The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has singled out India in its Annual Report for 2020, saying there has been a “sharp downward turn” and “deterioration” in religious freedom in India. It recommended to the US State Department that India be designated as a “Country of Particular Concern (CPC)” along with a few others.
A furious India hit back in the same language, saying it rejected the “biased” report and that New Delhi in turn regards the USCIRF as an “Organisation of Particular Concern”.
India also said the USCIRF “misrepresentation has reached new levels”.
The USCIRF calls itself an “independent, bipartisan US federal government entity that monitors, analyses, and reports on threats to religious freedom”. It recommends but does not set policy, and there is virtually no chance the State Department will follow its lead on India.
In remarks on India while releasing its report on Tuesday, USCIRF said it had “documented significant developments during 2019, including … a sharp downward turn in India, and making recommendations to enhance the U.S. government’s promotion of freedom of religion or belief abroad in 2020”.
It said the Indian government was among those governments that engage in or tolerate “systematic, ongoing, egregious violations” of religious freedom.