India slams 2022 US Religious Freedom report, says, ‘based on misinformation, flawed understanding’
New Delhi: India has reacted strongly to the release of Unted States Religious Freedom report claiming it was based on misinformation and flawed information.
Reacting on the release of US State Department 2022 Report on International Religious Freedom, Ministry Of External Affairs Spokesperson, Arindam Bagchi said, “We are aware of the release of the U.S. State Department 2022 Report on International Religious Freedom.
Regrettably, such reports continue to be based on misinformation and flawed understanding.’
The MEA spokesperson also said that the motivated and biased commentary by some US officials only serves to undermine further the credibility of these reports.
“We value our partnership with the US and will continue to have frank exchanges on issues of concern to us,” Bachi added.
The US Religious Freedom Report 2022 alleged high handedness against minorities especially Muslims by various state governments in India.
“In June, UN special rapporteurs on adequate housing, minority issues, and freedom of religion and belief expressed their “serious concerns” about the “punitive” demolitions in Khargone, MP, which they stated were “ordered by local governments arbitrarily to punish Muslim minorities and low-income communities,” the US report said.
The US Freedom further stated, “In October, a report drafted by a citizens committee stated there were “multiple instances of apparent police complicity” in violent actions against protestors, who were mostly Muslim, in the Delhi riots in 2020. In multiple states, police arrested Christians accused of forcing others to convert. Christian groups said police sometimes aided crowds who disrupted worship services the crowds said were forcibly converting Hindus.”
“In its report covering events during the year, the nongovernmental organization (NGO) Indian American
Muslim Council (IAMC) said Christians were “increasingly targeted using these anticonversion laws,” as “allegations of forced conversion, no matter if false, have led many Christians to be attacked, arrested and detained by police.”