Washington:

Observing that the USCIRF’s recent annual report that criticised India for alleged violations of religious freedom is based on omission and commission of facts utilising partial data, an Indian expatriates’ think-tank has urged the US State Department to reject it.

In its annual report on Wednesday, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recommended that India be designated as a “Country of Particular Concern (CPC)”, alleging that the status of religious freedom in the country has worsened.

India on Thursday blasted the Congressional-appointed body’s report for attempting to “interfere” in its electoral exercise and continuing to indulge in “propaganda” against the country, “masquerading” as part of an annual report.

“The US Commission on International Religious Freedom is known as a biased organisation with a political agenda. They continue to publish their propaganda on India masquerading as part of an annual report,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in New Delhi.

In a statement on Thursday, the Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies (FIIDS) characterised the USCIRF report as biased, presenting partial data and flawed conclusions.

Khanderao Kand, Chief of Policy and Strategy at FIIDS, stated that the USCIRF report is based on “omission and commission of facts, utilising partial data, hiding the full context, generalising isolated incidents, and questioning the implementation of the law of the land.”

“This report used partial and isolated incidents to wrongly brand the largest democracy in the world with a population of 1.4 billion, missing the opportunity to indicate positive recent trends against the background of a complex and violent past history,” he said.

Khanderao added that the USCIRF is wrong to recommend the largest democracy and largely peaceful civilisation as a country of particular concern.

“Moreover, it is highly questionable recommendation asking to evaluate India under FATF (Financial Action Task Force), especially when India itself has been a target of terrorism,” he said.

In a detailed analysis of the report, FIIDS said that USCIRF’s position on India contrasts with its analysis of 2023, indicating significant year-over-year improvement.

FIIDS’ analysis concluded that the Manipur riots were inter-tribal, resulting from historical rivalry exploited by drug mafias and Myanmar infiltrators, impacting all religions.

“However, the USCIRF only singled out Christians. Moreover, we contrasted this with the position of the Archbishop of Bombay,” said FIIDS’s analyst Mohan Sonti.

“The report wrongly held India responsible for implementing the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), preventing illegal and improper use of foreign funding. Why can’t NGOs follow reporting and usage laws?” he asked.

The USCIRF report failed to mention India’s constitutional guarantee to freedom of religion, with prohibitions on coercive, fraudulent and forced conversion, he said.

“Instead, it complained about the enforcement of laws trying to protect gullible, underprivileged people,” he added.

“As there were no major Hindu-Muslim riots in India in 2023, instead of mentioning it as a year free of such riots, the report presented isolated incidents to generalise and brand without acknowledging India’s large Muslim population,” FIIDS said.

“FIIDS’ raises doubts and questions regarding any influence or agenda against the third-largest economy and a strong ally of the US. Considering the consequential nature of US-India relations in 2021, FIIDS recommends that the US Department of State should carefully evaluate and reject USCIRF recommendations,” the organisation said in a statement.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

Observing that the USCIRF’s recent annual report that criticised India for alleged violations of religious freedom is based on omission and commission of facts utilising partial data, an Indian expatriates’ think-tank has urged the US State Department to reject it.

In its annual report on Wednesday, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recommended that India be designated as a “Country of Particular Concern (CPC)”, alleging that the status of religious freedom in the country has worsened.

India on Thursday blasted the Congressional-appointed body’s report for attempting to “interfere” in its electoral exercise and continuing to indulge in “propaganda” against the country, “masquerading” as part of an annual report.

“The US Commission on International Religious Freedom is known as a biased organisation with a political agenda. They continue to publish their propaganda on India masquerading as part of an annual report,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in New Delhi.

In a statement on Thursday, the Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies (FIIDS) characterised the USCIRF report as biased, presenting partial data and flawed conclusions.

Khanderao Kand, Chief of Policy and Strategy at FIIDS, stated that the USCIRF report is based on “omission and commission of facts, utilising partial data, hiding the full context, generalising isolated incidents, and questioning the implementation of the law of the land.”

“This report used partial and isolated incidents to wrongly brand the largest democracy in the world with a population of 1.4 billion, missing the opportunity to indicate positive recent trends against the background of a complex and violent past history,” he said.

Khanderao added that the USCIRF is wrong to recommend the largest democracy and largely peaceful civilisation as a country of particular concern.

