The Indian government has termed a US report detailing attacks on minorities in India as "ill-informed" and accused the United States government of practising "vote bank politics in international relations".
The US State Department on June 2 released a report titled "2021 Report on International Religious Freedom" which documented the status of minority communities in countries across the world including India.
The report stated that attacks on members of minority communities, including killings and intimidation, occurred throughout 2021 in India.
Speaking at a press conference releasing the report, US state secretary Anthony Blinken said, "In India, the world's largest democracy and home to a great diversity of faiths, we've seen rising attacks on people and places of worship."
Rashad Hussain, the Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom who headed the committee said that officials in India are "ignoring or even supporting rising attacks on people and places of worship."
"To elaborate further on the report's second theme, there are a number of ways that rising societal intolerance and hatred are fueling violence and conflict around the world. Governments must speak out and protect the vulnerable and marginalized. Anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim hatred, and xenophobia are on the rise in many countries. Democratic backsliding and the rise of nationalism and nativist rhetoric and policies have been used to justify violence towards members of ethnic or religious minority groups and historically marginalized peoples," Hussain added.
In response, India's Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi called Blinken and Hussain's statements "ill-informed".
"As a naturally pluralistic society, India values religious freedom and human rights. In our discussions with the US, we have regularly highlighted issues of concern there, including racially and ethnically motivated attacks, hate crimes and gun violence," Bagchi said.
In its report, the US mentioned instances of attacks on people from minority communities highlighting the killings of non-Hindus on the allegations of cow slaughter.
It also noted down instances of police arresting non-Hindus for making comments in the media or on social media that were considered offensive to Hindus or Hinduism.
It also highlighted that many faith-based NGOs in India have criticised the 2020 amendments passed to the Foreign Contributions Regulation Act (FCRA) which has reduced the amount of foreign funds NGOs can receive.