences by Muslims against innocent Hindus. I was in India during the protests in February in which 53 people were killed including an Intelligence Bureau officer investigating the acts of violent protests. Suspected at the time but now arrested are Tahir Hussain (Aam Aaadmi party councilor), Ishrat Jahan ( Congress party councilor) and an activist Khalid Saifi. Many innocent families suffered because of the violence and hatred fueled under the misguided leadership of Tahir Hussain. The infamous Shaheen Bagh protests, starting in mid-December, have inconvenienced thousands of children going to school and commuters to and from work. The Hindu majority has not only tolerated but let the protest continue without any act of violence. Regrettably, USCRIF conveniently ignores such facts in wrongfully declaring India a CPC.
NRC : The USCRIF report states NRC “a tool to target religious minorities and, in particular, to render Indian Muslims stateless.” Another citation states that BJP leaders “advocate for a nation-wide NRC; the citizenship of millions would be placed under question, but, with the CAA in place, Muslims alone would bear the indignities and consequences of potential statelessness.” It is far from reality; NRC has not been discussed by the Parliament, not implemented, and reportedly no plan for a nationwide NRC. If and when it happens, NRC will not exclude anyone based on religion, gender, or caste. The preemptive use of phrases: ‘rendering Indian Muslims stateless,’ and ‘Muslims bearing indignities,” by USCRIF is tantamount to be highly divisive and pitting one religious’ group against another without due diligence and concrete evidence.
Let us underscore that Hindus with abiding spiritual and religious teachings, derived from Sanatan Dharma, are very tolerant, God-fearing, and peace-loving people. India, as a nation, has always stood for Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the world is one family). On the contrary, Pakistan has continuously harbored terrorism and promoted jihadism among Indian Muslims, harassed non-Muslims for years, damaged temples and gurudwaras, forced conversion to Islam, and even during COVID-19, they have been discriminating against non-Muslims in providing food, medicine, and PPE. It is such egregious behavior of India’s neighboring Islamic nations against non-Muslims which made CAA critical to offer the dignity and home to the persecuted religious minorities.
It is very distressing that USCRIF’s CPC designation for India is devoid of objectivity, fairness, and facts. Does USCRIF have the hidden agenda and right to impose such designation to other sovereign nations without self-introspection of religious practices in the United States. For example, the age-old practice of systematic conversion by missionaries all over the world using allurement and inducement and the recent scandals of sexual misconduct in the churches are shameful practices.
In conclusion, India neither uses discriminatory practices nor engages in any systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations against religious minorities including Muslims. In fact, India has been tolerant of people of diverse religions for centuries. Thus, labeling India a CPC is grossly unjust, unfair, and unwarranted.
Image Credits: www.uscirf.gov
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