Context: Recently, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has downgraded India to the lowest ranking of “Countries of Particular Concern” (CPC) in its 2020 report on religious freedom.

Key Points

• USCIRF has placed India alongside China, North Korea, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. India was categorised as a “Tier 2 country” in last year’s listing.
• This is the first time since 2004 that India has been placed in the CPC category.
• Tier 2 countries are those in which violations engaged in or tolerated by government are serious and characterized by at least one of the elements of systematic, ongoing, and egregious (horrible)’.

Why has India been moved to Countries of Particular Concern?

• The commission noted in its report that “India took a sharp downward turn in 2019, which included specific concerns about the Citizenship Amendment Act, the proposed National Register for Citizens, anti-conversion laws and the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.”
• “The national government used its strengthened parliamentary majority to institute national-level policies violating religious freedom across India, especially for Muslims.”
• The panel said that the CPC designation was also recommended because “national and various State governments also allowed nationwide campaigns of harassment and violence against religious minorities to continue with impunity, and engaged in and tolerated hate speech and incitement to violence against them”.
• However, three of the 10 USCIRF commissioners, dissented with the panel’s recommendation on India as being ‘too harsh’ and that ended up placing the country alongside what they termed as “rogue nations” like China and North Korea.

Response by Indian Government:

• Government of India reacted sharply to the USCIRF report, terming it “biased and tendentious” and rejected its observations.
• Its biased and tendentious comments against India are not new. But on this occasion, its misrepresentation has reached new levels.
• It has not been able to carry its own Commissioners in its endeavour. We regard it as an organisation of particular concern and will treat it accordingly.

Significance of the Report:

• In its Annual Report, USCIRF unflinchingly describes threats to religious freedom around the world and recommends to the State Department countries for designation as “countries of particular concern” (CPCs) for engaging in or tolerating “systematic, ongoing, egregious violations.”
• USCIRF also recommends to the State Department that non-state actors cited for similarly severe violations be designated as “entities of particular concern” (EPCs).

Concerns for India

• India saw an “overall deterioration of religious freedom conditions in recent years”.
• India is facing declining religious freedom, apart from increased securitisation and politicisation of religion.
• It is increasingly becoming difficult to separate religion and politics.
• It is a tactic which is sometimes intended by those who seek to discriminate against certain religious communities.
• The reason is attributed to extremist groups, anti-conversion laws, cow-protection groups, mob lynching, concerns that millions from Assam will be incorrectly left out of NRC (National Register of Citizen) and a denying international NGOs registration.
• Further deterioration in the Religious freedom may put India on various sanctions by the World Countries and may severely affect India’s emerging economy. So Indian Government has to take some preventive steps against the religious freedom of the people.

About United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)

• The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is a bipartisan, independent federal government commission in the US.
• It was created by the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998.
• It is Headquartered at Washington DC.
• USCIRF’s principal responsibilities are to review the facts and circumstances of violations of religious freedom internationally and to make policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and the Congress.
• The Commission on International Religious Freedom issues an annual report that includes policy recommendations to the U.S. government based on the report’s evaluation of the facts and circumstances of religious freedom violations worldwide.