In News:
- India has rejected its criticism in a US State Department report on religious freedom, saying it is unfortunate that "vote bank politics is being practised in international relations".
What’s in today’s article:
- About International Religious Freedom Report (Purpose, Origin)
- Latest Report (India section, India’s response)
About International Religious Freedom Report:
- The Department of State submits an annual Report to Congress on International Religious Freedom in compliance with the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.
- This report, also known as the International Religious Freedom Report, describes the status of religious freedom, government policies violating religious belief and practices of groups, religious denominations and individuals.
- It also highlights U.S. policies promoting religious freedom in nearly every country and territory throughout the world.
- Additionally, it recommends, develops and implements policies and programs to address the mentioned concerns.
- Further, identify and denounce regimes that persecute on the basis of religion and assist NGOs globally in promoting religious freedom.
Origin:
- In 1998, the then-U.S. President Bill Clinton signed the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA, 1998) into law.
- It was passed unanimously by both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
- The Act led to the creation of the Office of International Religious Freedom headed by an Ambassador-at-Large within the State Department of the U.S. government.
Latest Report:
- Recently, the Department of State released the 2021 International Religious Freedom Report.
- This report offers a thorough, fact-based review of the state of religious freedom in nearly 200 countries and territories around the world.
- The report borrows from media and government accounts to document attacks against religious minorities.
W.r.t. India:
- The ‘India section’ of the report claimed that the Union government had failed to release data on communal violence for 2021.
- FCRA Act:
- The report also touched upon criticism reportedly levelled by NGOs operating in India, against the amendments made to the Foreign Contributions Regulation Act (FCRA) in 2020.
- According to the US State Department report, NGOs in India continue to criticise the 2020 amendments passed to the FCRA as “constraining civil society”.
- The 2020 amendment had reduced the amount of foreign funding that NGOs, including faith-based organisations, could use for administrative purposes.
- The report claimed that FCRA licenses of 5,789 NGOs, including numerous faith-based organisations, lapsed after the government said the organisations did not apply for renewal in time.
- Cow Vigilantism:
- The report also touched upon “25 states” applying partial to full restrictions on bovine slaughter, making special note of Madhya Pradesh’s laws on cow vigilantism.
- The report highlights incidents of cow vigilantism against non-Hindus based on allegations of cow slaughter or trade in beef.
- Religious Conversion Law:
- The report stated that 10 of 28 states in India, including Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, have laws restricting religious conversion.
- Attacks on minority communities:
- The report alleged that attacks on members of the minority communities, including killings, assaults, and intimidation, took place in India throughout 2021.
- The report also noted how Hindu and Sikh minorities were allegedly targeted by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir last year
- Arrests by Police:
- Police arrested non-Hindus for making comments in the media or on social media that were considered offensive to Hindus or Hinduism
India’s Response:
- The Ministry of External Affairs said that it is unfortunate that vote bank politics is being practised in international relations. We would urge that assessments based on motivated inputs and biased views be avoided.
- The Ministry stated that as a naturally pluralistic society, India values religious freedom and human rights.
