ISLAMABAD, June 23 ( Alliance News): Alhan Omar, a female member of the US Congress, has moved a resolution in the House condemning human rights and religious freedom violations in India and calling on Secretary of State Anthony Blanken to declare India a “particularly worrying country”. Declare
According to the US Congress website, the resolution was tabled with the support of lawmakers Rashida Talib and Juan Varghese.
Based on the findings of a report by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), the resolution argues that India is a country of particular concern.
The text of the resolution, available on the US Congress website, highlights that the US Commission on International Religious Freedom’s report called for three consecutive years to designate India as a country of particular concern.
Citing the USCIRF’s 2022 Annual Report, the resolution said that in 2021, the Indian government promoted its policies, including strengthening the Hindu nationalist agenda, and that such policies would help India Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Dalits and other religious minorities living in India were severely affected.
According to the resolution, the USCIRF report further states that the Indian government has managed its ideological vision of a Hindu state at the national and state level through the use of existing and new laws and structural changes against the country’s religious minorities. Continues to do.
The resolution, citing the report, further said that the use of laws such as the Prevention of Illegal Activities and Anti-Rebellion Act in India was aimed at creating an atmosphere of fear in order to silence any voice against the government. Is a tactic.
Expressing concern over the treatment of minorities in India, he said that the crackdown on religious minority leaders by the Indian government and the actions of leaders who raised their voices for religious tolerance in India were also mentioned, including Jesuit human rights. Defendant Father Stein Swamy and Muslim Human Rights Chief Khurram Pervez.
The resolution said the report also included several examples of the Indian government criminally harassing and pressuring “interfaith couples and converts from Hinduism to Christianity or Islam”.
The report also highlights the serious threat to the Indian Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Registry of Citizens for Indian Muslims, including fears of deportation or indefinite detention of millions.
According to the text of the resolution, the report states that in 2021, there were numerous attacks on religious minorities, especially Muslim and Christian places, businesses, homes and places of worship, many of which were violent, unprovoked and led by several government officials. Encouraged or provoked by
The USCRIF report further states that there were mass demonstrations in 2021 against the Farmers’ Laws enacted in September 2020.
It has been reported that despite large-scale protests in India, attempts were still made to discredit protesters, especially Sikh protesters, as terrorists and religiously active separatists, especially government officials. Similar efforts were made by
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The resolution further cites the Oxfam India study of 2021, which found that one-third of Muslims were discriminated against in hospitals during the rise of Corona in India, the resolution said.
The resolution further states that by June 2022, the USCIRF had listed 45 Indian nationals as victims of its religious freedom or beliefs, all of whom were detained and Of the 45 detainees, 35 are still in custody.
The resolution also cites the State Department’s 2021 report, which was published on June 2, 2022.
Alhan Omar said in the resolution that the report on international religious freedom also provided a scenario of increasing violence against religious minorities in India, especially Muslims and Christians, during 2021.
The resolution further states that while launching the report during a press conference, Anthony Blankenship had said that India, which is home to the world’s largest democracy and a wide range of beliefs, but now we Are witnessing increasing attacks on places of worship.
In the same press conference, Rashad Hussain, Sefer of International Religious Freedom, said in the same press conference that we are concerned about the increasing incidents of violence against various religious minorities in India, including Christians, Sikhs, Dalit Hindus, Muslims and other minorities. Is.
Citing all these, the resolution concluded by saying that the House condemned the human rights violations in India and the violations of international religious freedom.
The resolution further said that the House was also concerned about the mistreatment of religious minorities in India