New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has strongly refuted the US State Department's 2023 report on international religious freedom, labeling it as "deeply biased" and lacking a genuine understanding of India's social dynamics. The report highlighted a "concerning increase" in hate speech, anti-conversion laws, and the demolition of homes and places of worship for minority groups in India.

Responding to the report, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated, "We have noted the release by the US State Department of its report on international religious freedom for 2023. As in the past, the report is deeply biased, lacks an understanding of India's social fabric, and is visibly driven by votebank considerations and a prescriptive outlook. We therefore reject it." The MEA criticized the report as a "mix of imputations, misrepresentations, selective usage of facts, reliance on biased sources, and a one-sided projection of issues."

The MEA further argued that the report misrepresents India's constitutional provisions and laws, selectively highlights incidents to promote a preconceived narrative, and questions the legitimacy of India's legal and legislative processes. "The report has also targeted regulations that monitor the misuse of financial flows into India, suggesting that the burden of compliance is unreasonable," Jaiswal noted, adding that the US has stricter laws and regulations and would not prescribe such solutions for itself.

Jaiswal also emphasized that human rights and respect for diversity are legitimate subjects of discussion between India and the United States. He highlighted India's ongoing efforts to address issues of hate crimes, racial attacks on Indian nationals and other minorities in the US, as well as vandalism and targeting of places of worship. However, he warned against using such dialogue as a pretext for foreign interference in internal affairs.

"In 2023, India has officially taken up numerous cases in the US of hate crimes, racial attacks on Indian nationals and other minorities, vandalization and targeting of places of worship, violence and mistreatment by law enforcement authorities, as well as according political space to advocates of extremism and terrorism abroad," Jaiswal said. "However, such dialogue should not become a license for foreign interference in other polities," the MEA spokesperson concluded.

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