Minority report

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has flagged a ‘concerning increase’ in anti-conversion laws, hate speech and demolition of homes and places of worship of members of minority communities in India. In his remarks at the release of the US State Department’s 2023 Report on International Religious Freedom, Blinken said Christian groups in India had reported attacks by mobs, allegedly in league with the police, over accusations of ‘conversion activities’. The report claims that Christians and Muslims were arrested under laws banning forced religious conversion. The unusually scathing criticism comes weeks after the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government began its third successive term. It is bound to cast a shadow on India-US ties, which have made rapid strides in the strategic and defence domains in recent years.

Blinken had also mentioned India in his remarks during the release of the 2021 Report on International Religious Freedom two years ago, expressing concern over rising attacks on people and places of worship in the country. However, his comments this time may be seen through the prism of the US presidential elections, which are scheduled for November. With Christians accounting for two-thirds of the American population, highlighting alleged atrocities against them in countries such as India could be construed as a vote-catching tactic.

While talking about the minorities in the US, Blinken has confined himself to the observation that reports of hate crimes and other incidents targeting Muslims and Jews have gone up dramatically. America seems more keen to ‘advance religious freedom across the globe’ than to set its own house in order. The Indian government does need to do course correction on the minority front, but it won’t appreciate the US playing the Big Brother. Antagonising a close ally will have repercussions for Washington, especially when the Gurpatwant Singh Pannun case is already testing the strength and maturity of the bilateral relations.

#Antony Blinken