WASHINGTON, Dec 15 (Reuters) – The U.S. religious freedom watchdog on Friday again called on the Biden administration to designate India as a “country of particular concern” under the U.S. Religious Freedom Act, citing its alleged targeting of religious minorities overseas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent federal government commission, said “recent efforts by the Indian government to silence activists, journalists, and lawyers abroad pose a serious threat to religious freedom.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“USCIRF implores the U.S. Department of State to designate India a Country of Particular Concern due to India\u2019s systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of freedom of religion or belief,” it said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
USCIRF Commissioner Stephen Schneck called the Indian government’s alleged involvement in the killing of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada and a plot to kill another Sikh activist, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, in the United States “deeply troubling.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Indian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Indian government routinely denies any discrimination in the Hindu-majority country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan said this month that an Indian national had worked with an unnamed Indian government employee on the plot to assassinate a New York City resident<\/u><\/a> who advocated for a sovereign Sikh state in northern India. India’s government has denied involvement<\/u><\/a> in the plot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The issue is highly delicate for both India and the Biden administration as they try to build closer ties in the face of an ascendant China perceived as a threat for both democracies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n USCIRF said it had recommended each year since 2020 that the State Department label India a country of particular concern, a designation under the 1998 U.S. Religious Freedom Act. The act allows a range of policy responses, including sanctions or waivers, but they are not automatic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n USCIRF Commissioner David Curry said India’s extension of domestic repression to target religious minorities from India living abroad “is especially dangerous and cannot be ignored.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n India’s foreign ministry dismissed the recommendation when it was first issued in 2020, criticizing “biased and tendentious comments.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n