MM News

WASHINGTON: The United States Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has called on the Biden administration to designate India as a “country of particular concern” for engaging in systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.

Also read: US panel urges removal of Pakistan’s religious freedom waivers

The USCIRF has released a detailed report urging the US government to advance human rights for all religious communities in India and promote religious freedom, dignity, and interfaith dialogue through bilateral engagement and in multilateral forums.

Also read: State Department opposes weaponization of blasphemy laws in Pakistan

In addition, the report calls on Washington to condemn ongoing religious freedom violations and support religious organizations and human rights groups targeted for their advocacy of religious freedom.

The USCIRF recommends that the US government impose targeted sanctions on Indian government agencies and officials responsible for severe violations of religious freedom by freezing their assets and/or barring their entry into the United States under human rights-related financial and visa authorities, citing specific religious freedom violations.

The USCIRF has also urged the US Congress to raise religious freedom issues in the U.S.-India bilateral relationship and highlight concerns through hearings, briefings, letters, and congressional delegations.

The report says that in 2022, religious freedom conditions in India continued to worsen. Throughout the year, the Indian government at the national, state, and local levels promoted and enforced religiously discriminatory policies, including laws targeting religious conversion, interfaith relationships, the wearing of hijabs, and cow slaughter, which negatively impact Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Dalits, and Adivasis (indigenous peoples and scheduled tribes). The national government also continued to suppress critical voices—particularly religious minorities and those dvocating on their behalf—including through surveillance, harassment, demolition of property, and detention under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and by targeting nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) under the
Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).

The Indian government invoked the UAPA and the Sedition Act throughout the year to target freedom of religion and expression, creating an increasing climate of intimidation and fear. Authorities surveilled, harassed, detained, and prosecuted a number of journalists, lawyers, rights activists, and religious minorities advocating for religious freedom. Hundreds of cases remained pending against individuals for involvement in the 2019 peaceful protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), which provides a pathway to citizenship strictly for non-Muslims from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh.

As of 2022, only 92 of more than 700 cases had reached trial, and many of those arrested under the UAPA continued to languish in jail. During India’s fourth Universal Periodic Review (UPR), United Nations (UN) member states emphasized protections for religious minorities and expressed concern over the broad application of India’s “anti-terror” laws. Additional official efforts, such as the National Register of Citizens (NRC) process in Assam, also aimed to identify “undocumented” Bengali-speaking Muslims.

The continued enforcement of discriminatory laws facilitated a culture of impunity for widespread campaigns of threats and violence by mobs and vigilante groups.

In March, for example, Karnataka’s state government issued a hijab ban in public schools. Despite widespread protests and instances of violence, state high court judges upheld the ban, agreeing with the government’s argument that the hijab is not essential to practicing Islam.

India’s state governments also continued to pass and enforce anti-conversion laws, currently existing in 12 states, including legislation in multiple states aimed to prohibit and criminalize interfaith marriages. Public notice requirements for interfaith marriages imposed in 10 states have, at times, resulted in violent reprisals against couples. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) committed to enforcing harsher penalties for interfaith marriages in its 2022 election manifesto for Uttar Pradesh.

Violent attacks were also perpetrated across India under the justification of protecting cows from slaughter or transport, which is illegal in 18 states. Examples of violence against Christians, Muslims, and Dalits around suspicions of cow smuggling were reported in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi. In August, BJP member Gyan Dev Ahuja was recorded publicly calling for his listeners to “kill anyone involved in cow slaughter.”

Throughout the year, destruction of property—including places of worship in predominantly Muslim and Christian neighborhoods—continued. In June, local authorities demolished the homes of three Muslim families in Uttar Pradesh following protests against derogatory language used by members of the BJP. Hindu nationalists bulldozed a Catholic center near Mangalore in February and attacked, looted, and destroyed the homes of hundreds of Christians in December for their refusal to convert to Hinduism. In addition, at least four madrasas (Islamic seminaries) were demolished following a statement in May from the Chief Minister of Assam that madrasas should be eliminated.

Social media platforms continued to facilitate widespread disinformation, hate speech, and incitement of violence toward religious minorities. In February, Twitter removed a caricature shared by the verified account of Gujarat BJP depicting Muslim men hung by a noose.