Rejecting the U.S. government’s latest report on International Religious Freedom, which includes a chapter on India, the Ministry of External Affairs said it was based on “misinformation” and statements by officials were “motivated”. However the Ministry also said that India “values” its partnership with the United States and would continue to have “frank exchanges” on the issues involved. The report was released on Monday, and comes just a month before U.S. President Joseph Biden will welcome Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a rare State Visit in Washington on June 22.
“We are aware of the release of the U.S. State Department 2022 Report on International Religious Freedom,” said MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi in a statement released on Tuesday. “Regrettably, such reports continue to be based on misinformation and flawed understanding,” he added, in a reference to previous reports by the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom that criticised India.
The U.S. report on religious freedom had itemised a number of cases of alleged violence against Christians, Muslims and Dalits in India, and criticised Indian anti-conversion laws. It made a reference to Hindus in Kashmir who complained that they were not being allowed to leave the valley by the government despite being targeted by radical Islamist terrorists.
