ISLAMABAD, June 05 ( Alliance News ): Reacting to the global report on the state of religious freedom in 2021, a US official said that some officials in India were not only ignoring the growing attacks on people and places of worship in the country. Rather, they are supporting these attacks.
According to foreign media report on the state of global religious freedom states that attacks on members of religious minorities, their killings, torture and intimidation have been reported in India. I kept coming back during the last year.
The attacks included attacks in the name of cow protection, attacks on non-Hindus for allegedly slaughtering cows or selling beef by extremist Hindus.
Hindus make up about 80% of India’s 1.3 billion population, most of whom consider the cow to be a sacred animal.
Many states ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu Nationalist Party have enacted laws against cow slaughter or tightened old laws.
Reacting to the report, US Secretary of State Anthony Blanken said that the report shows that religious freedom and the rights of religious minorities are under threat worldwide.
“For example, in a country like India, which has the largest democracy in the world and where people of many faiths live, we have seen increasing attacks on people and places of worship,” he added.
Rashad Hussain, who has led the State Department’s efforts to monitor religious freedom around the world, said some Indian officials were ignoring or supporting the growing attacks on people and places of worship.
India’s foreign ministry says the country values religious freedom and human rights, while dismissing statements by senior US officials as misinformation.
A spokesman for India’s foreign ministry said it was “unfortunate” that vote-bank politics was gaining ground in international relations.
Religious communities in India have been embroiled in controversy over places of worship since the country gained independence from British rule in 1947, but in recent years there has been a sharp rise in such extremist incidents. About 13% of India’s population is Muslim.
