Prayagraj:

The Allahabad High Court has observed that the purpose of the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021 is to guarantee religious freedom to all persons and sustain the spirit of secularism in India.

In an order passed on Friday, while rejecting the bail of one Ajeem, Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal said that though the Constitution guarantees each person the right to profess, practise, and propagate their religion, this individual right does not translate into a collective right to proselytise, as religious freedom equally belongs to both the person converting and the individual being converted.

Ajeem was booked under sections 323/504/506 of the IPC and section 3/5(1) UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021 in Badaun district after being accused of forcing a woman to accept Islam and sexually exploiting her.

He applied for bail before the high court claiming that he was falsely implicated in the case, asserting that the woman was in a relationship with him and had left her home on her own.

He also claimed that she had earlier confirmed their marriage in statements recorded under sections 161 and 164 criminal procedure code (CrPC) in a related case.

The state counsel opposed Ajeem’s bail citing the woman’s statement, according to which, she was forced to convert to Islam.

The court held that the complainant was forced to convert by the man and his family and was also forced to witness an animal sacrifice on Bakrid and cook and eat meat.

The court noted that she was held captive by the man and was forced by his family members to perform certain Islamic rituals, which was unacceptable to her.

The court also observed that Ajeem could not bring on record any material that demonstrates that an application was moved under Section 8 of the 2021 Act, required to convert the woman to Islam before the marriage/nikah took place.

Section 8 of the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021 deals with the requirement of a declaration before conversion of religion.

Making these observations, the court in its order dated August 9 rejected the bail of the applicant, while also noting that there is a prima facie contravention of sections 3 and 8 of the Act.

Section 3 of the Act prohibits conversion from one religion to another religion by misrepresentation, force, fraud, undue influence, coercion or allurement.

(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:

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:

A US Senator has introduced a resolution in the Senate, urging the Biden administration to engage with India to “reverse” its policies that allegedly discriminate on the basis of religion and push for an end to violence against peaceful protesters in the country.

“Religious freedom is a fundamental human right, and when any country infringes on it, the United States must stand up and speak out,” Senator Tammy Baldwin said in a statement after introducing the resolution this week.

“I am calling on the United States to continue pushing the government of India to reverse course on the systematic religious and political persecution that is endangering and disenfranchising innocent civilians,” he said.

India has previously trashed “motivated” and “biased” reports by the US State Department on religious freedom that criticised the country for alleged attacks on minorities.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in May this year such reports continue to be based on “misinformation and flawed understanding”.

The resolution urges the government to engage with the Indian government to end the persecution of, and violence against, religious minorities and human rights defenders in India, and work to reverse government policies that discriminate against Muslims and Christians on the basis of faith.

It also calls for an end to the demolition of homes, businesses, and places of worship belonging to Muslims and Christians.

Welcoming the resolution, Rasheed Ahmed, Executive Director of the Indian American Muslim Council, said rising social conflict and democratic backslide in India will weaken and not strengthen India’s relevance as a global bulwark against anti-democratic forces.

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