A list of "serious human rights issues" and violations, including the alleged persecution of religious minorities, dissidents, and journalists, was included in the US State Department's annual report on human rights practices, which was released on Monday.
The revelations came over a year after Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a rare direct criticism of India's human rights record, said Washington was keeping an eye on what it described as a surge in abuses by some government, police, and prison officials in India.
However, US criticism of India is rare due to close economic ties between the countries and India’s increasing importance for Washington to counter China in the region.
According to the US report, significant human rights issues in India have included credible reports of the government or its agents carrying out extrajudicial killings; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by police and prison officials; political prisoners or detainees; and unjustified arrests or prosecutions of journalists.
Human Rights Watch has stated that the Indian government's policies and actions target Muslims, while critics of Modi's Hindu nationalist ruling party claim that since taking power in 2014, his Hindu nationalist ruling party has fostered religious polarization.
The United Nations human rights office described a 2019 citizenship law as "fundamentally discriminatory" because it excluded Muslim immigrants from neighboring nations; critics also point to anti-conversion legislation that questioned the constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of religion; and the revocation of Kashmir's special status in 2019.
In response to the complaints, the administration claims that all neighborhoods are being developed through its policies.
In 2022, authorities also demolished what they described as illegal shops and properties, many of them owned by Muslims, in parts of India. Critics say the demolition drive was an attempt to intimidate India’s 200 million Muslims. The government defended the demolitions, saying they were enforcing the law.
Since Modi took office in 2014, India has slid from 140th in World Press Freedom Index, an annual ranking by non-profit Reporters Without Borders, to 150th place last year, its lowest ever. India has also topped the list for the highest number of Internet shutdowns in the world for five years in a row, including in 2022, Internet advocacy watchdog Access Now says.
The revelations came over a year after Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a rare direct criticism of India's human rights record, said Washington was keeping an eye on what it described as a surge in abuses by some government, police, and prison officials in India.
However, US criticism of India is rare due to close economic ties between the countries and India’s increasing importance for Washington to counter China in the region.
According to the US report, significant human rights issues in India have included credible reports of the government or its agents carrying out extrajudicial killings; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by police and prison officials; political prisoners or detainees; and unjustified arrests or prosecutions of journalists.
Human Rights Watch has stated that the Indian government's policies and actions target Muslims, while critics of Modi's Hindu nationalist ruling party claim that since taking power in 2014, his Hindu nationalist ruling party has fostered religious polarization.
The United Nations human rights office described a 2019 citizenship law as "fundamentally discriminatory" because it excluded Muslim immigrants from neighboring nations; critics also point to anti-conversion legislation that questioned the constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of religion; and the revocation of Kashmir's special status in 2019.
In response to the complaints, the administration claims that all neighborhoods are being developed through its policies.
In 2022, authorities also demolished what they described as illegal shops and properties, many of them owned by Muslims, in parts of India. Critics say the demolition drive was an attempt to intimidate India’s 200 million Muslims. The government defended the demolitions, saying they were enforcing the law.
Since Modi took office in 2014, India has slid from 140th in World Press Freedom Index, an annual ranking by non-profit Reporters Without Borders, to 150th place last year, its lowest ever. India has also topped the list for the highest number of Internet shutdowns in the world for five years in a row, including in 2022, Internet advocacy watchdog Access Now says.
