India rubbishes US report on religious freedom, flaunts pluralism

  India has rubbished a US report which has portrayed a dramatic rise in religious intolerance in the country, saying it betrayed ignorance of the Indian society and system. “Our attention has been drawn to the recent report by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), which once again fails to show proper understanding of India, its constitution and its society”, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said in New Delhi a day after the report was published. He stressed that the government does not see the locus standi of a foreign entity like USCIRF to pronounce on the state of Indian citizens’ constitutionally protected rights. “Our attention has been drawn to the recent report by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), which once again fails to show proper understanding of India, its constitution and its society”, the spokesperson said. The spokesperson underscored India’s vibrant pluralistic society, which is founded on strong democratic principles. He added that the Indian Constitution guarantees fundamental rights to all its citizens including the right to freedom of religion. The US report said, “In 2015, religious tolerance deteriorated and religious freedom violations increased in India”. In a strong message to the government in its annual report, the USCIRF had asked the Indian government to publicly condemn officials and religious leaders who make derogatory statements about religious communities. The members of USCIRF were denied visas by the Indian government earlier on ground that religious freedom is enshrined in the constitution and any foreign third party has no locus standi to comment or investigate on it. “Minority communities, especially Christians, Muslims, and Sikhs, experienced numerous incidents of intimidation, harassment, and violence, largely at the hands of Hindu nationalist groups”, the report said. Targeting the ruling party directly, the USCIRF said that the members of BJP supported these divisive groups and used religiously divisive language that added to the tensions.