US – A US government panel has called for India to be put on a religious freedom blacklist over a “drastic” downturn under the prime minister, Narendra Modi, which has triggered a sharp response from ew Delhi.
In an annual report, the bipartisan panel said that India should join the ranks of “countries of particular concern” that would be subject to sanctions if they do not improve their records.
The US commission on international religious freedom can only recommend but doesn’t set policy and there is no chance that the state department will follow its lead on India, which is a close ally of the US.
The report said: “In 2019, religious freedom conditions in India experienced a drastic turn downward, with religious minorities under increasing assault.”
The US was called to impose punitive measures, including visa bans, on Indian officials believed to be responsible and grant funding to civil society groups that monitor hate speech.
According to the commission Mondi’s Hindu nationalist government “allowed violence against minorities and their houses of worship to continue with impunity, and also engaged in and tolerated hate speech and incitement to violence.”
