USCIRF Releases Report on India’s Collapsing Religious Freedom Conditions : India Rubbishes Report

Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released a report on India. This report highlighted how throughout 2024, people have been killed, beaten, and lynched by vigilante groups, religious leaders have been arbitrarily arrested, and homes and places of worship have been demolished in India.

These events constitute particularly severe violations of religious freedom. It described the use of misinformation and disinformation, including hate speeches by Government officials to incite violent attacks against religious minorities and their places of worship. USCIRF report further described changes to and enforcement of India’s legal framework to target and disenfranchise religious minorities, including the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and several State-level anti-conversion and cow-slaughter laws.

In its 2024 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that the US Department of State designate India as a ‘Country of Particular Concern’ (CPC), or engaging in systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom.

We reject this malicious report : Mr Randhir Jaiswal (Official Spokesperson of Ministry of External Affairs, India)

In response to media queries regarding the USCIRF report, Mr Jaiswal said – “Our views on the USCIRF are well-known. USCIRF is a biased organisation with a political agenda. It continues to misrepresent facts and peddles a motivated narrative about India. We reject this malicious report, which only serves to discredit it further. We would urge USCIRF to desist from such agenda driven efforts. The USCIRF would also be well-advised to utilise its time more productively on addressing human rights issues in the United States”.

(The Indian Government, which promotes ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas’ should publicly condemn USCIRF, which embodies the mentality of ‘Lie boldly, lie repeatedly, and shout those lies at the top of your lungs’. It is time India released similar reports that highlight racism, murders, foreign interference, etc. by the US Government in the US itself, besides what the US does to the world. – Editor)