Report most foul

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Report most foul

Wednesday, 26 June 2019 | Pioneer

Report most foul

The US State Department report on religious intolerance in India is nothing but the pot calling the kettle black

Both India and the United States (US) are among the world’s greatest democracies with attendant challenges of accommodating all kinds of human freedoms, socio-cultural, economic and religious. So it is but expected that the US would at least have the maturity to understand the problems arising from a melting pot of different people rather than censure us for being “intolerant.” Which is why the Report on International Religious Freedom 2018, available on the website of the US State Department, alleging that the “authorities often failed to prosecute perpetrators of ‘cow vigilante’ attacks, which included killings, mob violence, and intimidation,” is irresponsible, biased, ugly, acerbic and nothing short of a lobbyist rant. Worse, it has lumped our scenario with the same dismissive air as it has passed judgement on Croatia. But perhaps the US would have done well to subject its own record of religious intolerance and hate crimes to the perception of others. For if that is indeed the case, this report would seem nothing short of the pot calling the kettle black.

According to a recent analysis by the Pew Research Center, most American adults (82 per cent) say Muslims are subject to at least some discrimination in the US. A majority (56 per cent) feels Muslims are discriminated against a lot. Among US Muslims themselves, many say they have experienced “specific instances of discrimination, including being treated with suspicion, singled out by airport security or called offensive names,” according to a 2017 survey of Muslim Americans. The FBI statistics of 2017 also show hate crimes against Muslims rising by more than 60 per cent. And we are not even talking of racist attacks, which have affected Indians, particularly Sikhs, who continue to be looked upon as some threatening species post 9/11. There has been an increase in anti-Semitic crimes like the desecration of 170 graves in a Jewish Cemetery in Missouri and threats to Jewish culture groups and journalists. This despite the Jews controlling a sizeable economic pie. Clearly, there has been no revision of mindsets despite changed realities. The Southern Poverty Law Center “counted 1,094 bias-related incidents in the month following Trump’s November election victory, including 33 against Jews, 108 involving swastikas and 47 White nationalist fliers.” Considering all these figures are coming out of the US itself, it is a comment on how Americans view other people who are not like them. And in the process deduce that others are capable of behaviour that they themselves are guilty of. India has a civilisational history embedded in plurality and has been welcoming of the world over millennia. This was even before statute books included the world called “secularism.” So castigating a people based on specific incidents and localised contexts, which may not be representative of a whole nation, is quite uncalled for.  Of course, the politics behind the circulation of such a report is unmistakable. Perhaps it was a tad mis-timed, considering that the Government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has won the confidence of the people a second time, romping home with a massive majority in the Lok Sabha. Admitted, his first tenure had some embarrassing moments and cases, which were played up to suit an easy narrative. But that’s the reason why he has made earning every community’s trust, “sabka vishwas,” his key plank and hopes to be an internationalist. Besides, the US must understand that our constitutional and institutional integrity and independence are bigger than any individual or brand of politics. And there are several cases where the top courts have protected religious freedoms even in the face of majoritarian pressure. The next time the US does a report, it would do well to do a comprehensive research than do activist-style cherry picking. And it must remember that bilateral relations flourish best with shared concerns rather than employing bullying tactics.

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