Ahead of US President Joe Biden's visit to India, the Pentagon has again made a contentious statement against New Delhi on human rights issues despite being schooled by India on several occasions. While speaking at a regular press conference, State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said that the Biden administration has been raising the issues of human rights violations in India in the past and will do the same in the future.
"We regularly raise human rights concerns with countries with which we engage, have done that -- so in the past with India, and we'll do so in the future," he said.
Biden to visit India next month
Notably, President Biden is due to visit New Delhi next month for the G20 Summit where he will be holding a series of meetings with Indian officials including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Meanwhile, the critical stance of the Pentagon came on Monday when a reporter asked whether Biden would raise the issue of alleged violations of human rights especially "Christian persecution" in the country.
"We have made very clear that we oppose the persecution of Christians and we oppose the persecution of any religious group, no matter where it takes place in the world," Miller said.
'US should develop better understanding of our ethos': India
It is worth mentioning this was not the first time when the US raised bogus issues. Earlier in May this year, a US-based analysis organisation published a report suggesting the Biden administration designate India on the list of "Countries of Particular Concern" (CPCs).
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.
India had rejected US claims on religious persecution
Rejecting the report, India called it "biased" as well as a "motivated" report. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had 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 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," Bagchi had said.
