India’s Hindu right-wing government has rejected a United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) report on India, calling the US agency “biased” and the findings “malicious.” The USCIRF ”is a biased organization with a political agenda,” Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters in the capital New Delhi. “We reject this malicious report, which only serves to discredit the USCIRF further,” he added on Oct. 3.The US independent bipartisan agency in its Oct. 2 report on India’s religious freedom said, “Individuals have been killed, beaten, and lynched by vigilante groups, religious leaders have been arbitrarily arrested, and homes and places of worship have been demolished.” These events “constitute particularly severe violations of religious freedom,” the commission said and asked the US State Department to designate India as a “Country of Particular Concern.” This is the fifth time the commission has asked the US administration to declare India a “Country of Particular Concern (CPC)” which is the designation for a country responsible for particularly severe violations of religious freedom under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. India is ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The pro-Hindu party is against the missionary activities of the Indian Church.

Since Modi came to power in 2014, violence against Christians has increased, but India’s prime minister enjoys cordial ties with the US administration. The USCIRF annually releases policy recommendations to the State Department on international religious freedom. USCIRF’s report on India said, “The government, led by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), reinforced discriminatory nationalist policies, perpetuated hateful rhetoric and failed to address communal violence. “The ministry spokesperson called on the USCIRF to “desist from such agenda-driven efforts” and asked it to focus on addressing human rights issues within the United States. “It is sad that the Indian government is sweeping the report under the carpet, terming it “biased,” said A C Michael, National Coordinator of the United Christian Forum (UCF), an ecumenical body that records persecution against Christians in the country. The government should take necessary steps to protect the religious rights of minorities, Michael, a former member of the Delhi minority commission, told UCA News on Oct. 4.”At least two Christians are attacked every day in the country for their faith.” According to the UCF, India has recorded “447 incidents of violence against Christians this year from January to Aug. 10.” The ecumenical body recorded 731 incidents of violence in the country in 2023, excluding strife-torn Manipur where over 230 people have been killed, 60,000 others displaced and over 360 churches destroyed during 16 months of sectarian strife. According to Church leaders, the Uttar Pradesh government, the most populous state in the country with 200 million people and ruled by the pro-Hindu party, has registered 835 cases against Christians and Muslims under a sweeping anti-conversion law since it was enacted in 2020. Nearly 1,682 people have been arrested on conversion charges as of July 31, 2024. These cases are “closely monitored by senior officials,” said the state’s director general of police Prashant Kumar while briefing the media. Eleven states, most of them ruled by the BJP, have enacted a draconian anti-conversion law. This year’s USCIRF report recommended that 12 nations designated in 2023 by the State Department to be of “particular concern” be named again, including Russia and China.