Incidents of violence and discrimination against minorities, including attacks on Dalits and Muslims by cow vigilantes, are not in keeping with India”s legal protections for minorities, a top US diplomat told a Congressional subcommittee on Oct. 22.

“Incidents of violence and discrimination against minorities in India, including cow vigilante attacks against members of the Dalit and Muslim communities, and the existence of anti-conversion laws in nine states are not in keeping with India”s legal protections for minorities,” Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Alice G Wells told Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and Non-proliferation of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

She said the US calls upon the Indian government to “fully” uphold the universal right to religious freedom and protect vulnerable individuals, “including the 1.9 million people in Assam at risk for statelessness because of questions about their citizenship; condemn all incidents of violence; and hold perpetrators accountable.”

Last May, 68% of eligible Indian voters went to the polls for an historic election, Wells said, adding Indians of every religion, caste, sect, and socioeconomic background participated in the remarkable display of parliamentary democracy, which also witnessed a record turnout of women voters.