The communal tensions in the country in the past few years with the latest being Delhi riots bought India International shame. US Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released its report for this year. In the report for the first time since 2004 India’s status was degraded.
14 nations including India, were designated as “countries of particular concern” in the report. The ‘countries of concerns’ are placed in a red list against which the U.S. takes action and impose sanctions. The report says that religious minorities are under increasing assault in these nations. The countries apart from India on the list are:
- Myanmar
- China
- Eritrea
- Iran
- North Korea
- Pakistan
- Saudi Arabia
- Tajikistan
- Turkmenistan
- Nigeria
- Russia
- Syria
- Vietnam
The report says that in 2019 religious freedom conditions in India “experienced a drastic turn downward”. India does not recognize the view of the USCIRF and has denied Visas to its members in the past. The report mentioned the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which created huge uproar across the country.
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However, 2 of the 9 members of the committee expressed their dissent over the USCIRF recommendation to place India in the CPC. One another member also expressed views in favor of India. India along with Nigeria, Russia, Syria, and Vietnam are 5 new entrants in the list. The remaining 9 countries were there in the 2019 report as well.
