U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) claims to be on a mission to advance international freedom of religion or belief. It claims to independently assess and unflinchingly confront threats to fundamental rights. But its take on India depicts something else. The organisation seemingly hates India in general and Hindus to be specific. It does not want to rise above its motive to promulgate communal discord through biased reports and understand the ground reality. It is back with the same attempt to recommend to the Biden administration to designate India as a “Country of Particular Concern”. However, it is a laughable attempt as the nation does not even recognise what it recommends.
USCIRF recommends naming India as a “Country of Particular Concern”
USCIRF was established by the US government in 1998 after the inaction of the International Religious Freedom Act. In a recent development, the USCIRF on Monday suggested to the Biden Administration to name India along with China, Pakistan, Afghanistan and 11 other nations as “Country of Particular Concern” over the status of religious freedom.
India does not consider USCIRF’s views and it is evident through the nation’s stance on the organisation. Reportedly, it had once stated that “The American body on international religious freedom has chosen to be guided only by its biases on a matter on which it has no locus standi.”
Well, it is not the first time that USCIRF has suggested the Biden administration to name India under this particular category. Last year too, it had asked US to name India on the list. However, India rejected the reports by USCIRF.
“Our principled position remains that we see no locus standi for a foreign entity to pronounce on the state of our citizens’ constitutionally protected rights,” the ministry of external affairs had said in the past.
“We have a robust public discourse in India and constitutionally mandated institutions that guarantee protection of religious freedom and rule of law,” the MEA had said.
“In 2021, religious freedom conditions in India significantly worsened. During the year, the Indian government escalated its promotion and enforcement of policies-including those promoting a Hindu-nationalist agenda that negatively affect Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Dalits, and other religious minorities,” USCIRF said.
“The government continued to systemize its ideological vision of a Hindu state at both the national and state levels through the use of both existing and new laws and structural changes hostile to the country’s religious minorities,” it further added.
Anti – India USCIRF
It must be mentioned that the USCIRF is a rabidly anti-India, and particularly anti-Modi commission of US lawmakers. It has a history of taking anti-India decisions from a pedestal of supremacy. On more occasions than one can remember, the USCIRF forgets that India is the largest, and most diverse democracy in the world with an unparalleled religious plurality.
Making deliberate misinterpretations about enactments like the CAA and Article 370 abrogation, this sham of a Federal Commission had recommended the State Department in 2020 to designate India as a “country of particular concern” next to the likes of Pakistan, North Korea, and China.
In retaliation, Anurag Srivastava, the then MEA spokesperson had said, “We reject the observations on India in the USCIRF Annual Report. Its biased and tendentious comments against India are not new. But on this occasion, its misrepresentation has reached new levels.”
Moreover, in 2017, it released a report to lambast India for allegedly failing to provide ‘Constitutional and Legal Rights to Religious Minorities’ in India. However, it completely lacked any quantitative or statistical references altogether. Ironically, all crimes against SC/ STs are assumed by Dr. Cheema (who compiled the report) to have been committed by Hindus. Seemingly, he also completely ignored the existence of communities of Dalit Muslims or Dalit Christians, estimated to make up more than 30% of the entire SC/ STs population.
Readers who bother reading Dr. Cheema’s drivel will come away with the impression that Hindus are slavering vermin, eager only for blood and violence.
It looks like that USCIRF suffers from a very peculiar myopia when it comes to the idea of religious freedom. Consider this- Christian militias run entire countries in Africa ragged. Religious freedom in the USA itself is a joke- with minorities attacked regularly. Ukraine is in the midst of a neo-Nazi revolt. Australia sets up concentration camps for Muslims. Yet- fascinatingly, not ONE country under the Vatican’s control features in USCIRF’s much-vaunted list.
Read more: USCIRF claims that India failed its minorities, but our investigation found something else
It had once recommended denial of a tourist visa for PM Modi after the Gujarat riots when he was the Gujarat Chief Minister. Later, it had once again gone out of its way in a desperate bid to meddle in India’s internal affairs. The USCIRF has stated that it was deeply disturbed by the passage of the Bill in the Lok Sabha. It added, “USCIRF is ‘deeply troubled’ by the passage of the CAB, originally introduced by Home Minister Shah, in the Lok Sabha given the religion criterion in the bill.”
It had also stated, “If the CAB passes in both Houses of Parliament, the US government should consider sanctions against the Home Minister Amit Shah and other principal leadership.”
However, it is India now that has denied visas to members of the USCIRF for more than a decade. After being provided the same treatment that it has been giving to India, USCIRF started crying foul and stated in 2016, “We are deeply disappointed by the Indian government’s denial, in effect, of these visas.”
“As a pluralistic, non-sectarian, and democratic state, and a close partner of the United States, India should have the confidence to allow our visit,” he said.
You see, India does not take USCIRF seriously. The nation does not even recognises its recommendations. Despite attempting to target India every year, it has failed brutally to fulfil its agendas and thus, it wouldn’t be wrong to state that USCIRF is toothless and hapless organisation and its reports are used by Indians only to eat “pakodas” on it.