'Motivated and biased': India slams US State Department report on religious freedom

The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson in a statement also said that “Motivated and biased commentary by some US officials” only serves to undermine the credibility of these reports”.

The release of the report on Monday comes days after the White House invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for an official state visit including a state dinner, on June 22.

The report also comes as PM Modi is set to meet US President Joe Biden during the G7 summit in Hiroshima and during the Quad Summit in Sydney this month.

MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that India values its partnership with the US and will “continue to have frank exchanges on issues of concern to us”.

The MEA statement read: "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."

“Motivated and biased commentary by some U.S. officials only serves to undermine further the credibility of these reports. We value our partnership with the U.S. and will continue to have frank exchanges on issues of concern to us,” it said.

A senior State Department Official, speaking on the report’s release in Washington, said: “What we outline in today’s report is a targeted – continued targeted attacks against religious communities, including Christians, Muslims, Sikhs, Hindu Dalits, and indigenous communities; dehumanizing rhetoric, including open calls for genocide against Muslims; lynching and other hate-fuelled violence, attacks on houses of worship and home demolitions, and in some cases impunity and even clemency for those who’ve engaged in attacks on religious minorities – we’re also continuing to see, at the state level, some restrictions on religious attire.”

“We’ll continue to speak directly with our colleagues and counterparts in India regarding these concerns. We’re continuing to encourage the government to condemn violence and hold accountable and protect all groups who engage in rhetoric that’s dehumanizing towards religious minorities and all groups who engage in violence against religious communities and other communities in India.”

“The U.S. Holocaust Museum continues to draw considerable attention to the human rights situation in India and lists it as one of its top countries of concern and with – with regards to potential for mass killings there. So we’ll continue to work very closely with our civil society colleagues on the ground, with courageous journalists that are working every day to document some of these abuses, and we’ll continue speaking directly with our counterparts in India to address these issues.”

The US State Department report comes days after the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) in its 2023 report designated India as a “Country of Particular Concern” along with Afghanistan, Nigeria, Syria and Vietnam.

India had on May 2 slammed the USCIRF report, for continuing to “regurgitate biased and motivated comments about India” and rejected the “misrepresentation of facts”.