U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom demotes India to "Countries of Particular Concern" (CPC)

U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom demotes India to CPC for inciting violence and hate against religious minorities. 

The U.S Commission for International Freedom demotes India to its lowest possible rating 'Countries of Particular Concern' also known as CPC for inciting violence and hate against religious minorities and violating their human rights to religious freedom.

On Tuesday, a US government watchdog group on international religious freedom gave India the most rigorous rating since 2004, stating that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government launched a campaign of harassment and violence against Muslims and other religious minorities. Is allowed.

The rating comes in the annual report of the American Commission on International Religious Freedom, a government body charged with monitoring religious freedom abroad and the US government's response. USCIRF, as it is called, has no power to implement its recommendations, but the State Department is required to consider them.

The commission recommended that the State Department designate India as a "country of special concern" or CPC, its vice president Nadine Mahenza said, because it "tolerates particularly egregious violations of religious freedom." Most "shocking and disturbing", he said, was the Citizenship Amendment Act passed in India which holds fast-track citizenship for newcomers who belong to the six religions but excluding Muslims.

'This potentially exposes millions of Muslims to detention, deportation and legalization when the government meets its plan for a nationwide, national register,' she said.

India last received a similar rating from the watchdog in 2004, also a period of growing concern over the treatment of religious minorities, particularly Muslims and Christians, by a Hindu nationalist government. In 2002, more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed in three days of rioting in the state of Gujarat.

India's Foreign Ministry spokesman Anurag Shrivastava rejected the findings in the report. He said that the Commission's "biased and scathing comments" against India are not new. 'On this occasion, its misinterpretation has reached a new level.'

He suggested that the Indian government would keep its distance from the commission. Srivastava stated 'We consider [USCIRF] an organization of special concern and will behave accordingly.'

During a visit to India in February, President Trump defended Modi's record on religious tolerance, even as violence erupted in the country over the citizenship law.

Trump has said 'We talked about religious freedom, and I would say that the Prime Minister was unconvinced of what I said." "He wants people religious freedom and very strongly.'

The group said religious freedom has also "deteriorated" in China, where 1.8 million Muslims have been detained in concentration camps.

The report specifically cited reforms in two countries - Sudan and Uzbekistan. USCIRF removed Sudan from the CPC list for the first time since the list was made in 2000 and Uzbekistan since 2005. The report praised the developments in both countries, which remained on the 'Special Watch List'.

The report specifically highlighted concerns about growing anti-Semitism in Europe. It noted that 4 out of 10 young European Jews are considering leaving Europe because of anti-Semitism and have urged the Trump administration to ensure that combating anti-Semitism is an important priority.

The report commended the administration for organizing events around religious freedom and issuing statements, saying that the subject had been given "priority". Maenza said that Trump has raised international religious freedom "to a level never before raised."

But the authors said that the administration failed to use its powers to issue sanctions against foreign officials in cases of violation of religious freedom. He said the administration cut the number of refugees - including those fleeing religious persecution - to 18,000, the lowest in history.

Amid the recommendations, the report urges the US government to "put significant pressure on Turkey to provide a timeline for its withdrawal from Syria," while ensuring that its allies neither extend control of more land , Nor "abuse the rights of religious and ethnic minorities" there. "

It also asks the United States to support vulnerable religious and ethnic minorities in Syria.