(Malik Zaeem)
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is actively working to secure a third straight term, employing illegal tactic both locally and internationally. Among these political maneuverings, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) on March 25, 2024, once again expressed grave concern on tightening the space for religious freedom by implementing Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). It is evident that India tends to make entire country a Hindu Maharashtra, where other religious minorities have zero to none space to breathe.
The Indian government’s announcement of the Citizenship Amendment Rules (CAR) in an effort to start implementing the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) alarmed the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). USCIRF Commissioner Stephen Schneck provided testimony on this issue last week at a meeting before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission hearing. It stated that for those seeking asylum in India who are escaping neighboring countries, the problematic CAA imposes a religion requirement. Muslims are expressly excluded from the statute, even though it gives Hindus, Parsis, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, and Christians a quicker route to citizenship. If the law’s true goal was to safeguard religious minorities from persecution, it would cover, among other groups Hazara Shi’a Muslims in Afghanistan and Rohingya Muslims in Burma. No one’s citizenship should be withheld due to their religious convictions. Congressmen are urged by USCIRF to keep bringing up the subject of religious freedom in India in public, to bring it up in conversations with their counterparts in government, and—most importantly—during congressional delegations.
According to the recently released regulations, anyone who wish to apply for Indian citizenship must demonstrate that they entered the nation from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, or Pakistan before December 31, 2014, with the exception of those who were escaping more recent acts of persecution. Following the military coup in 2021, the Indian government has announced that it is planning to expel refugees that came from Burma. Citizenship for individuals escaping non-Muslim majority countries is also excluded, including Uyghur and other Turkic Muslims from China, as well as Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka. Although the CAA was first passed in 2019, the Indian government decided not to apply it right away because of widespread, multi-monthlong protests. Following the protests, Indian security forces launched a brutal and fatal response that resulted in the widespread detention of human rights advocates of all faiths.
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is concerned about India’s increasing discrimination against religious minorities and those who advocate for them internationally. Recent attempts by the Indian government to suppress foreign journalists such as raids at BBC offices, lawyers, and activists pose a severe threat to freedom of expression. The U.S. Department of State is requested by USCIRF to identify India as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) due to the nation’s egregious, ongoing, and structural violations of the freedom of religion or belief. It has previously declared that the allegations of the Indian government’s involvement in the murder of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada and the plot to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in the US are extremely concerning and signify a significant uptick in India’s attempts to stifle human rights advocates and members of religious minorities both domestically and internationally. It demanded that the Biden administration should declare India a country of particular concern (CPC) and acknowledge the Indian government’s human rights violations.
Furthermore, by employing spyware and internet harassment tactics, Indian authorities have singled out and intimidated foreign journalists and activists who are standing out for religious minorities. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s State in June Visit prompted an online campaign against U.S. Wall Street Journal journalist Sabrina Siddiqui for her questioning of India’s religious freedom following statements made by Amit Malviya, the BJP’s head of information and technology. An issue update on the laws published by USCIRF provides additional information on how state-level anticonversion laws are being used by India to persecute religious minorities. It was all uncovered when USCIRF held a hearing in September 2023 to discuss the status of religious freedom in India and how the US and Indian governments may work together to address abuses.
Genocide Watch, a well-known international group that keeps track of and promotes awareness about mass atrocities and genocides, has become interested in the quickly coming threat of a Muslim genocide in India. At a briefing, the group’s leader, Gregory Stanton, who is famous for having predicted the Rwandan genocide five years in advance, warned US senators about the early “signs and processes” of genocide in India. He pointed to two instances of Modi’s Hindutva policies as signs of an imminent genocide against Muslims: the abolition of IIOJK’s special autonomous status and the passing of the Citizenship Amendment Act, which granted citizenship to religious minorities but excluded Muslims. The statement went on to say that the likelihood of a Muslim genocide in India starting as early as 2025 is growing due to state-induced impunity and complicity, which are fostering the continued violence and extremism against minorities, especially Muslims.
The durability of international laws is justified on the ground when these laws are applied on each signatory state despite of its sphere of influence. Global watchdogs such as FATF, UNSC and UNHRC should adhere to the independent resources highlighting the smear tactics of Indian government against its minorities. India have been flaunting false propaganda against other countries when its own social fabric is rupturing. It is high time that global watchdogs must take action before the situation exacerbates.
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