The US State Department has released its annual report on International Religious Freedom. The report said that religious intolerance has increased in India. India has strongly objected to this report. Rejecting the report, India has asked the US in a strict tone that it should not run the agenda of the vote bank in international relations and take care of its home.
First, know what was said in the report?
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken released the annual report on international religious freedom. During this, he said, 'India is the largest democracy in the world, where people of different religions live. There has been an increase in the cases of attacks on people and on places of worship in recent times.
Referring to different cases in the report, an attempt has been made to tell that minorities in India do not get religious freedom. Particularly some cases of Muslims and Christians have been reported. The report also alleged that non-Hindus in India are being arrested by the police for comments on Hindutva and Hindutva on social media. Apart from this, the statements of different political figures have also been mentioned in it.
How did India respond?
India retaliated against America's International Religious Freedom Report. The Indian Foreign Ministry said, 'We would appeal that the assessment based on a biased view should be avoided.' Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “It is unfortunate that vote bank politics is being used in international relations. We request that biased and one-sided views not be included in this report. People of all religions live in India. They are given complete religious freedom. Their human rights are protected. In our conversations with the United States, we have always raised the issue of racial violence, attacks on specific religions, or gun culture.
On what basis is this report prepared?
There is a department in the US State Department. Its name is 'Office of International Religious Freedom'. Every year a report on international religious freedom is prepared by this department. In this, issues are raised regarding the religious freedom of all countries. According to the Office of International Religious Freedom, this report is prepared based on government reports, media reports, NGO reports, and statements of the country concerned. It also mentions the official comments of journalists, social workers, and government officials. This report is separate from the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). USCIRF issues its separate report.
Who got it prepared?
This report is prepared by the 'Office of International Religious Freedom' of the US State Department, so it is entirely the responsibility of the Secretary of State. The preparation of this report was led by Rashad Hussain, Ambassador of the Office of International Religious Freedom. Rashad is also the principal adviser to the US President on matters of religious freedom policies. Before this, he also worked as a special ambassador for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
What does this report mean, can America interfere in the affairs of other countries?
We spoke to foreign affairs expert Aditya Patel to know the answer. Aditya says, 'It is not that such a report has come for the first time. Through such reports, America tries to put pressure on India. However, the way Indian officials and foreign ministers are responding now, it is clear that India will never allow itself to be seen as weak in front of America. Aditya also says that America tries to interfere in the internal affairs of many countries by resorting to such reports. However, now gradually questions are being raised about such reports. In such a situation, most countries do not even take it seriously.
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