US report highlights 'continued targeted attacks' against religious minorities in India

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The United States State Department, in a report released on Monday, highlighted "continued targeted attacks" against religious minorities in India, including Christians, Muslims, Sikhs, Hindu Dalits, and indigenous groups. It also mentions China and Russia. India, in the meanwhile, has called the report "biased and motivated".

The report "2022 Report on International Religious Freedom" comes one month ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US on June 22.

Among the issues listed in the report are legal prohibitions against conversions in multiple states, accusations of systemic discrimination against Muslims, and attacks on religious minorities--including "cow vigilantism" against non-Hindus based on allegations of cow slaughter or trade in beef.

A senior US State department official said that he was saddened to see what is outlined in the report.

"I've spent a good amount of time in India and have experienced firsthand the phenomenal culture of the country, the vast potential, the people of the country, and that's also why at times I've been saddened and to see what is outlined in today's report."

"What we outline in today's report is a targeted - continued targeted attacks against religious communities, including Christians, Muslims, Sikhs, Hindu Dalits, and indigenous communities; dehumanising rhetoric, including open calls for genocide against Muslims; lynching and other hate-fueled violence, attacks on houses of worship and home demolitions, and in some cases impunity and even clemency for those who've engaged in attacks on religious minorities - we're also continuing to see, at the state level, some restrictions on religious attire," the official said.

He said that the US government will continue to speak directly with "our colleagues and counterparts in India regarding these concerns". "We're continuing to encourage the government to condemn violence and hold accountable and protect all groups who engage in rhetoric that's dehumanizing towards religious minorities and all groups who engage in violence against religious communities and other communities in India."

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There's been a significant attention, of course, from the international community on the situation in India, including human rights organizations. "The U.S. Holocaust Museum continues to draw considerable attention to the human rights situation in India and lists it as one of its top countries of concern and with - with regards to potential for mass killings there. So we'll continue to work very closely with our civil society colleagues on the ground, with courageous journalists that are working every day to document some of these abuses, and we'll continue speaking directly with our counterparts in India to address these issues."

On May 1, an independent commission in the United States, for the fourth year in a row, recommended that India's government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, be added to a religious freedom blacklist, saying that conditions in the country for religious minorities "continued to worsen" throughout 2022.

In its annual report, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) had called on the US Department of State to designate India as a "country of particular concern".

Meanwhile, India has strongly criticized the report and has rejected the findings of the report, which expressed concerns regarding religious rights violations in the country. India has called the report biased and motivated.

The report also noted that the Chinese Communist Party has significantly and broadly cracked down on religious freedom over the course of the year, and that the number of people imprisoned for their spiritual beliefs was estimated to range between the low thousands to perhaps over 10,000.

Chinese government officials have denied the allegations of human rights abuses.

Additionally, the report outlined widespread violations against religious freedom perpetrated by Russia.

"Authorities continued to investigate, detain, imprison, torture, physically abuse persons, and seize their property because of their religious belief or affiliation or membership in groups designated "extremist," "terrorist," or "undesirable," including Jehovah's Witnesses, the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatars, Hizb ut-Tahrir, Tablighi Jamaat, followers of Turkish Muslim theologian Said Nursi, the Church of Scientology, Falun Gong, and multiple evangelical Protestant groups," the report says, adding that individuals have been reportedly subjected to long terms in labour camps, torture, home searches, and other mistreatment.