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Context: The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), recommended for the third year in a row that India be designated a ‘Country of Particular Concern’ (CPC) i.e., the category of governments performing most poorly on religious freedom criteria.

• USCIRF is a bipartisan independent body. USCIRF recommendations are non-binding.
• The State Department, which has its own Office of International Religious Freedom, is not bound by the Commission’s recommendations and has not accepted the CPC recommendation for India for the two years.
• Other countries recommended for the CPC designation were: Afghanistan, Nigeria, Syria and Vietnam. USCIRF recommended that the State Department redesignate Myanmar, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan as CPCs

Key findings of report:

• Indian government escalated its promotion and enforcement of policies — including those promoting a Hindu-nationalist agenda — that negatively affect Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Dalits, and other religious minorities.
• Government continued to systemize its ideological vision of a Hindu state at both the national and state levels through the use of both existing and new laws and structural changes hostile to the country’s religious minorities.
• Government had “repressed critical voices”, especially minority communities and individuals reporting on them.
• It mentions the arrest of rights activist Khuran Pervez in Kashmir, and death of octogenarian Father Stan Swamy, arrested in October 2020 under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
• The report touches on challenges faced by Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), especially with regard to foreign funding.
• It also highlights anti-conversion laws.

India reaction:

• The government has pushed back against the USCIRF’s grading, questioning its locus standi.
• In 2020, External Affairs Minister called the Commission an “Organisation of Particular Concern.”

https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/india-again-country-of-particular-concern-on-religious-freedom-grounds-says-us-commission/article65354944.ece

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