The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), an advocacy group focused on preserving India’s diverse and tolerant heritage, has expressed approval of the US State Department’s 2023 International Religious Freedom (IRF) report. This report highlights ongoing challenges faced by religious minorities, particularly Muslims and Christians, in India.
The IRF report aligns with findings from the annual report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), which recommends designating India as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) due to ongoing violations of religious freedoms for minorities. The IAMC emphasized the urgency of this recommendation in a statement released on Wednesday (26).
“Once again, it is clear from the State Department’s own reporting that India qualifies as a CPC,” said Rasheed Ahmed, IAMC Executive Director. “It is now imperative for Secretary (Antony) Blinken to act on these findings and designate India as a CPC, as USCIRF has consistently advocated,” he added.
The IAMC also urged the Indian government to take immediate steps to address these issues and safeguard the rights of all citizens, irrespective of their religion.
Presenting the report, Secretary of State Blinken noted: “In India, we see a concerning increase in anti-conversion laws, hate speech, and demolitions of homes and places of worship for members of minority faith communities.”
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The report outlines various issues faced by religious minorities under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration, including anti-Muslim and anti-Christian violence, hate speech and disinformation targeting Muslims, cow vigilantism, home and mosque demolitions, and discriminatory policies such as the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and anti-conversion laws. It also details incidents of mob violence during Hindu festivals, and attacks on minority homes, shops, and places of worship.
The report also covers ongoing ethnic and religious violence in Manipur state, the promotion of anti-Muslim disinformation and propaganda movies by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), attempts by Hindu groups to take over historic mosques, and hate speech events encouraging violence and discrimination against Muslims and Christians.
Specific cases of human rights abuses against Muslims are also highlighted, including the mob lynching of two Muslim men, Mohammad Junaid and Mohammad Nasir, by cow vigilantes; the killing of six people, including an imam, in Haryana’s Nuh amid mob violence; the acquittal of 69 individuals charged with killing 11 Muslims during the 2002 Gujarat riots; and the shooting of three Muslim train passengers by a railway officer who allegedly warned Muslims to vote for Prime Minister Modi immediately after the incident.
