WASHINGTON: The US Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has announced a hearing on religious freedom in India on September 20. India has previously rejected USCIRF reports of alleged violations of religious freedom in the country.
Coming on the heels of two successful bilateral meetings between PM Modi and President Biden -- the Official State Visit of the Indian leader here in June and a bilateral meeting in New Delhi in September -- USCIRF in its announcement of the meeting said the Congressional hearing is on how the US government can work with the Indian government to address violations.
Fernand de Varennes, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, has been invited to testify before the Commission along with Tariq Ahmed, Foreign Law Specialist, Law Library of Congress; Sarah Yager, Washington Director, Human Rights Watch; Sunita Viswanath, executive director, Hindus for Human Rights and Irfan Nooruddin, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani Professor of Indian Politics at Georgetown University.
On May 2, India had rejected as “biased” and “motivated” a report by the USCIRF that alleged “severe violations” of religious freedom in the country.