“Moreover, it is highly questionable recommendation asking to evaluate India under FATF (Financial Action Task Force), especially when India itself has been a target of terrorism,” he said.

In a detailed analysis of the report, FIIDS said that USCIRF’s position on India contrasts with its analysis of 2023, indicating significant year-over-year improvement.

FIIDS’ analysis concluded that the Manipur riots were inter-tribal, resulting from historical rivalry exploited by drug mafias and Myanmar infiltrators, impacting all religions.

“However, the USCIRF only singled out Christians. Moreover, we contrasted this with the position of the Archbishop of Bombay,” said FIIDS’s analyst Mohan Sonti.

“The report wrongly held India responsible for implementing the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), preventing illegal and improper use of foreign funding. Why can’t NGOs follow reporting and usage laws?” he asked.

The USCIRF report failed to mention India’s constitutional guarantee to freedom of religion, with prohibitions on coercive, fraudulent and forced conversion, he said.

“Instead, it complained about the enforcement of laws trying to protect gullible, underprivileged people,” he added.

“As there were no major Hindu-Muslim riots in India in 2023, instead of mentioning it as a year free of such riots, the report presented isolated incidents to generalise and brand without acknowledging India’s large Muslim population,” FIIDS said.

“FIIDS’ raises doubts and questions regarding any influence or agenda against the third-largest economy and a strong ally of the US. Considering the consequential nature of US-India relations in 2021, FIIDS recommends that the US Department of State should carefully evaluate and reject USCIRF recommendations,” the organisation said in a statement.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

As many as 65,960 Indians officially became US citizens, making India the second-largest source country for new citizens in America after Mexico, according to a latest Congressional report.

An estimated 46 million foreign-born persons resided in the United States in 2022, approximately 14 per cent of the total US population of 333 million, according to American Community Survey data from the US Census Bureau.

Of these, 24.5 million, about 53 per cent, reported their status as naturalised citizens.

In its latest “US Naturalisation Policy” report of April 15, the independent Congressional Research Service in the fiscal year 2022, 969,380 individuals became naturalised US citizens.

“Individuals born in Mexico represented the largest number of naturalisations, followed by persons from India, Philippines, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic,” it said.

Based on the latest available data, CRS said in 2022, as many as 128,878, Mexican nationals became American citizens. They were followed by Indians (65,960), the Philippines (53,413), Cuba (46,913), Dominican Republic (34,525), Vietnam (33,246) and China (27.038).

According to CRS as of 2023, 2,831,330 foreign born American nationals were from India, which is the second largest number after Mexico’s 10,638,429. Mexico and India are followed by China with 2,225,447 foreign-born American nationals.

However, as many as 42 per cent of the India-born foreign nationals living in the US are currently ineligible to become US citizens, CRS report said.

As of 2023, as many as 290,000 India-born foreign nationals who were on Green Card or Legal Permanent Residency (LPR) were potentially eligible for naturalisation.

CRS said in recent years, some observers have expressed concern over USCIS processing backlogs for naturalisation applications.

Although there continues to be a backlog of naturalisation applications, since FY2020 the agency has reduced the number of applications pending completion by more than half.

As of the end of FY2023, USCIS had approximately 408,000 pending naturalisation applications, down from 550,000 at the end of FY2022; 840,000 at the end of FY2021; and 943,000 at the end of FY2020.

In FY2023, 823,702 LPRs submitted naturalisation applications. The number of individuals who have recently applied for citizenship remains well below the estimated population of 9 million LPRs who were eligible to naturalise in 2023. The percentage of foreign-born individuals who are naturalized varies by several factors, including country of origin.

Immigrants from Honduras, Guatemala, Venezuela, Mexico, El Salvador, and Brazil have the lowest percentages of naturalized foreign born, while those from Vietnam, the Philippines, Russia, Jamaica, and Pakistan have the highest.

To be eligible for naturalisation, an applicant must fulfill certain eligibility requirements set forth in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The requirements generally include being a lawful permanent resident (LPR) for at least five years. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Image for representation only
| Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

A 24-year-old Indian student has been stabbed in the U.S. state of Indiana and is said to be in a critical condition, according to a media report.

Varun was stabbed with a knife into the temple by the assailant Jordan Andrad, 24, at a public gym in the Valparaiso city of Indiana on Sunday morning for reasons that the authorities are still investigating, reported NWIU Times.

