Freedom of religion improves in India after BJP government is defeated at polls.
Mumbai (AsiaNews) US State Department acknowledged that following the defeat of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government India has returned to a more secular path.
Whilst the 2004 International Religious Freedom Report, released on September 15, in Washington, DC, stated that India is among the country where religious minorities suffer from discrimination and persecution, it also praised it for its democracy, laws and legal system, which aim to punish religious persecution. The decision to start a new investigation into the Gujarat massacre during which about 2,000 Muslims were killed is a case in point.
John Hanford, the US State Department's Ambassador-At-Large for International Religious Freedom, stated that "BJP government officials pursued a vision of the country that was tied to Hindu fundamentalism and encouraged religious intolerance." By contrast, "the new government led by United Progressive Alliance (UPA) seems to be pursuing a different path . . . one that we fully approve," Ambassador Hanford added.
India, the world's largest democracy, allowed two members of minority communities to occupy the highest positions in the land: Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister, is Sikh; A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the President, is Mulsim.
Indian observers have however called the report a "political move" arguing that the US does not know the real situation in the country. Religious persecution by fundamentalists does not occur only in states run by BJP administrations; they also occur on a regular basis in states led by the UPA as well.
Furthermore, "the US cannot point a finger at any country for abusing minority rights", said Fr Tony Charanghat, editor of The Examiner, the official newsweekly of the Archdiocese of Mumbai. "Why doesn't the report deal with religious freedom in the US," he asks. According to Father Charanghat the report's findings are related "to the US need of having the Indian government on board in the war on terror and Bush's keen interest in getting the Indo-American vote in the forthcoming presidential elections."
The 2004 report has harsh words for other Asian and Middle Eastern countries. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are listed for the first time as "countries of particular concern", an expression used to single out states whose violations of religious freedom could lead Washington to impose sanctions.
The report also accuses Russia, Malaysia and Israel of discriminatory practices against some religions.