India witnessed religiously motivated killings, arrests, riots and coerced religious conversions and the police in some cases failed to respond effectively to communal violence, according to the US State Department report on International Religious Freedom.
India has previously rejected the US state department's annual human rights report on the country, saying they continue to be based on "misinformation and flawed understanding".
If the Iranian regime needs to be punished for promoting quasi-terrorist outfits like Hezbollah and Hamas, then what about Pakistan which has spent decades exporting terror around the world, killing thousands, particularly in Afghanistan and India? asks M R Narayan Swamy.
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.
What we are watching is something different: A fog manufactured and maintained by the people who started the war, so that the question of why it was started never has to be answered, observes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the war in the Middle East.
'The RSS, that advocated military strength, remained in the ideological doghouse for over half a century. Many of the RSS' responses even today carry the burden of this past,' points out Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
"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.
Religious tolerance in India is "deteriorating" while religious freedom violations are "increasing", a rights expert has told American lawmakers.
A three-member delegation of US Commission on International Religious Freedom wanted to make a one-week visit starting on Friday to meet government officials, religious leaders and activists in India.
'Kashmir needs to be divided and we need the land of Panun Kashmir in Kashmir.'
'In choosing to be fully himself, even when it was uncomfortable, Usman Khawaja expanded the meaning of representation and conscience in Australian sport,' notes Asif Ullah Khan.
Officials said the digital ban was intended to disrupt ideological channels that facilitate cross-border radicalisation, particularly in areas where socio-economic vulnerabilities are exploited by extremist networks.
The Indian govt has been slow to react when violence has taken place, the US said.
No foreign entity or government has any locus standi to comment on the fundamental rights of Indian citizens, the government said on Thursday, rejecting a report by the US state department on the alleged curtailment of religious freedom in India.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has announced that his government will introduce a provision for the death penalty for religious conversion of girls, mirroring the punishment for rape of minors. This announcement was made at a Women's Day event in Bhopal, where the CM also digitally transferred financial assistance to beneficiaries of various schemes. Yadav stated that the government is committed to protecting and respecting women and will take strict action against those involved in illegal conversions.
A key United States Congressional committee has called for a public hearing on the rights and freedoms of religious minorities in India to be held early next month.
A resolution calls the US Secretary of State to designate India as a country of particular concern for alleged violation of religious freedom.
Blinken asserts that America will continue to stand up for religious freedom around the world.
The decision by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom to place India on its 'Watch List,' for what it said was "the government's largely inadequate response to protecting religious minorities," will not impact in any way on the growing US-India strategic partnership, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake has said.
The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea challenging the Karnataka government's decision to invite International Booker Prize winner Banu Mushtaq to inaugurate Mysuru Dasara this year.
Sullivan indicated that President Biden would raise his concerns on human rights with Modi.
Katrina Lantos Swett, chair, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, tells Rediff.com's Aziz Haniffa that the USCIRF will be uncompromising about denying Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi entry into the US.
The report states that while the national government sometimes spoke out against incidents of violence, local political leaders often did not, and at times made public remarks that individuals could interpret as condoning violence.
'Motivated comments' not welcome: India after US, Pak remarks on Hijab row
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.
According to an official statement by SFI Delhi, the ABVP members attacked some students in the university mess for not complying with their demand that non-vegetarian food should not be served on Maha Shivratri.
In May, 40 Rohingyas were blindfolded and flown to the Andaman and Nicobar islands and then thrown into the sea and made to swim to an island in Myanmar. And after the Pahalgam attack, at least 300 Muslims were 'pushed back' to Bangladesh from Assam.
India previously rejected the US religious freedom report, saying it sees no locus standi for a foreign government to pronounce on the state of its citizens' constitutionally protected rights.
Police conduct raids at bookshops in Kashmir to seize banned books promoting false narratives and glorifying terrorism, following a government order. The ban and subsequent raids have drawn criticism from authors and political leaders.
Bookstore owners were cautioned against keeping or distributing the books. Police personnel briefed the bookstore owners about the legal consequences of violating the ban.
'Although China has been ruling over Tibet for past 75 years, it has no legitimacy.'
On his 200th birth anniversary, Utkarsh Mishra traces the life, thought, and legacy of Dadabhai Naoroji, the Grand Old Man of India.
'...We should first look at and acknowledge what we have done to ourselves.' 'To not do so opens us to the accusation of rank hypocrisy and also reduces the stature of our globetrotting peaceniks,' asserts Aakar Patel.
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.
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.
An independent United States Congressional research report has alleged that the scope and scale of human rights abuses in India has increased under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Spiritual leader Dalai Lama on Saturday appealed for complete freedom to practise various religions saying that there may be differences in philosophies of different religions but all profess the same message of love and compassion.
'Arundhati Roy is like a ballerina performing on a high wire, cool, supremely at ease but conscious of all the adoring eyes on her,' notes P Vijaya Kumar.
India has stated its neutral stance on religious matters following the Dalai Lama's announcement of his succession plan, which China has rejected. The statement comes as the Dalai Lama approaches his 90th birthday, with China urging India to exercise caution on Tibet-related issues.
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