Violence against religious minorities in India alarming: U.S. report

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, JUNE 19. In a development that will be of interest to India and the ruling BJP, the Chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, Mr. Elliott Abrams, is moving to the White House. Mr. Abrams will be a Senior Director in the National Security Council dealing with such issues as democracy, human rights and international organisations.

Mr. Abrams is a staunch and influential Republican with strong conservative credentials; has been a member of the Reagan administration and was the former Assistant Secretary of State. As the Chairman of the Commission on International Religious Freedom - established by Congress in 1998 - Mr. Abrams presided over findings that were not just critical of religious freedom and functioning in totalitarian regimes but in democracies like India as well. ``...the increase of violence against persons and institutions based entirely on religious affiliation is an alarming development in India,'' the Commission maintained.

``The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has directed its attention to India in the light of the disturbing increase in the past several years in severe violence against religious minorities in that country. The violence is especially troubling because it has coincided with the increase in political influence at the national, and in some places, the State level of the Sangh Parivar, a collection of exclusive Hindu nationalist groups of which the current ruling party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, is a part,'' the Report of May 2001 said.

One of the core aspects of the 2001 Report as it pertained to India was that while there was the acknowledgement of the country's religious diversity, there was also the call on the Bush administration to pressure the powers that be in India to come to terms with violence against members of religious minorities. Specifically, the Commission took note of the fact that the violence against the Christian Community has increased dramatically in India since January 1998.

``The U.S. Government should make clear its concern to the BJP- led Government that virulent nationalist rhetoric is fueling an atmosphere in which perpetrators believe they can attack religious minorities with impunity,'' the Commission said.

Aside from saying that Washington should press India to allow official visits from government agencies dealing with human rights including religious freedom, the Commission called on the U.S. Government to allocate funds from its foreign assistance programmes for the promotion of education on religious toleration and inclusiveness in India.

The Commission led by Mr.Abrams also pointedly made reference in its Report to the fact that every effort was made to travel to India to examine the situation first hand, but that permission was not granted.

``After meeting with India's Ambassador to the U.S. in December, the Commission was assured that enquiries would be made to New Delhi, but nothing more has been heard in official channels,'' the Report said.

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Section  : International
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