Amidst the ongoing freedom of religion violations around the world, Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State has called out India for “rising” attacks on people at places of worship.
Delivering remarks at the release of the State Department’s 2021 annual report on the state of freedom of religion around the world, Blinken said, “In India, the world’s largest democracy, and home to a great diversity of faiths, we’ve seen rising attacks on people in places of worship.”
Although he did not specify them, the 2000-page report pointed out these attacks were carried out at the place of worship of the minorities– Christians and Muslims.
US State Department’s Ambassador-at-Large for international religious freedom Rashad Hussain also called out India on the violation of religious freedom. He said that some Indian officials were ignoring or even supporting these attacks.
“In India, some officials are ignoring or even supporting rising attacks on people and places of worship,” he said.
In February this year, Hussain’s tweet on the hijab ban in Karnataka earned the ire of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs for saying that the hijab ban in schools violated religious freedom and stigmatise and marginalise women and girls.
“The Indian state of Karnataka should not determine the permissibility of religious clothing. Hijab bans in schools violate religious freedom and stigmatize and marginalize women and girls,” he tweeted.
India has always bristled at such foreign remarks and criticism of its record and has also denounced the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, an American watchdog on global religious rights, which has repeatedly recommended that the State Department put India on a blacklist.
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Rabia Shireen is a Staff Reporter at The Cognate.
