By Yashwant Raj

Washington, May 16 (IANS) The US State Department on Monday noted "targeted attacks" on minorities, "home demolitions" and hate speeches against Muslims in India among threats facing religious freedom around the world.

The State Department outlined in great detail "numerous reports during the year of violence by law enforcement authorities against members of religious minorities in multiple states" in India in its 2022 annual report on the state of freedom of religion around the world.

The report was released by Secretary of State Antony Blinken who noted both progress and "continuation, and in some instances, the rise of very troubling trends".

Previewing the report earlier, a senior State Department official told reporters that regarding India the document outlined "continued targeted attacks against religious communities, including Christians, Muslims, Sikhs, Hindu Dalits, and indigenous communities; dehumanizing rhetoric, including open calls for genocide against Muslims; lynching and other hate-fueled violence, attacks on houses of worship and home demolitions, and in some cases impunity and even clemency for those who've engaged in attacks on religious minorities - we're also continuing to see, at the state level, some restrictions on religious attire".

Rashad Hussain, the Ambassador at Large at the State Department for International Religious Freedom, cited the Hardwar speeches of December 2021 as particularly problematic.

"In India, legal advocates and faith leaders from across the country's diverse religious communities condemned a case of extreme hate speech against Muslims in the city of Hardwar, calling for the country to uphold its historical traditions of pluralism and tolerance," he said at the release of the report.

He was referring to a three-day meeting called the Dharma Sansad in December 2021, where speakers called for people to take up arms against Muslims.

A case was registered by the Uttarakhand police against the organiser. The other countries mentioned by Hussain were Russia, China, Afghanistan, and Saudi Arabia.

The State Department's annual report has been critical of the state of religious freedom in India before, and, based on local news reports and accounts from civil society, it has listed instances and cases over the years.

India has rejected these unsolicited observations and remarks before and in recent years questioned America's right to stand in judgment on other countries.

The US Commission on International Freedom have been far more critical of India and has recommended to the State Department to designate India as a "country of particular concerns" four times. But the State Department has not taken up its suggestion yet. These designations are to be announced later in the year.