"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.
Responding to USCIRF's statement on the bill, the MEA said it was guided by 'prejudices and biases'.
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".
The Supreme Court will hear on Friday a plea challenging a Bombay high court verdict upholding a Mumbai college's decision to ban hijabs, burqas and naqabs inside the campus.
'The new Waqf bill sows the seed for conflict in every town and village of India.'
The matter is being investigated, they said and added that so far, there is no evidence that the "Khalistani" slur was used.
The Biden administration's failure in stopping two major wars and several minor ones was seen as a major disaster by many Americans and the world at large, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
While the Trump campaign promises that re-electing President Donald Trump will "reduce obstacles to religious freedoms" for Hindus in America, the rival Biden campaign on Tuesday said former vice president Joe Biden has made outreach to the Hindu faith community a priority.
Three Indians have joined a Sikh rights group in filing an amended lawsuit appealing a US court to designate the RSS as a "terror group".
The government has to specify what it intends to do with caste census data. It will be closely tracked if the government would simultaneously move towards removing the present 50% bar on reservations using means which are permitted in law. If this is not done, the entire exercise will become meaningless and could boomerang on the BJP, observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
The Kerala high court has observed that no religious belief stands above the Constitution.
Indulging in religious conversion with inducement or under pressure is an "unpardonable offence", the state home minister Araga Jnanendra said adding, it may also lead to disturbance of peace in the society.
In more than one way, it's a setback for the DMK and Chief Minister Stalin in political terms. The electoral fall-out, if any, will have to wait until the next summer, only when assembly elections are due in the state, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
Prayagraj is a must-visit place in 2025, but in January and February you can't miss the Maha Kumbh, a spectacular event like no other.
The Bombay high court on Wednesday refused to interfere in a decision taken by a Mumbai-based college to impose a ban on hijab, burka and naqab in its premises.
The Uttar Pradesh government has said that over 65 crore people visited the sacred site in Prayagraj since the Maha Kumbh began on January 13.
'I do hope the Patel family sues the hell out of the state of Alabama, and I hope the Hindu American Foundation and other community organisations are helping with legal aid and monetary support. For, there is reason to believe that it is religious and racial bias that led to the incident: In other words, a hate crime. There is no reason to suffer that silently.'
The judge made the remarks while sentencing 25-year-old Mohammad Alim to life imprisonment, convicting him for raping and threatening a student after falsifying his identity.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said the Opposition is pretty well united and a lot of good work is happening on the ground as he asserted that there is a hidden undercurrent building and it will 'surprise' the people in the next general elections.
The State Department in its report listed more than a dozen significant human rights issues for India. Prominent among them are unlawful and arbitrary killings, including extrajudicial killings perpetrated by police; torture and cases of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by some police and prison officials; arbitrary arrest and detention by government authorities; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; political and prisoners or detainees in certain states.
Congressional caucuses are groups of members of the US Congress that meet to pursue common legislative objectives. Caucuses are formed as Congressional Member Organisations through the US House of Representatives and governed under the chamber's rules.
'Whatever you do will spark controversies, so it is best do what your heart tells you to do. Simple.'
This Women's Day Week, we pay tribute to the extraordinary courage, resilience, and leadership of three iconic Indian queens -- Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi, Rani Chennamma of Kittur, and Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar of Malwa.
Just because one can (so far) criticise the policies of the government, or expose a corruption scandal, or question bureaucrats, does not mean we have freedom of speech, says Sherna Gandhy.
Trump attended his first address to the annual National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday.
"I travelled to Dharamshala, India to speak to the Tibetan community that were assembled there in exile and to tell them that the US is opposed to China picking the next Dalai Lama," Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom Samuel D Brownback told reporters on Tuesday during a conference call, recalling his visit to India in October.
Events in America have strengthened the hand of those leaders there who wish India well, but think of India as being a collection of Indians.
If Indians are mistreated, they will object, asserts Aakar Patel.
The US lawmakers, describing themselves as "longtime friends of India", wrote in the letter that "more than six months after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government unilaterally revoked the autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir, the government continues to block most internet in the region".
Death is a reality of life and yet we shy away from talking about it openly, observes Aarti David.
The top court said the old practices of "human sacrifices" and 'sati' amounted to murder under law and could not be saved on ground of "essential religious practice".
Sanders is the second Democratic presidential nominee after Senator Elizabeth Warren to speak against the violence over the Citizenship Amendment Act in New Delhi.
The Supreme Court of India has dismissed petitions challenging the 1976 amendment to the Constitution that added the terms "socialist", "secular", and "integrity" to the Preamble. The court ruled that the inclusion of these terms, made through amendments, is valid and does not affect the original adoption of the Constitution in 1949.
Dhankhar said every Indian outside the country has to be an ambassador of the nation.
The film has nothing objectionable or derogatory, the court said after watching it, and allowed its release on streaming platform Netflix.
Several eminent officials and experts from both India and the United States have told American lawmakers that a Bharatiya Janata Party-led government at the Centre would be detrimental to the basic rights of the religious minorities in India.
A United States court has ruled that Marine Corps cannot deny entry to Sikhs sporting a beard and wearing a turban, in a major victory for three recruits from the community who can now join the elite unit's basic training without having to forfeit their religious beliefs.
There are communal organisations among all religious groups, but the ultimate goal of religions and such outfits is different, Geevarghese Mar Yulios, the metropolitan of the Kunnamkulam Diocese of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, told reporters in Thrissur.
In his Diwali greetings on Thursday, Trump strongly "condemned the barbaric violence against Hindus, Christians, and other minorities in Bangladesh", which he said remains in a "total state of chaos."
They alleged that they fled from their country because of religious persecution from the Hindu majority.
Nearly 650 people have been killed in the recent unrest in Bangladesh between July 16 and August 11, the United Nations Human Rights Office has said in a preliminary report, suggesting a thorough, impartial and transparent investigation into reports of extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and detentions.
