USCIRF calls India’s religious freedom ‘collapsing’

• USCIRF, a bipartisan U.S. federal government agency, reports on India’s “collapsing religious freedom conditions.”
• The report highlights worsening religious freedom conditions in 2024, especially before and after national elections.
• Changes in legal framework include strengthening discriminatory legislation, implementing the 2019 Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), and passing a State-level Uniform Civil Code (UCC) bill in Uttarakhand.
• The report also details the expropriation of places of worship and the construction of Hindu temples on mosque sites.
• Authorities are using state-level policies, particularly anticonversion laws, to target religious minorities.
• Anti-cow slaughter laws are frequently exploited by vigilante groups to target religious minorities.
• The report recommends the U.S. State Department designate India as a Country of Particular Concern for severe religious freedom violations.