NEW DELHI: The Indian government has dismissed a United States survey highlighting violence against religious minorities in the country as based on “flawed understanding”.
The State Department’s latest report on international religious freedom covers numerous instances of abuse against Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and other minority communities in India.
“Attacks on members of religious minority communities, including killings, assaults, and intimidation, occurred in various states throughout the year,” it noted.
Cow vigilantism, in which extremist Hindu groups often target people involved in transporting cattle, mob lynching, attacks on mosques and churches, punitive demolitions of Muslim homes by the authorities, jailing of activists, and discriminatory policies are among the problems discussed in the report.
“Regrettably, such reports continue to be based on misinformation and flawed understanding. Motivated and biased commentary by some US officials only serves to undermine further the credibility of these reports,” a spokesperson for the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement on Tuesday. – BERNAMA
