US religious freedom report notes violence against Indian minorities
U.S. State Department's 2023 religious freedom report on India noted violent attacks on minority groups, especially Muslims and Christians, including killings, assaults and vandalism of houses of worship.
The report on international religious freedom released on Wednesday said that in 2023, senior U.S. officials continued to «raise concerns about religious freedom issues» with their Indian counterparts.
Human rights experts say India has seen a rise in attacks on minorities under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who recently won a third term, and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
«In India, we see a concerning increase in anti-conversion laws, hate speech, demolitions of homes and places of worship for members of minority faith communities,» U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said when the report was released, in a rare direct rebuke of India.
Criticism of India by the U.S. is usually restrained due to close economic ties and New Delhi's importance for Washington to counter China, political analysts say.
The U.S. report listed dozens of incidents. Among them was a fatal shooting of a security official and three Muslims on a train near Mumbai by a suspect who was a railway security official. A probe by Indian authorities into that case is ongoing and the suspect was in jail, according to the Indian Express newspaper.
The report cited examples of attacks against Muslims based on allegations that Muslim men were participating in the slaughter of cows or beef trading.
The Indian embassy in
