ICC Note:
The Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission has announced its plan to hold a public hearing to examine the current state of human rights in India. This hearing will coincide with India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, visiting the US. Among this issues to be discussed will be the dramatic rise of religious intolerance and attacks on religious minorities and their places of worship. India’s constitution provides full religious freedom, but the activities of radical Hindu nationalists have severely curtailed the rights guaranteed by this section of the constitution. Will the hearing lead to change in India?
6/1/2016 India (The Indian Express) – A Congressional commission will hold a hearing to examine the current state of human rights in India, coinciding with the White House meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama.
Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission said the hearing among other things will also examine the challenges to fundamental freedoms, and opportunities for advancement in India.
A “wide variety of serious human rights concerns persist,” the commission said in a statement explaining the reasons for holding the hearing on India.
…
“In 2015, religious tolerance deteriorated and religious freedom violations increased in India. Minority communities, especially Christians, Muslims and Sikhs experienced numerous incidents of intimidation, harassment, and violence, largely at the hands of Hindu nationalist groups,” the US Commission on International Religious Freedom said in its latest report.
…
