MINORITIES IN INDIA FEEL VULNERABLE, SAYS US GOVT’S RELIGIOUS FREEDOM REPORT

WASHINGTON: The US state department said in an annual religious freedom report released on Tuesday that authorities in India “often did not prosecute violence by vigilantes against persons, mostly Muslims”, trading in or consuming beef.

“Members of civil society and religious minorities stated that under the current government, religious minority communities felt increasingly vulnerable due to Hindu nationalist groups engaging in violence against non-Hindu individuals and their places of worship,” the annual report on the state of religious freedom around the world said.

The report, which excludes the US, said that “while the national government sometimes spoke out against incidents of violence, local political leaders often did not”, citing minority community representatives.

The state department publishes reports every year about the US view of the state of civil rights and religious freedom around the world, as mandated by Congress. However, these reports have also raised questions and faced criticism at home for ignoring similar challenges in the US, specially under President Donald Trump — his administration has been under fire for the discriminatory travel ban on people from some Muslim-majority countries.

Secretary of state Mike Pompeo, releasing the report, said the US plans to call a ministerial meeting on religious freedom on July 25 and 26 with government and religious leaders, rights advocates, and civil society from around the world.