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In India’s counter on US’ religious freedoms report, ‘concern over gun violence’
The report, which is compiled by the international religious freedom division of the state department and focuses on the state of religious freedoms in countries around the world over the past year, also expressed concern about conditions in Afghanistan, China, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
New Delhi: India on Friday rejected the US state department’s latest report regarding curtailment of religious freedoms in the country and instead noted its concerns about “hate crimes and gun violence” in the US.
External affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi described comments made by US officials such as secretary of state Antony Blinken at the release of the state department’s 2021 Report on International Religious Freedom on Thursday as “ill informed”.
“It is unfortunate that vote bank politics is being practiced in international relations. We urge that assessments based on motivated inputs and biased views be avoided,” Bagchi said.
Describing India as a “naturally pluralistic society”, he said the country values religious freedom and human rights. “In our discussions with the US, we have regularly highlighted issues of concern there, including racially and ethnically motivated attacks, hate crimes and gun violence,” he added.
Speaking at the release of the report, Blinken had said that India, “the world’s largest democracy and home to a great diversity of faiths”, had “seen rising attacks on people and places of worship”.
Addressing the same event, US ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom Rashad Hussain, who is of Indian origin, had contended that some officials in India “are ignoring or even supporting rising attacks on people and places of worship”.
The report, which is compiled by the international religious freedom division of the state department and focuses on the state of religious freedoms in countries around the world over the past year, also expressed concern about conditions in Afghanistan, China, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
The section on India stated: “Attacks on members of religious minority communities, including killings, assaults, and intimidation, occurred throughout the year.” These incidents included “cow vigilantism”, it said.
The reported referred to anti-conversion laws in 28 states and arrests made under them, as well as arrests of “non-Hindus for making comments in the media or on social media that were considered offensive to Hindus or Hinduism”.
The report also highlighted the killing by terrorists of civilians and migrants from the Hindu and Sikh minorities in Jammu and Kashmir.
