The US urged India to ensure religious freedom for all.
Ned Price, a State Department spokesman, said the US regularly engages officials on religious freedom steps.
Religious freedom in South Asia. This is the third year that the US Commission on Religious Freedom and other groups have asked the State Department to include India in CPC. Not just Muslims, Christians, or others are tortured or killed. It’s also about the BJP-led government and Citizenship Act, which allows fast-track citizenship to non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh.
Ned Price responded that the world’s two largest democracies, the US and India, are dedicated to the long-term enterprise.
“This is the project Secretary Blinken previously mentioned, seeking to establish a perfect union. This is a joint project. Together, we can show that our democracies can meet people’s needs. We must uphold essential values, especially respect for human rights like religion and speech. This strengthens our democracies.”
Ned Price said Secretary Blinken judged that India’s religious freedom concerns do not warrant a Country of Particular Concern or Special Watch List designation. Instead, these are ongoing dialogues with our Indian and global partners, he said.
“The world’s largest democracy is India. It has many religions. Our Annual Report on International Religious Freedom expresses our concerns about India, and we continue to monitor religious freedom in all nations, including India. We’ve encouraged the Indian government to defend religious freedom for all and will continue to do so. We also periodically advise officials on how to enhance religious freedom.”
