USCIRF ALARMED BY INDIA’S ‘INCREASED TRANSNATIONAL TARGETING’ OF RELIGIOUS MINORITIES

Sat 16 December 2023:

New Delhi: The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has issued a detailed statement and again called upon the Joe Biden administration to designate India a Country of Particular Concern, or CPC.

It said it is “alarmed by India’s increased transnational targeting of religious minorities and those advocating on their behalf. Recent efforts by the Indian government to silence activists, journalists, and lawyers abroad pose a serious threat to religious freedom”. Due to the Indian government’s “systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of freedom of religion or belief”, USCIRF implored the US Department of State to designate India a CPC.

USCIRF commissioner Stephen Schneck said, “The Indian government’s alleged involvement in the killing of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada and the plot to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in the United States are deeply troubling, and represent a severe escalation of India’s efforts to silence religious minorities and human rights defenders both within its country and abroad… We call on the Biden administration to acknowledge the Indian government’s perpetration of particularly severe religious freedom violations”.

Transnational repression is described by the bipartisan commission as “when states use intimidation, harassment, or violence against those living outside their borders. Transnational repression campaigns often target political and human rights activists, journalists, and members of religious and ethnic minority groups. In extreme cases, tactics include detention, reprisals against family members, kidnapping, or, as illustrated by India, assassinations.”

The Canadian prime minister and US federal prosecutors have alleged that Indian agents played a role in plotting the murders of US and Canadian nationals who are Khalistan advocates. The Indian government forcefully rejected Justin Trudeau’s allegations but has set up an inquiry to look into the US’s claims.

USCIRF is an autonomous and cross-party federal government organisation that scrutinises, examines, and discloses global religious freedom violations. Its recommendations are non-obligatory for the US state department, which has ignored the commission’s calls to designate India as CPC for the past four years.

The commission, whose hearings and reports have flagged rising cases of attacks and intimidation of religious minorities, civil society and human rights activists in India, went on to say, “Indian authorities have used spyware and online harassment campaigns to target and intimidate journalists and activists abroad advocating on behalf of religious minorities.”

It also noted the attacks on the American journalist who questioned Prime Minister Modi in Washington in June this year. “Comments from the head of India’s Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) information and technology department, Amit Malviya, prompted an online campaign against U.S. Wall Street Journal journalist Sabrina Siddiqui for posing a question about religious freedom conditions in India.”

“Within its own borders, Indian authorities have repeatedly used draconian legislation like the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and anti-conversion laws to systematically crack down on religious minorities, journalists, and activists,” USCIRF commissioner David Curry said. “Extending this repression to target religious minorities from India living abroad, including intimidation tactics against journalists, is especially dangerous and cannot be ignored. We urge the US government to continue its active engagement with senior Indian officials and international partners to ensure religious minorities can live and express themselves without fear of reprisal, whether in India or elsewhere,” he added.

In the past, USCIRF also published an issue update on India’s state-level anti-conversion laws, saying they target religious minorities. In September 2023, USCIRF held a hearing on religious freedom conditions in India and how the US government can work with the Indian government to address any violations. In October, the Commission called on the Modi government to release 37 individuals across multiple faiths jailed for the “peaceful exercise of their freedom of religion or belief.”

Reuters reported that the Indian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Indian government has consistently rejected the USCIRF’s reports, calling the commission’s most recent report a “misrepresentation of facts” and making “biased and motivated comments”.

-The Wire

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