US Religious Freedom Report Highlights Hate Speech Against Minorities In India; Government Rejects Criticism

In yet another example of foreign indulgence in India’s domestic matters, the United States State Department, via the Secretary of State Antony Blinken, has recently released its Congressional-mandatory annual paper on the 2022 “Report on International Religious Freedom”.

“In India, legal advocates, and faith leaders from across the country’s diverse religious communities condemned a case of extreme hate speech against Muslims in the city of Haridwar, calling for the country to uphold its historical traditions of pluralism and tolerance.

And the Burma military regime continues to repress the Rohingya population, causing many to flee their homes,” said Rashad Hussain, Ambassador at Large, Office of International Religious, as he listed out a few other countries starting with Russia and followed by China and Afghanistan.

While Secretary Blinken did not mention India in his address, he conveyed that the India section of the annual report was like that of the previous years itself.

Notably, the report is a culmination and documentation of allegations of violation of religious freedom raised by multiple media outlets and non-governmental organisations inside and outside the country.

The report, released by US annually, is criticised by many as an unnecessary interference of United States into the domestic affairs of nations abroad.

In the previous years as well, India has repeatedly conveyed its rejection of the reports, with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also terming the report and US as having no ‘locus standi’ on the same.

Criticism is also directed at how the report unilaterally collates allegations of violations from certain civil society actors and media outlets to generate its stance, not only meddling the sovereign affairs of a democratically elected government of a State but also being discretionary and arbitrary in selection of reportage from the nation.