Communal strife undesirable

India must protect religious freedom

The characterisation by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) of India as a country of particular concern, in its annual report, is not entirely surprising, considering its dim and known views about sectarian violence and aggravating governmental measures over the last year. The US has used arguments of freedom, democracy, tolerance, and transparency as tools in its strategic pursuits, but there is no proof of any uniform or predictable pattern of enforcement of such moral attributes. The process can be selective and often arbitrary in spotlighting countries. Many of these reports have a circulatory life — the USCIRF report quotes UN Special Rapporteurs to buttress its point on the discriminatory outcome of the National Register of Citizens in Assam. Overall, such reports contribute to the construction of an image of a country, and the Indian government is cognisant of this pattern.

India advertises itself as a multi-religious democracy and as an adherent to global norms of rule of law. For a country with such stated ambitions, its record on religious freedom as reflected through events of the last one year is deeply disconcerting. Reputation is important for a country’s economic development and global standing but beyond that instrumental perspective, rule of law and communal harmony are essential for any functioning democracy.