Following the incident, the attacker was arrested and is facing charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and attempted murder.

“Varun was attacked with a knife by his attacker. He was ultimately taken to a Fort Wayne hospital due to the severity of his injury and was reportedly given a zero to five per cent chance of survival. Varun’s condition is said to be serious after the violent attack,” the report said.

The attacker Andrade told the police that he had requested a massage that morning and walked into the massage room to find the other man, whom he did not know but found “a little weird.”

Determining the other man posed a threat, Andrade said he made sure to react the “right way,” according to a charging document.

“Andrade then described (the man) as a threat to him so he, ‘just reacted,'” police said.

New York:

A Hindu temple in the US State of California has been raided by burglars who stole a donation box from the premises, leaving the Indian community in a state of shock.

The incident took place on Monday at the Hari Om Radha Krishna Mandir in the Parkway neighbourhood, at about 2:15 am, the Sacramento Bee newspaper reported.

The Sacramento Police Department is investigating the burglary at the Hindu Temple.

Police did not disclose what was stolen, but dispatch audio indicated a donation collection box was taken.

Dispatchers told people that six suspects were seen on the grounds through surveillance video, including two who were inside the temple, when police were called, the report added.

Police said no arrests have been made, but the incident remains under investigation.

Meanwhile, condemning the incident, the US-based advocacy organisation Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA) has asked the Sacramento Police to take this issue very seriously and investigate it as a potential hate crime.

“Disturbing news from Sacramento, California where a #HinduTemple has been broken into. We ask @SacPolice to take this issue very seriously and investigate it as a potential hate crime and the violation of a sacred space. Police are asking for public help in identifying the suspects,” they posted on X.

Guru Maharaj and his wife were at home when they received an alert.

“The first thing I saw was the curtains blowing and I said, ‘Oh, my God. Somebody is in the building,’ ” Maharaj’s wife was quoted as saying by the CBS news.

As footage from the temple showed, someone tried to break through three doors and a car.

“They went right through to the donation box in darkness,” Maharaj said.

The footage shows the thieves lifting the box up and carrying it out behind the building. They hoisted the box, which reportedly weighed close to 100 pounds, over the fence then shoved it in a getaway car and took off.

“It’s a very big hit to our community and we’re here to help people out,” Maharaj said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

The US government has assured India of a quick and fair investigation into the death of Andhra Pradesh student Jaahnavi Kandula in an accident in Seattle, reports news agency PTI. The Indian student was killed after being hit by a speeding police car in January.

A video released by Seattle Police Department showing a cop laughing while talking about the accident has sparked outrage. The US government swung into action after Indian consulate raised the issue and sought action against those responsible for Jaahnavi Kandula’s death and also those heard joking on the video.

.. for a thorough investigation & action against those involved in this tragic case.
The Consulate & Embassy will continue to closely follow up on this matter with all concerned authorities.@IndianEmbassyUS@MEAIndia

— India in SF (@CGISFO) September 13, 2023

In the video, Officer Daniel Auderer can be heard laughing about the deadly crash and also says that there was no need for a criminal investigation against his colleague Kevin Dave, who was driving the car.

US lawmakers and Indian-Americans have expressed outrage over the death of Kandula and the video.

“Jaahnavi Kandula came here for graduate work from India. She was killed on a crosswalk by a speeding police car, and officer Auderer said her life had ‘limited value.’ I thought of my dad who came here in his 20s. Mr. Auderer, the life of every Indian immigrant has infinite value,” Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna said.

“Anyone who thinks that a human life has “limited value” should not be serving in law enforcement,” Khanna said.

Indian-American Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal said: “This is appalling. I hope to see justice for Jaahnavi Kandula’s family and accountability for those involved.”

In a letter to the Kandula family, Seattle City Mayor Bruce Harrell said that the comments made by one person do not reflect the feelings of the city or the communities that call it home.

“We recognise that Jaahnavi’s death is a loss for our whole community – the loss of a young woman who had so much life ahead of her to do amazing things and share that joy with loved ones,” Harrell said in his communication to the Kandula family.

Senior administration officials are believed to have assured India’s Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, that the entire incident has been taken very seriously by them.

They are monitoring its investigation from Washington DC the progress of the case to ensure that there is adequate accountability.

(With PTI inputs)