USCIRF is watchdog of Religion freedom ,with employee and Funding Straight from US federal government.
~ It was organisation Born out From Evangelical Movement With a purpose to Protect the Christians around the world .
Recently India has come Under scanner due to Communal Attacks, Discussion , Churches vandalising comments from religious Leaders.
Although there has been the issue and Central Govt is deeply concerned ,and has taken neccassary steps regarding it . If image of religious tolerance and secular democracy gets tarnished it may affect the economic development , Investment
~For New Delhi it must take que from the Past experiences of Communalism ,religious Chauvinism. Such Division will only make it Weak Society
~In My View, Such Assessment Which is unilateral is not apt and Is against the UN principles of non interference in internal matters of each Other [countries].
~Such report" may also affect the image, and may invite prejudice, biased image of India as Hindu nation which it is "NOT"
~It can also affect the US-Ind relations , and India may distance itself from US in countering China .which is US greatest Concern . Also Being an emerging country India will not find hard to attract investors from other nations replacing US ,as evident Post US-Ind visit ,the Invitation from Moscow and Beijing.
In Nutshell US ,other organisation shall respect the integrity and must not interfere in each other's matters . For nations they must strive for Freedom for all people and freedom for all religions.
USCIFR is a bipartisan congrssional body which is often described as an international watchdog of religious freedom. It publishes reports on freedom of religions across the world in different countries. Recently it placed India amongst those who are lagging on this individual right. But this paints an exaggerated picture becuase:
1. India cosntitutionally guarantees freedom to practise and propagate one's faith. It also guarantees protection to minorities to establish and administer their own educational institutions and freedom from any religious education in any public institution. Also no tax can be raised in name of any religion. There are no blasphemy laws either. Such elaborate freedom of religion is unparalleled.
2. India has a mix of all world religions but often vested interests try to portray it as a seething cauldron of communalism. That is not true because successive governemnts have taken stern steps to check any communalism tendencies. Yes a few communal incidents hve occurred in free India and propaganda works are going on. But it is equally true that reconciling interests of vastly different religions is a time taking process. Only economic growth can achieve that and rhus is exactly what India has done and will do. Otherwise we could have also slipped into communal chaos as our belligerent neighbour.
3. US must not forget that it was its war ally and an all-weather friend Britian that sowed the seeds of communalism, encouraged Christian missionaries and left us in utter chaos of communal frenzy. By that logic, Evangelists can be called perpetrators.
4. US society also suffered serious defeciencies like slavery and racism. India never had these.US had to go through a civil war and centuries later rights of the blacks were recognised. Martin Luther King and Muhammad Ali can bear testimony to that.
5. Such reports are tantamount to interference in India's domestic matters. India ia sovereign. Similar claims have been made for China as well. It seems US wants to promote its brand of secularism which makes a complete separation between the State and the religion.
So while India faces a tough challenges but US woukd so well to not interfere in internal matters and rather focus more on Afghans withdrawal and ISIS. However, India must also learn that this report is not completely false and so image takes a hit. So we would do well in checking communalism more proactively.
1) Can a outside body interfere in matter of internal affair of sovereign state and direct its diplomat to visit communally affected places?
2) Analysis of our secular credentials on our own
As far as first part is concerned the answer is ''NO''. Constitution of india(Article 25-28) has given right to freedom of religion to every citizen and India as secular and sovereign state is clearly a part of our preamble. So india does not recognise any intervention in its internal affairs whether the issue is related to religious minorities or other. Therefore current report published by USCIRF is totally unacceptable and is formed on very narrow understanding of social complexities involved in indian society.
However recent rise of communal incidents in Indian society can not be denied. This communal hatredness can be traced back to British times and their policies( Outside intervention) and then short sightedness of some political parties. But every country has its own mechanism and laws to deal with these kind of situations and india is not an exception.
From time immemorial India is regarded as religious tolerant society and this is the reason that it is a land of diversity. And unity in diversity is our strength as said by J.N. Nehru. Therefore india should reject these kinds of reports outrightly and on the other hand strong action should be taken against hatred speeches given by political leaders and other separatists in order to instill trust among minorities and preventing them to fell prey to outside interventions.
