US panel demands India on religious freedom blacklist

WASHINGTON – United States (US) Commission on International Religious Freedom has demanded that India should be put on a religious freedom blacklist over drastic downturn under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.    

In its annual report, the commission said that Modi's Hindu nationalist government, allowed violence against minorities and their houses of worship with impunity.

It also pointed to comments by Indian Home Minister Amit Shah, who notoriously referred to mostly Muslim migrants as termites, and to a citizenship law that has triggered nationwide protests.     

The bipartisan panel also highlighted the revocation of the autonomy of occupied Kashmir, and reports that Delhi police turned a blind eye to mobs who attacked Muslim neighborhoods in February this year.

The report also criticized Indian Supreme Court's decision on Babri Mosque, the Radio Pakistan reported.

It also called on the US to impose punitive measures, including visa bans, on Indian officials believed responsible and grant funding to civil society groups that monitor hate speech.