US Secretary of State Antony Blinken flags ‘concerning increase’ in anti-conversion laws, hate speech in India

Talking about India, he added, “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.” He said that even in the US, reports of hate crimes and other incidents targeting Muslims and Jews have gone up dramatically.

The annual publication put out by the US State Department tracks threats to religious freedom in almost 200 countries. Blasphemy laws in Pakistan help foster a climate of intolerance and hatred that can lead to vigilantes and mob violence, it said. It also mentioned how several European nations have laws that effectively ban some forms of religious clothing in public spaces.

While releasing the report, Rashad Hussain, Ambassador at Large, Office of International Religious Freedom, at the US State Department, said that it also documents cases where violence is occurring at the societal level, sometimes with impunity, and it also contributes to the repression of religious communities. “In India, for example, Christian communities reported that local police aided mobs that disrupted worship services over accusations of conversion activities or stood by while mobs attacked them and then arrested the victims on conversion charges,” he said.

The annual report, which is submitted to the US Congress, describes the status of religious freedom, government policies violating religious beliefs and practices, and US policies promoting religious freedom in nearly every country and territory across the world.

The US embassies prepare the initial drafts of country chapters based on information from government officials, religious groups, nongovernmental organisations, journalists, human rights monitors and academics.

The section on India also mentions how 10 of the 28 Indian states have laws restricting religious conversions for all faiths. Some of these states also impose penalties specifically against forced religious conversions for the purpose of marriage, it added.

Christians and Muslims were arrested under laws banning forced religious conversions, which in some cases were used to harass and imprison members of religious minority groups on false and fabricated charges or for lawful religious practices, the report said.

It also made references to the Narendra Modi government’s intention to enact a Uniform Civil Code. “Muslim, Sikh, Christian, and tribal leaders and some state government officials opposed the initiative on the grounds it was part of a project to turn the country into a Hindu Rashtra”, while its proponents said a UCC would promote greater equality, including for women, the report said.

It said that in 2023, senior US officials continued to raise concerns about religious freedom issues with their Indian counterparts. “During his visit in April, the Secretary of State also discussed developments in religious freedom with women leaders,” the report says.

The annual report also makes note of steps countries might be taking to “defend and promote religious freedom”. It made a special mention of Saudi Arabia in this regard, which “continues to remove exclusionary and hateful language against religious minorities from its public school textbooks, introducing new editions that promote peace and tolerance”.