~ It was organisation Born out From Evangelical Movement With a purpose to Protect the Christians around the world .
Recently India has come Under scanner due to Communal Attacks, Discussion , Churches vandalising comments from religious Leaders.
Although there has been the issue and Central Govt is deeply concerned ,and has taken neccassary steps regarding it . If image of religious tolerance and secular democracy gets tarnished it may affect the economic development , Investment
~For New Delhi it must take que from the Past experiences of Communalism ,religious Chauvinism. Such Division will only make it Weak Society
~In My View, Such Assessment Which is unilateral is not apt and Is against the UN principles of non interference in internal matters of each Other [countries].
~Such report" may also affect the image, and may invite prejudice, biased image of India as Hindu nation which it is "NOT"
~It can also affect the US-Ind relations , and India may distance itself from US in countering China .which is US greatest Concern . Also Being an emerging country India will not find hard to attract investors from other nations replacing US ,as evident Post US-Ind visit ,the Invitation from Moscow and Beijing.
In Nutshell US ,other organisation shall respect the integrity and must not interfere in each other's matters . For nations they must strive for Freedom for all people and freedom for all religions.
-Joseph stalin
Ans2:
1. India cosntitutionally guarantees freedom to practise and propagate one's faith. It also guarantees protection to minorities to establish and administer their own educational institutions and freedom from any religious education in any public institution. Also no tax can be raised in name of any religion. There are no blasphemy laws either. Such elaborate freedom of religion is unparalleled.
2. India has a mix of all world religions but often vested interests try to portray it as a seething cauldron of communalism. That is not true because successive governemnts have taken stern steps to check any communalism tendencies. Yes a few communal incidents hve occurred in free India and propaganda works are going on. But it is equally true that reconciling interests of vastly different religions is a time taking process. Only economic growth can achieve that and rhus is exactly what India has done and will do. Otherwise we could have also slipped into communal chaos as our belligerent neighbour.
3. US must not forget that it was its war ally and an all-weather friend Britian that sowed the seeds of communalism, encouraged Christian missionaries and left us in utter chaos of communal frenzy. By that logic, Evangelists can be called perpetrators.
4. US society also suffered serious defeciencies like slavery and racism. India never had these.US had to go through a civil war and centuries later rights of the blacks were recognised. Martin Luther King and Muhammad Ali can bear testimony to that.
5. Such reports are tantamount to interference in India's domestic matters. India ia sovereign. Similar claims have been made for China as well. It seems US wants to promote its brand of secularism which makes a complete separation between the State and the religion.
So while India faces a tough challenges but US woukd so well to not interfere in internal matters and rather focus more on Afghans withdrawal and ISIS. However, India must also learn that this report is not completely false and so image takes a hit. So we would do well in checking communalism more proactively.
Ans3:
Assessment over this issue can be grouped into two parts :-1) Can a outside body interfere in matter of internal affair of sovereign state and direct its diplomat to visit communally affected places?
2) Analysis of our secular credentials on our own
As far as first part is concerned the answer is ''NO''. Constitution of india(Article 25-28) has given right to freedom of religion to every citizen and India as secular and sovereign state is clearly a part of our preamble. So india does not recognise any intervention in its internal affairs whether the issue is related to religious minorities or other. Therefore current report published by USCIRF is totally unacceptable and is formed on very narrow understanding of social complexities involved in indian society.
However recent rise of communal incidents in Indian society can not be denied. This communal hatredness can be traced back to British times and their policies( Outside intervention) and then short sightedness of some political parties. But every country has its own mechanism and laws to deal with these kind of situations and india is not an exception.
From time immemorial India is regarded as religious tolerant society and this is the reason that it is a land of diversity. And unity in diversity is our strength as said by J.N. Nehru. Therefore india should reject these kinds of reports outrightly and on the other hand strong action should be taken against hatred speeches given by political leaders and other separatists in order to instill trust among minorities and preventing them to fell prey to outside interventions.
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