- There is little expectation that the US State Department will accept the panel’s position.
- The panel recommends adding Nigeria, Vietnam to the list of similar countries.
- Recommended for the fourth year by the US panel.
A US government panel on Monday again called for India to be blacklisted on religious freedom, saying the treatment of minorities continues to worsen under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom makes recommendations but does not set policy, and there is little expectation that the State Department will accept its position on India, a growing US partner.
Each year, the State Department lists countries where it sees particular concerns about religious freedom, with restrictions likely to increase without improvement.
The independent commission, whose members are appointed by the president and Congress party leaders, backed all of the State Department’s latest positions, including China, Iran, Myanmar, Pakistan, Russia and Saudi Arabia.
However, he recommended that the State Department include several countries, including India, Nigeria, and Vietnam.
The annual report pointed to violence and property destruction targeting Muslims and Christians in India and linked to comments and social media posts by members of Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). .
“The continued enforcement of discriminatory laws facilitated a culture of impunity for widespread campaigns of intimidation and violence by mobs and vigilante groups,” it said.
It was the fourth year in a row that the panel has made a recommendation about India, angering New Delhi, which has called the commission biased.
The State Department briefly blacklisted Nigeria after calls from evangelical Christians at the end of Donald Trump’s presidency, but President Joe Biden’s administration has continued to crack down on religious violence in Africa’s most populous country. It was removed, rejecting suggestions of being or being encouraged by the government.
The commission also recommended that the State Department add several US partners to a watch list of countries that are at risk of being blacklisted without improvement, including Egypt, Indonesia and Turkey.