A day after a US-based analysis organisation published a report suggesting the Biden administration designate India on the list of "Countries of Particular Concern" (CPCs), New Delhi has rejected the claims and called it "biased" as well as a "motivated" report.
The critical remarks from India came as a report published by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) claimed that the incumbent government engaged in or tolerate "systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations" of the right to freedom of religion or belief.
Addressing a regular press conference in the national capital, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi asserted that the Commission continues to regurgitate such comments. He added New Delhi rejects the "misrepresentation of facts" which only serves to "discredit USCIRF itself".
Also, the spokesperson suggested the concerned organisation to develop a better understanding of India, its plurality and its democratic ethos.
"The US Commission on International Religious Freedom continues to regurgitate biased and motivated comments about India, this time in its 2023 annual report," he said. "We reject such misrepresentation of facts which only serves to discredit USCIRF itself," said Bagchi.
"We would urge USCIRF to desist from such efforts and develop a better understanding of India, its plurality, its democratic ethos and its constitutional mechanisms," he said.
USCIRF Report 2023
In its 2023 Annual Report, USCIRF recommends 17 countries to the State Department for designation as Countries of Particular Concern (CPCs) because their governments engage in or tolerate “systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations” of the right to freedom of religion or belief. These include 12 that the State Department designated as CPCs in November 2022: Burma, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan—as well as five additional recommendations: Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, Syria, and Vietnam. For the first time ever, the State Department designated Cuba and Nicaragua as CPCs in 2022.
SCIRF is disheartened by the deteriorating conditions for freedom of religion or belief in some countries— especially in Iran, where authorities harassed, arrested, tortured, and sexually assaulted people peacefully protesting against mandatory hijab laws, alongside their brutal continuing repression of religious minority communities.” USCIRF Chair Nury Turkel said.
