The Indian government has dismissed the US Commission on International Religious Freedom's (USCIRF) report on religious freedom in India, stating that it does not recognise the commission's authority to comment on the rights of Indian citizens.
India has rejected a report by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) that criticised India's record on religious freedom and called for linking US security assistance and trade to improvements in this area.
A US federal government commission has raised concerns about the state of religious freedom in India, recommending its designation as a 'Country of Particular Concern' and suggesting targeted sanctions.
The West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) on Friday said it would abide by the Supreme Court directive and soon initiate the process of conducting fresh exams for all teaching and non-teaching candidates, who took part in the now-invalidated 2016 job recruitment exercise.
The US Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) also recommended to the Congress to raise the issue of religious freedom during US-India bilateral meetings, and hold hearings on it.
A US federal government commission has flagged the alleged worsening of religious freedom in India and called for it to be designated as a "Country of Particular Concern".
In a statement issued on Monday, the US Commission for International Religious Freedom said that it was deeply troubled over the passage of the bill in Lok Sabha.
"India risks becoming one of the world's main generators of instability, atrocities and violence because of the massive scale and gravity of the violations and abuses targeting mainly religious and other minorities such as Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and others. It is not just individual or local, it is systematic and a reflection of religious nationalism," he said.
In its annual report on religious freedom, the USCIRF asked the US State Department to designate India as a "country of particular concern" on the status of religious freedom along with several other nations.
Religious freedom and related human rights in India are under ongoing threat, the US Commission for International Religious Freedom alleged on Tuesday in an unusual year-end update of the status of its assessment of religious freedom in the country.
Sullivan indicated that President Biden would raise his concerns on human rights with Modi.
Describing India as an important member of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (the Quad) and a crucial partner for stability in the Indo-Pacific, the letter said that the lawmakers support the deepening strategic partnership between the two countries.
Rahul 'Richard'Verma, a partner with the top-notch international law firm in Washington, DC -- Steptoe & Johnson LLP -- who, until recently was the highest-ranking Indian American Congressional aide on Capitol Hill, has been appointed to the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism.
She said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has received the highest civilian awards from 13 countries, including six with predominantly Muslim population.
Text books in Pakistani schools foster hatred and intolerance of minorities, the Hindus in particular and teachers view these groups "as enemies of Islam," a United States government report has said.
'In India, legal advocates and faith leaders from across the country's diverse religious communities condemned a case of extreme hate speech against Muslims in the city of Haridwar, calling for the country to uphold its historical traditions of pluralism and tolerance'
A US Congress-constituted quasi-judicial body on Monday recommended to the Biden Administration to designate India, China, Pakistan, Afghanistan and 11 other nations as "country of particular concern" in the context of status of religious freedom.
A resolution calls the US Secretary of State to designate India as a country of particular concern for alleged violation of religious freedom.
One unwanted fallout of Stan Swamy's death from the government's point of view will be the increased attention on those senior citizens who are still in jail on charges which are taking a long time to prove, believes Amulya Ganguli.
In the 2020 edition of its annual report on International Religious Freedom, the US Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) alleged that religious freedom in India witnessed a drastic downward turn.
A US Congress-constituted quasi-judicial body on Wednesday asked the Joe Biden Administration to designate four nations, including India, as "countries of particular concern", alleging that religious freedom conditions there in 2020 continued their negative trajectory.
Sanders is the second Democratic presidential nominee after Senator Elizabeth Warren to speak against the violence over the Citizenship Amendment Act in New Delhi.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the move, saying he was carrying out President Donald Trump's orders. "Today, I am announcing visa restrictions on current and former CCP officials who are believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, undermining Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy, as guaranteed in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration or undermining human rights and fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong," Pompeo said.
Though MEA did not clarify the individuals being referred to, it is being seen as a reference to US lawmakers critical of India on the issue of the Delhi violence.
B'desh minister termed as "untrue" the allegations of minority repression in the country.
India says the USCIRF has no locus standi to pass its comment on Indian citizens' constitutionally protected rights.
Observing that the final NRC list, which validates bona fide Indian citizens of Assam, has excluded 19 lakh residents, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom on Friday said that a number of domestic and international organisations have expressed concern that the NRC is a "targeted mechanism to disenfranchise Assam's Bengali Muslim community, implicitly establishing a religious requirement for citizenship and potentially rendering large numbers of Muslims stateless."
Responding to USCIRF's statement on the bill, the MEA said it was guided by 'prejudices and biases'.
External affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said the government does not see the locus standi of a foreign entity like US Commission on International Religious Freedom to pronounce on the state of Indian citizens' constitutionally protected rights.
Eleven more deaths were reported on Thursday, taking the total death toll to 38, a senior Delhi Health Department official told PTI.
'The feeling is growing that if India slips in the realms of liberal tenets, it will be a tragedy not only for the country, but also for the world because it will lose a remarkable role model,' notes Amulya Ganguli.
United States should continue to maintain a visa ban on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as there was "significant evidence" linking him to the violence in the state in 2002, a Congress-established independent panel on religious freedom has recommended.
Strongly condemning a series of terror attacks this week targeting Pakistani Shia Muslims, a US Congress-established body on religious freedom today asked the Obama Administration to impress upon Islamabad to ensure protection of minorities in the country.
Senators said Pak's discriminatory laws continue to result in prosecution of individuals due to their faith.
The study is a validation for scores of Pakistani Hindus who face discrimination and violence because of the hatred towards Hindus that continues to be stoked in children through the education system, says the Hindu American Foundation. Aziz Haniffa reports.
They opposed designating India as a 'Country of Particular Concern'.
"USCIRF's decision to club India in with a dozen or so of the worst violators of religious freedom in the world, while overlooking others, again raises questions of bias and flawed methodology," Prof Ramesh Rao of the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) alleged.
Accusing China of repressing dissent, the US commission on global religious freedom has appealed to President Barack Obama to take up the issues of human rights and religious freedom during his meeting with his visiting Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao at the White House.
Putting India on the 'watch list' for the second year in succession, the US Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) in its report said the Indian government at various levels recognised the problem of communal violence and created some structures to address these issues.
Obviously incensed after being denied visas to visit India, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom -- a US Congress-mandated body that monitors religious freedoms and rights worldwide and then provides independent policy recommendations to the President, Secretary of State and the Congress -- has released it 2009 country report on India, which it had earlier held back and placed India on its "Watch List".
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