USA: Antony Blinken publishes report on religious freedom, in which he talks about the rise of hate speech and anti-conversion laws in India

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday (local time) released the State Department’s 2023 Religious Freedom Report for More than 200 Countries and said there had been a “disturbing increase” in hate speech, anti-conversion laws, and the demolition of homes and places of worship for people belonging to to minority groups in India.

In his remarks during the report’s release, Blinken said religious freedom is still not respected by millions of people around the world. At the same time, people are making serious efforts to protect religious freedom, he added.

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A row broke out during the Lok Sabha election campaign when opposition parties accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “hate speech”. Prime Minister Modi, at a rally in Rajasthan, alleged that the Congress was planning to give away hard-earned money to “infiltrators” and “those who have more children”. The BJP denied such allegations and responded to the Congress.

According to the State Department’s Religious Freedom Report, senior U.S. officials continued to raise concerns about religious freedom issues to their Indian counterparts last year.

“In India, we are seeing a disturbing increase in anti-conversion laws, hate speech, and demolitions of homes and places of worship of members of minority religious communities. At the same time, people around the world are also working hard to protect religious freedom, Blinken said.

The report cited incidents of attacks on minority groups, including murders and assaults, as well as vandalism at their places of worship.

Ten of India’s 28 states have laws restricting religious conversion for all faiths. Some states impose penalties for forced conversions for marital purposes, it said.

The report indicated that some members of minority groups question the government’s ability and willingness to protect them from violence, investigate crimes against members of religious minority groups, and protect their freedom of religion and belief.

Last year, India dismissed a State Department report on religious freedom in India, saying it was based on “disinformation and misperceptions.”

“The motivated and biased comments of some US officials only serve to further undermine the credibility of these reports,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

“We value our partnership with the US and will continue to have frank exchanges on issues that concern us,” he added.

Political analysts say US criticism of India has generally been restrained due to Washington’s close economic ties with New Delhi and the latter’s strategic importance to the Biden administration in countering China.

(with agency details)