A reputed global Christian organization has named Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi among the world’s seven biggest persecutors of religious minorities and called for the U.S. government to impose visa and economic sanctions on India to pressure it to end that persecution.
In a report, “2021 Persecutor of the Year Awards,” released here this month, the International Christian Concern (ICC) clubbed the “Sangh Parivar,” India’s Hindu extremist movement that informs Modi’s ideology and policies, with the Taliban and the Boko Haram, and named India as one of the world’s seven biggest persecutors.
The Modi administration had overseen “a massive cultural shift” in India from a pluralistic society to Hindu nationalism, and “consistently punished all forms of dissent,” cracking down on NGOs seeking to hold it accountable, the ICC report said.“The U.S. and its allies should consider economic and visa sanctions against key decision-makers in the Modi administration,” the report said.
Also, the U.S. Congress should designate India as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for “engaging in and tolerating systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations,” and also “emphasize improving religious freedom conditions at the national level with India in any future strategic or economic partnerships.”
Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken declined to designate India as CPC, rejecting a recommendation from the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). Numerous organizations have condemned that decision.
Apart from Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also joined the Rogue’s Gallery of the world’s seven biggest persecutors. The others on that list include Chinese President Xi Jinping and the North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-Un.