Modi govt must introspect

The observation of a US bipartisan federal agency that the state of religious freedom in India is a “matter of particular concern’’ is not surprising as the country has seen its steady deterioration in the last few years. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedoms has made strong criticism of India and passed adverse comments about the country in its annual report. It has placed India in the category of countries where religious freedom is under severe stress. It has also recommended to the US government and its agencies to take action, like targeted sanctions, against India and Indian officials. Such actions are unlikely because they are taken on political and strategic considerations. But the recommendation shows how seriously the commission views the matter.

The commission has sought to support its conclusions with policies pursued and decisions taken by the Modi government and cases and instances of harassment and attacks on minorities in the country in the last few years. It had placed India in a watchlist in 2018 but has noted that since then there has been a steady downturn and deterioration in the treatment of minorities, especially Muslims. It has cited the National Register of Citizens (NRC) process in Assam, which UN rapporteurs also found discriminatory, the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), and even some words of Home Minister Amit Shah to show the bias in government policy against Muslims. It has noted that the government has allowed violence against minorities to continue with impunity and has tolerated hate speech and incitement to violence. The partisan conduct of the law enforcement agencies in situations like the communal riots in Delhi in February this year is also known.

The government has dismissed the report as biased and tendentious and misrepresentation which “has reached new levels’’. It has said that it is the organisation which prepared the report that should be viewed with particular concern. But the report has not said anything which has not been said by those within the country who are worried about the many and continuing attacks on and harassment and persecution of minorities. Intolerance has grown and secularism is being challenged, though it is a constitutional ideal. The government, instead of attacking its critics and deriding them, should do some introspection and find out why it is drawing so much negative attention worldwide. Denials will not carry conviction when there is clear and widespread evidence of repression of minorities and actions and policies intended to hurt them.