USCIRF's Value Judgments on Religious Freedom Have No Respect for India's Unity, Territorial Integrity: Indian Minorities Foundation

Indian Minorities Foundation, a non-government organisation, has slammed the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)’s latest report on minorities in the country.

The USCIRF has again called upon the Joe Biden administration to designate India a Country of Particular Concern, or CPC. The organisation said that it is “alarmed by India’s increased transnational targeting of religious minorities and those advocating on their behalf”.

In a post on social media site X, the Indian Minorities Foundation condemned the USCIRF’S efforts “to label India alongside authoritarian regimes like Afghanistan, Cuba, North Korea, Russia, and China”.

“Flawed comparisons with non-democracies highlights the USCIRF’s failure to understand the nuanced reality of India’s religious freedom landscape and discredits genuine concerns about human rights violation globally,” it said.

It said that the USCIRF’s value judgments on religious freedom have no respect for India’s unity and territorial integrity. It also pointed out that since 2020, the USCIRF has consistently attempted to designated India Country of Particular Concern, or CPC, but the US State Department has refused to endorse this designation.

Indian Minorities Foundation, founded by Satnam Singh Sandhu, Chancellor of Chandigarh University, says it is committed to promoting patriotism and national pride among minority groups and support to empower individuals and communities. The group asserts that it is working to promote a sense of belonging and inclusion and its main objective is to foster a sense of national pride among minority groups by highlighting their shared history, culture, and contributions to the nation, and by encouraging active participation in civic life.