US Secretary of State Antony Blinken flags ‘rise’ in hate speech in India

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 27

Unveiling the State Department’s report on religious freedom, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday flagged the “increase” in hate speech, anti-conversion laws and demolition of houses and places of worship affecting minority groups in India.

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The State Department’s report, which covers 200 countries, noted that senior US officials had consistently expressed concern about religious freedom in discussions with their Indian counterparts over the past year.

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Blinkin said, “In India, we see concerning increase in anti-conversion laws, hate speech and the destruction of houses and places of worship for minority faith communities. Concurrently, people worldwide are striving to safeguard religious freedom.”

The report detailed instances of violence against minority groups, including killings, assaults and vandalism of places of worship. It highlighted that 10 of India’s 28 states had laws restricting religious conversions, with some penalising forced conversions linked to marriage.

Blinken said the 2023 International Religious Freedom Report documents cases where violence is occurring at the societal level, “sometimes with impunity, and it also contributes to the repression of religious communities”. He cited India as an example.

Earlier in May, a report from the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) had accused the ruling BJP of “reinforcing discriminatory nationalist policies” and termed the organisation “biased” with “political agenda.”

The USCIRF had then alleged that the Indian Government “failed to address” communal violence disproportionately affecting Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Dalits, Jews and Adivasis (indigenous people) in 2023. Rejecting the report, a Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson had said, “The USCIRF is known as a biased organisation with a political agenda. They continue to publish their propaganda on India masquerading as part of an annual report.” The spokesperson had said, “We really have no expectation that the USCIRF will even seek to understand India’s diverse, pluralistic and democratic ethos. Their efforts to interfere in the largest electoral exercise of the world will never succeed.”

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