WASHINGTON: In an uncommon critique of close ally India, the US expressed concern about the rise in anti-Muslim and anti-Jewish prejudice across the globe in a report on religious freedom released on Wednesday.
When he unveiled the yearly report, Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that, as a result of the Gaza war, the US was also experiencing a severe rise in Islamophobia and anti-Semitism.
Anti-conversion laws, hate speech, and the destruction of houses and places of worship for members of minority religion communities are all on the rise in India, according to Blinken. Rashad Hussain, the US ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, criticized the Indian police’s activities.
“Christian communities in India reported that local police either stood by while mobs attacked them and then arrested the victims on conversion charges, or assisted mobs that disrupted worship services over accusations of conversion activities,” he said.
As a counterweight to China, the United States has been pursuing closer connections with India for many years. President Joe Biden has shown support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a Hindu nationalist who was just elected to a third term.
Few people anticipate that the State Department will take action against India when it creates its yearly blacklist of nations that violate religious freedom later this year, despite the widespread outcry highlighted in the study.
Hate crimes against Muslims and Jews “have gone up dramatically” in the US, according to Blinken.
In addition, he singled out nationalist Viktor Orban’s Hungary, an EU member, claiming that “officials continue to use anti-Muslim rhetoric and anti-Semitic tropes and they penalize members of religious groups who criticize the government.”
