US commission says India violating religious freedom

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has recommended India be placed on the list of “Country of Particular Concern” due to the Modi government’s policies and treatment of its religious minorities, particularly Muslims.

“Perhaps the steepest, and most alarming deterioration in religious freedom conditions is in India,” the vice chair of the USCIRF vice said after the release of the Commission’s annual report.

“The Citizenship (Amendment) Act in India potentially exposes millions of Muslims to detention, deportation, and statelessness when the government completes its planned nationwide National Register of Citizens,” the Commission’s Vice Chair, Nadine Maenza wrote.

“Perhaps the steepest, and most alarming, deterioration in religious freedom conditions was in #India, the largest democracy in the world.” USCIRF Vice Chair @nadinemaenza #USCIRFAnnualReport2020

— USCIRF (@USCIRF) April 28, 2020

As an action, the report called on the US government to impose targeted sanctions on Indian government agencies and officials responsible for severe violations of religious freedom by freezing those individuals’ assets and/or barring their entry into the United States under human rights-related financial and visa authorities.

The annual report cited 13 other countries to the State Department to be placed on the same list. These countries include Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. The five others include India, Nigeria, Russia, Syria, and Vietnam.