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USCIRF recommends designating India "Country of Particular Concern"
According to the 2024 Annual Report of the USCIRF, India has witnessed a series of severe violations against religious minorities, marked by violent attacks, demolitions of places of worship, and arbitrary arrests.
USCIRF works towards advancing international freedom of religion or belief, by independently assessing and unflinchingly confronting threats to this fundamental right. / Facebook/USCIRF
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has urged the U.S. Department of State to designate India as a "Country of Particular Concern" (CPC) for engaging in systematic and egregious violations of religious freedom, as defined by the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA).
The report recommends targeted sanctions on individuals responsible for such violations, urging the U.S. government to incorporate religious freedom priorities into bilateral and multilateral engagements, such as the Quad ministerial. It further emphasizes the need for the U.S. Embassy to strengthen its engagement with religious communities and facilitate meetings with human rights defenders.
Among the USCIRF’s recommendations are financial and visa-related sanctions and a review by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to ensure that India's counterterrorism efforts are not being misused to suppress religious minorities.
Throughout 2024, India has witnessed a series of severe violations against religious minorities, marked by violent attacks, demolitions of places of worship, and arbitrary arrests. According to the USCIRF in its 2024 Annual Report, these incidents, compounded by the use of misinformation and hate speech by government officials, constitute systemic violations of religious freedom.
The report also highlights the role of India’s legal framework, including the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), and state-level anti-conversion and cow slaughter laws, in targeting religious minorities.
Manipur violence: A case study in religious persecution
A significant focus of the report is the violence in the northeastern state of Manipur, where clashes between tribal Kuki and Hindu Meitei communities escalated into widespread destruction. Thousands of homes were destroyed, and over 400 churches, belonging to both Meiteis and Kukis, were razed. The violence displaced more than 70,000 people and resulted in numerous reports of sexual violence, including gang rapes of Kuki women.
The USCIRF noted that disinformation and hate speech played a crucial role in fueling the conflict, with reports that Hindu nationalist officials pressured Meitei Christian leaders to renounce their faith. "The central government and local authorities failed to protect places of worship or prevent the communal violence from spiraling," the report stated.
Legal framework and anti-conversion laws
The report details the impact of India’s anti-conversion laws, which continued to be enforced in 13 states in 2023. These laws, the USCIRF claims, disproportionately target religious minorities, making it difficult for individuals to convert from Hinduism to other faiths. In Himachal Pradesh, a new amendment in 2023 redefined "mass conversion," intensifying restrictions on minority faiths.
The USCIRF also documented numerous arrests under these laws, including 13 Christian pastors in Chhattisgarh and over 855 individuals in Uttar Pradesh.
Anti-conversion laws also intersect with so-called "love jihad" allegations, which accuse Muslim men of converting Hindu women through marriage. The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), a right-wing group, launched a national campaign against interfaith marriages in 2023, further inflaming religious tensions.
US policy response
The USCIRF report notes that while the U.S. maintains strong bilateral ties with India, including significant defense and economic cooperation, religious freedom concerns persist. Although President Biden raised human rights issues in private meetings with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the G20 summit in September 2023, the State Department refrained from designating India as a CPC despite growing pressure.
The USCIRF’s recommendations underscore the need for continued scrutiny of India’s human rights record, particularly its treatment of religious minorities, through diplomatic and economic channels.
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