USCIRF Urges Biden Administration to Designate India as ‘Country of Particular Concern’ Under Religious Freedom Act

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Commissioner, Stephen Schneck, urged US President Joe Biden’s administration on Friday to designate India as a “country of particular concern” under the US Religious Freedom Act, citing its alleged oppression of religious minorities overseas.

USCIRF Statement, Alleged Murder of Pro-Khalistan Leader

The USCIRF released a statement outlining its concerns regarding India’s alleged global oppression of religious minorities and those who advocate for them. “Recent efforts by the Indian government to silence activists, journalists, and lawyers abroad pose a serious threat to religious freedom,” the statement said.

As per the statement, “Due to India’s systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of freedom of religion or belief, USCIRF implores the US Department of State to designate India a Country of Particular Concern (CPC).”

Schneck referred to the Indian government’s alleged participation in the killing of pro-Khalistan Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada, and a conspiracy to assassinate another pro-Khalistan leader, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, in the US, as “deeply troubling.”

“We call on the Biden Administration to acknowledge the Indian government’s perpetration of particularly severe religious freedom violations and designate it as a country of particular concern (CPC),” Schneck said.

Meanwhile, another USCIRF commissioner, David Curry, claimed India’s extension of domestic repression targeting religious minorities living in India “is especially dangerous and cannot be ignored.”

Curry urged the Biden Administration to continue its close contact with senior Indian officials and international partners to ensure religious minorities can live and express themselves freely in India or elsewhere.

Cases of Religious Minority Repression in India

According to the USCIRF report, transnational repression occurs when authorities use intimidation, harassment, or violence against people living outside their borders. “In extreme cases, tactics include detention, reprisals against family members, kidnapping, or, as illustrated by India, assassinations.”

The USCIRF also provides an example of how Indian authorities used spyware and online harassment operations to target and intimidate journalists and activists working on behalf of religious minorities around the world.

Following Indian PM Narendra Modi’s State Visit to the US in June, remarks from Amit Malviya, the head of India’s Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) information and technology department, initiated an online campaign against Wall Street Journal (WSJ) journalist Sabrina Siddiqui for raising a question about religious freedom conditions in India.

Furthermore, the USCIRF also mentions that the US Department of Justice issued an indictment in November 2023, saying that the Indian government attempted to assassinate a Sikh activist and initiate a series of additional killings in the US and Canada.

Since 2020, the USCIRF has recommended that the State Department designate India as a CPC, as required by the 1998 US Religious Freedom Act. The act allows for various kinds of policy responses, such as sanctions or waivers, but they are not automatic.

Report on India’s Religious Freedom

The US State Department’s 2022 Report on International Religious Freedom, released in May, warned that targeted attacks against religious communities, including Christians, Muslims, Dalits, and indigenous communities, continue to take place in India.

The report highlighted numerous incidents of suspected religious violence in India and denounced several Indian states’ anti-conversion laws as politically motivated.

It points out numerous instances of police enforcement brutality against religious minorities in multiple states. It also alludes to “punitive” demolitions and “cow-vigilantism” towards non-Hindus. Additionally, it documented numerous cases of hate speech that purportedly instigated violence between religious groups.

Furthermore, the report mentioned that the Supreme Court of India has failed to issue a decision on the Hijab Ban in Karnataka.

India Rejects US Report

Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi stated in May, following the release of the report, “Regrettably, such reports continue to be based on misinformation and flawed understanding.”

“Motivated and biased commentary by some US officials only serves to further undermine the credibility of these reports,” Bagchi added.

This article is originally published on https://www.statecraft.co.in/article/uscirf-urges-biden-administration-to-designate-india-as-country-of-particular-concern-under-religious-freedom-act