US commission seeks sanctions on India over ‘violation’ of religious freedom

The USCIRF has made such recommendations since 2020

A federal US commission has urged the Biden administration to impose targeted sanctions on Indian government agencies and officials responsible for "severe violations" of religious freedom in the country by freezing their assets. The US Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) also recommended to the Congress to raise the issue of religious freedom during US-India bilateral meetings.

In its annual report on religious freedom, the USCIRF asked the US State Department to designate India as a "country of particular concern" on the status of religious freedom along with several other nations. The USCIRF has been making similar recommendations to the State Department since 2020, which have not been accepted so far. The recommendations are not mandatory for the State Department.

In its India section of the report, USCIRF alleged that in 2022, religious freedom conditions in India continued to worsen. The government, at the national, state, and local levels promoted religiously discriminatory policies - including laws targeting religious conversion, interfaith relationships, wearing hijabs, and cow slaughter - which negatively impact Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Dalits, and Adivasis, it stated.

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