ACCORDING TO US SECRETARY OF STATE ANTONY BLINKEN, RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IS IN DANGER IN INDIA

In an uncommon year-end report of the state of its evaluation of religious freedom in the nation, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom claimed on Tuesday that religious freedom and associated human rights continue to be threatened in India.

Early this year, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. Department of State identify India as a "country of particular concern" under the International Religious Freedom Act due to systematic, continuing, and severe breaches of religious freedom that have been committed there or tolerated there.

Delivering remarks at the release of the State Department’s 2021 annual report on the state of freedom of religion around the world, Blinken said, “In India, the world’s largest democracy, and home to a great diversity of faiths, we’ve seen rising attacks on people in places of worship.”

Although he did not name them, the 2000-page report made clear that these attacks took place at places of worship for Christians and Muslims, two minorities.

Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom for the US State Department Rashad Hussain criticised India for violating the right to freedom of religion. Some Indian officials, according to him, were either ignoring or even encouraging these assaults.

India has consistently reacted angrily to such foreign criticism of its actions and remarks. Additionally, India has criticised the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, an American watchdog group for international religious freedom, for repeatedly urging the State Department to place India on a "blacklist."