USCIRF urges US to label India ‘Country of Particular Concern’
Congress advisory body reports alarmingly decline in India's religious freedom
Washington: The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), a bipartisan congressional advisory body, has reported a deteriorating and concerning trajectory for religious freedom in India this year.
According to Kashmir Media Service, in its 2024 Annual Report, the USCIRF has recommended the US State Department to designate India as a “Country of Particular Concern” over its deteriorating religious freedom.
In a country update for India, the USCIRF pointed to inflammatory rhetoric from top leaders during the general elections and in government policies, which have fuelled a surge in attacks on Muslims and Christians.
The report highlighted 161 incidents of violence against Christians between January and March 2024, with 47 occurring in Chhattisgarh. In Uttar Pradesh, 20 Christians were detained in June and July on allegations of forced conversions. It also noted that after the election results, there were at least 28 attacks targeting Muslims, linking the surge in anti-Muslim violence to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s re-election campaign.
“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 stated.
The report also recalled that in March, a group of UN experts expressed concern over escalating violence and hate crimes against religious minorities ahead of the Indian parliamentary elections. These included vigilante violence, targeted killings, demolition of property, and harassment.
The USCIRF also noted that misinformation, disinformation, and hate speech from Indian government officials frequently incite cow vigilantism and other attacks on religious minorities.
The commission further reported that authorities have engaged in “bulldozer justice,” demolishing Muslim properties under the pretext of clearing illegal structures. In one instance, a 600-year-old mosque in Delhi was demolished in February without prior notice, leading to widespread anger. The report criticised the 2024 Waqf Amendment Bill for expanding government control over Waqf endowments, whose provisions would erode the community’s autonomy over its religious institutions.
The report concluded that “religious freedom conditions in India continue to follow a deteriorating and concerning trajectory”. Furthermore, it notes that “the Indian government 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 USCIRF report also says that Indian authorities have detained individuals who highlight violations of religious freedom, including religious leaders, journalists, and human rights activists, without due process, with some cases extending over years.
