‘Targeted killings, demolitions’: US report says Modi, BJP spread ‘hateful rhetoric, disinformation’ triggering attacks on minorities

Washington: The annual report of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) delivered a sharp critique of India’s religious freedom climate, asserting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other BJP leaders spread “hateful rhetoric and disinformation” targeting Muslims and other minorities in the run-up to the 2024 national elections.

“In 2024, religious freedom conditions in India continued to deteriorate as attacks and discrimination against religious minorities continued to rise. Prior to national elections in June, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, propagated hateful rhetoric and disinformation against Muslims and other religious minorities to gather political support. Such rhetoric fueled attacks on religious minorities that continued after the election, including vigilante violence, targeted and arbitrary killings, and demolition of property and places of worship,” says the report.

The findings, among the strongest yet issued by the panel, also accuse Indian authorities of exploiting stringent laws to target critics.

“Authorities continued to exploit anti-terrorism and financing laws, including the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) to crack down on civil society organisations and detain members of religious minorities, human rights defenders, and journalists reporting on religious freedom. The government also replaced its criminal code with new legislation, leaving religious minorities susceptible to targeting if it deemed them as ‘endangering the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India,’” the report says.

The panel noted that in March, the BJP government notified rules to implement the 2019 Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), triggering renewed concerns among Muslims.

“Several individuals remained in detention under the UAPA for peacefully protesting the CAA in 2019, including Umar Khalid, Meeran Haider, and Sharjeel Imam. In combination with the National Register of Citizens (NRC), requiring all residents to provide proof of citizenship, the CAA sparked fear among Muslim communities that the authorities may strip them of their citizenship—as in July, when Foreigners’ Tribunals in Assam declared 28 Muslims ‘non-citizens’ and sent them to deportation centers.”

The report also highlights widespread demolitions and alleged discrimination by state authorities.

“Throughout the year, various authorities, including the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), facilitated the expropriation and demolition of places of worship, including the construction of Hindu temples atop razed mosques. Notably, in January, Prime Minister Modi led the consecration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, which stands on the ruins of the Babri Masjid that a Hindu mob demolished in 1992. Following the consecration, attacks against religious minorities erupted across six states.”

Further, it says authorities “repeatedly violated Section 295 of India’s Penal Code, which criminalizes the destruction or damage of houses of worship, by bulldozing Muslim-owned property, including mosques deemed ‘illegal.’ Authorities wielded discriminatory state-level anti-conversion laws and cow slaughter laws to target religious minorities.”

The panel cites examples from Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and elsewhere, including detentions of Christians, life imprisonment rulings for alleged forced conversions, and the passage of a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill enabling greater scrutiny of interfaith couples.

The report also alleges that India expanded “repressive tactics” overseas, particularly against Sikh activists.

“Journalists, academics, and civil society organizations documenting India’s religious freedom violations reported denial of consular services, including the revocation of Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cards as well as threats of violence and surveillance. International reporting and intelligence from the Canadian government corroborated allegations linking an official in India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and six diplomats to the 2023 assassination attempt of an American Sikh activist in New York.”

Meanwhile, India has repeatedly and "regrettably" stated over the years that USCIRF continues to "misrepresent facts" time and again in its statements and reports "in pursuance of its motivated agenda".

From the Covid-19 and Delhi riots to the Citizenship Amendment Bill and religious freedom, the MEA has trashed various USCIRF reports and observations.

Last year, while responding to media queries regarding the 'Country Update' on India in the USCIRF report, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had made it clear that New Delhi's views on the agency are well known.

"It is a biased organisation with a political agenda. It continues to misrepresent facts and peddles a motivated narrative about India We reject this malicious report, which only serves to discredit USCIRF further," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had stated then.

"We would urge USCIRF to desist from such agenda driven efforts. The USCIRF would also be well advised to utilise its time more productively on addressing human rights issues in the United States," he had added.