The annual report on human rights released by the United States mentions the ‘critical human rights issues’ in India.
The US State Department said the report released on Monday included incidents of targeting religious minorities, dissidents and journalists in India.
The report comes a year after US Secretary of State Anthony Blanken said that the US should monitor human rights abuses by some government officials, police and prison guards in India. has happened
It should be noted that the importance of India for America is quite high for close economic relations and competition with China in the region. Therefore, American criticism of India in general is less.
Major human rights issues in India include documented reports of extrajudicial killings by the government or its agents.
The report cites torture, inhuman or degrading treatment of civilians, punishment by police and prison authorities, political prisoners and arbitrary arrests of journalists, including detentions.
Human rights organizations have continued to express concern over the worsening human rights situation in recent years under Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Human Rights Watch has said the Indian government’s policies and actions target Muslims, while Modi’s critics say his Hindu nationalist ruling party has fueled religious hatred since coming to power in 2014.
Critics of the Modi government cite the 2019 citizenship law expelling Muslim migrants from neighboring countries, which the United Nations human rights office has described as ‘fundamentally discriminatory’.
It also refers to the anti-conversion legislation and the end of the special status of the Muslim-majority state of Kashmir in 2019.
On the other hand, the Indian government rejects these allegations. The government maintains that its policies are aimed at the development of all communities.
In 2022, the government also demolished illegal shops and properties in parts of India, many of which were owned by Muslims.
Critics say the demolition drive was an attempt to intimidate India’s 200 million Muslims, while the government maintained it was enforcing the law.
The US report released on Monday added, “Human rights activists have said the government is allegedly targeting critical voices of the Muslim community, using bulldozers to destroy their homes and businesses.” has been.’
Since Narendra Modi took office in 2014, India has fallen below 140th in the World Press Freedom Index. Last year it was ranked 150th which is the lowest ever.