04/08/2021 India (International Christian Concern) – Several human rights groups welcomed a recent State Department report on human rights in India. The report highlighted the ongoing violations that India has continued to commit against its religious minority communities. Communities that are regularly targeted include Christians, Muslims, Sikhs, and others. The sources of discrimination stem from a variety of legal, cultural, and historical factors that embolden Hindu extremists driven by a radical Hindutva ideology that seeks to make India a Hindu-only country.
In last year’s report, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recommended that the Department of State designate India as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), but the recommendation was rejected. USCIRF is due to release their 2021 report and list of recommendations on April 21, and India watchdog organizations are largely expecting the Commission to make the recommendation once again.
While the recommendation will most likely be rejected by the Biden Administration, the recommendation by USCIRF sends a strong message to the Indian government that it must act against the decline of religious freedom in India.
“We hope to see USCIRF make the CPC designation again for India,” said Matias Perttula, Director of Advocacy for International Christian Concern (ICC). “If anything, the situation in India has only worsened for religious minorities, and the growing number of anti-forced conversion laws that are percolating across states in India only embolden radical Hindutva extremist to persecuted and discriminate against other faiths.”
For interviews, contact Alison Garcia: press@persecution.org.
