NEW DELHI: A report by a US government commission - the Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has strongly criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government for the 'ghar wapsi' campaign on religious conversions, and derogatory statements about minorities by various leaders of his party. The report suggests the Indian government "publicly rebuke government officials and religious leaders that make derogatory statements about religious communities."
"It appears to be based on limited understanding of India, its constitution and its society. We take no cognizance of this report," said a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs.
In its annual report for 2015 released today, USCIRF says "Incidents of religiously-motivated and communal violence reportedly have increased for three consecutive years," and that, "Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and religious leaders, including from the Muslim, Christian, and Sikh communities, attributed the initial increase to religiously-divisive campaigning in advance of the country's 2014 general election."
The report says that Mr Modi's statement in mid-February in support of religious freedom was a "positive development"
The USCIRF describes itself as an "independent, bipartisan US federal government commission" which "uses international standards to monitor religious freedom violations globally, and makes policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress."
Its report says, "Since the election, religious minority communities have been subject to derogatory comments by politicians linked to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and numerous violent attacks and forced conversions by Hindu nationalist groups, such as Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP)."
Based on these concerns, USCIRF again places India on its Tier 2 list of countries, where it has been since 2009.
In mid-February 2015, at an event organized by Christian leaders in Delhi, Prime Minister Modi vowed to protect all religious groups and ensure "complete freedom of faith." His comments came after a series of attacks on churches and other Christian buildings, many of them in Delhi. In France last month, he reiterated his government's commitment to ensuring religious equality.
@Dr.sen
Evangelical Christians And The Catholic Bishops Are Pushing A Bill To Fight Religious Persecution Overseas, But Critics Say The Issue Isn't That Simple
Last summer Christian Coalition President Don Hodel made one of his first major public appearances in his new post at the helm of TV preacher Pat Robertson's political unit.
The audience at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., that Aug. 8 was friendly, largely made up of allies of Human Events, the arch-conservative weekly newspaper that cosponsored the gathering. Hodel took the podium after presidential hopeful Steve Forbes, who had just given a crowd-pleasing speech on the need for tax reform and smaller government.
But instead of covering expected political subjects such as abortion, tax cuts or constitutional amendments, the Christian Coalition honcho had only one topic on his mind.
"We're putting another issue at the top of our priority list because it is an international crisis, and the United States of America's inaction on this subject is a disgrace," Hodel said. "That issue is worldwide religious persecution."
Crusade Watch, Religious Conversion Watch, Evangelism watch - Persecution complex - Evangelical lawmakers behind creation of USCIRF
They are good at it. Practise makes them perfect.
