US Govt report notes ‘organised’ attacks on minorities in India

Noting that a vast majority of citizens of all religions lived in peaceful co-existence in India, the Bush Administration has, nevertheless

Noting that a vast majority of citizens of all religions lived in peaceful co-existence in India, the Bush Administration has, nevertheless, said there were still some cases of “organised societal attacks” against minority groups in the country.

Mandated by the US Congress to present an annual report on religious freedom around the world, the Administration also speaks of terrorist violence and “atrocities” against certain sections of people, including Kashmiri Pandits, while pointing out that terrorists attempted to provoke inter-religious conflict by detonating bombs.

“The Constitution (of India) provides for freedom of religion, and the National Government generally respected this right in practice,” the State Department said in its annual International Religious Freedom Report released on Friday.

However, it said, “Some state and local governments, including those of Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, enacted or amended ‘anti-conversion’ laws during the reporting period. The Governor of Rajasthan, later elected to the Presidency, refused to sign her state’s law, effectively nullifying it.”

“The vast majority of citizens of every religious group lived in peaceful co-existence; however, there were reports of organised societal attacks against minority religious groups. State police and enforcement agencies often did not act swiftly enough to effectively counter societal attacks,” the report said.

In the report, the Bush Administration has Myanmar, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Uzbekistan in Part One of its classification of “Countries of Particular Concern” (CPC). While Uzbekistan enters the CPC list for the first time, Vietnam has not been re-designated in this category.