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Washington, DC [US], June 27 (ANI): The United States Commission on International <keyword id="20114410" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="religious-freedom" source="keywords">Religious Freedom</keyword> (<keyword id="1279363" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="USCIRF" source="Orion">USCIRF</keyword>), an organisation India has strongly criticised in the past, has again raised 'concerns' over religious freedoms in India. It has cited the alleged rise in '<keyword id="20028741" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="hate-speech" source="keywords">hate speech</keyword>', demolitions and <keyword id="20068422" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="anti-conversion-laws" source="keywords">anti-conversion laws</keyword>. The report annually surveys religious freedoms around the world and aims to provide a "fact-based, comprehensive view of the state of religious freedom" in nearly 200 countries and territories. The findings come a few weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his third term in office and India and the United States agreed to strengthen cooperation in high technology areas during a visit by White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan to New Delhi. "In India, we see a concerning increase in anti-conversion laws, hate speech, demolitions of homes and places of worship for members of minority faith communities," US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told reporters at an event in Washington on Monday. The US ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, Rashad Hussain also expressed concerns about the situation in India. "In India, Christian communities reported that local police aided mobs that disrupted worship services over accusations of conversion activities, or stood by while mobs attacked them and then arrested the victims on conversion charges," he said. Earlier in May, India rejected a similar report of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom that accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of "reinforcing discriminatory nationalist policies" and termed the organisation "biased" with "political agenda." "The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is known as a biased organization with a political agenda. They continue to publish their propaganda on India masquerading as part of an annual report," MEA official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at a press briefing. "We really have no expectation that USCIRF will even seek to understand India's diverse, pluralistic and democratic ethos. Their efforts to interfere in the largest electoral exercise of the world will never succeed," he added. The USCIRF had then alleged that the Indian government "failed to address" communal violence disproportionately affecting Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Dalits, Jews, and Adivasis (indigenous peoples) in 2023. Among its key findings, the report calls out several countries including India, China, Russia, and Iran for violations of explicitly targeting members from certain faith communities. A detailed section of the report also mentioned the alleged "targeted attacks against religious <keyword id="3121137" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="minorities-in-India" source="Orion">minorities in India</keyword>." The report expresses several concerns over India's religious freedom. It claims religious conversion is "legally prohibited" in multiple states, <keyword id="1480228" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="religious-minorities" source="Orion">religious minorities</keyword> are "attacked on a regular basis", and alleges that Muslims face systemic <keyword id="19933076" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="discrimination" source="keywords">discrimination</keyword>. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also noted that in the United States, hate crimes against both Muslims and Jews "have gone up dramatically." The US also raised concerns about Pakistan, where Blinken condemned blasphemy laws that "help foster a climate of intolerance and hatred that can lead to vigilantism and mob violence." Secretary Blinken also mentioned the imprisonment and exile of Muslim Uyghurs in China, as well as the repression of Tibetan Buddhists, Christians and Falun Gong practitioners.

US raises 'concerns' on alleged discrimination of religious minorities in India

<ul><li>The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha and will be tabled in <keyword id="48510" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Rajya-Sabha">Rajya Sabha</keyword> today.</li><li>The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (<keyword id="1279363" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="USCIRF">USCIRF</keyword>) has called it a dangerous turn. </li><li>The statement of the USCIRF also said that the United States government should consider sanctions against the Home Minister and other principal leadership, if the bill is passed in both houses.</li></ul>The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has raised concerns about the passing of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in the lower house of the Indian Parliament. “The CAB is a dangerous turn in the wrong direction; it runs counter to India’s rich history of secular pluralism and the Indian Constitution, which guarantees equality before the law regardless of faith,” said USCIRF. Today, the bill will be tabled in the Upper House of the parliament – the Rajya Sabha. “If the CAB passes in both houses of parliament, the United States government should consider sanctions against the Home Minister and other principal leadership,” said the official statement of the USCIRF. The <keyword id="452568" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Citizenship-bill">citizenship bill</keyword> makes illegal migrants who are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from ⁠— Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan eligible for citizenship. To apply for citizenship, one would have to reside in India for six years and continuously for the past 12 months. However, the bill does not include Muslims which has become a point of contention and has sparked protests across the country, especially in the North Eastern state of Assam. “In conjunction with the ongoing National Register of Citizens (NRC) process in Assam and nationwide NRC that the Home Minister seeks to propose, USCIRF fears that the Indian government is creating a religious test for Indian citizenship that would strip citizenship from millions of Muslims,” said the USCIRF. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/news/what-is-citizenship-bill-and-how-does-it-affect-religious-freedom-in-india/articleshow/72362487.cms">What is citizenship bill and how does it affect religious freedom in India?</a>

India’s Citizenship Bill is a dangerous turn in the wrong direction, says US Commission for Religious Freedom

Expressing concerns over the <keyword id="301436" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="NRC">NRC</keyword> exercise in <keyword id="6354915" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="assam">Assam</keyword>, the United States Commission for International Religious Freedom (<keyword id="1279363" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="USCIRF">USCIRF</keyword>) has said that close to two million long-time residents of the northeastern state in India may soon be deemed stateless and alleged that they are being stripped of their citizenship "without a fair, transparent, and well-regulated" process. The National Register of Citizens (NRC) is a register containing names of all genuine Indian citizens.The process to update the register in Assam began following a Supreme Court order in 2013, with the state's nearly 33 million people having to prove that they were Indian nationals prior to March 24, 1971. The updated final NRC was released on August 31, with over 1.9 million applicants failing to make it to the list. In a report on the religious freedom implications of the NRC, the USCIRF noted that 1.9 million names of residents of Assam have been left off the updated list and expressed concerns about how the exercise is being used to target and disenfranchise the Muslim population. "Close to two million long-time residents of Assam may soon be deemed stateless. They are being stripped of their citizenship without a fair, transparent, and well-regulated NRC process," USCIRF commissioner Anurima Bhargava said on Tuesday. "Worse yet is that Indian political officials have repeatedly conveyed their intent to direct and use the NRC process to isolate and push out Muslims in Assam. And now, across India, political leaders are seeking to expand the NRC and implement different citizenship standards for Muslims altogether," said Bhargava, who testified before a congressional commission on the issue last week. USCIRF chair Tony Perkins said the updated NRC and subsequent actions of the Indian government are essentially creating "a religious test for citizenship" to target the vulnerable Muslim community, and urged the Indian government to protect the rights of all of its religious minorities as enshrined in the Constitution. In its 2019 Annual Report, the USCIRF classified India as a "Tier 2" country for engaging in or tolerating religious freedom violations that meet at least one of the elements of the "systematic, ongoing, egregious" standard for designation as a "country of particular concern," or CPC, under the International Religious Freedom Act. The India chapter of the report expressed concern that the NRC is "an intentional effort to discriminate and/or has the effect of discriminating against Muslims." Assam has seen a huge influx from other places, particularly Bangladesh, since the early 20th century. It did not stop even after Independence, with a large number of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, both Hindus and Muslims, settling there. Updating of NRC is a statutory, transparent, legal process mandated by the Supreme Court of India. This is not an executive-driven process, the Ministry of External Affairs has said in response to questions on the NRC. "The process is being monitored by the Supreme Court directly and the government is acting in accordance with the directives issued by the court. The apex court of the land has itself set the deadlines for all steps that have been taken so far," it said in a detailed statement in September. The statement also said that the NRC is a fair process based on scientific methods. "It is a non-discriminatory process, which leaves no room for bias and injustice. As can be seen from the application form for data entry in NRC, there was no column in the application asking for religion of the applicant," the statement said, adding that anyone excluded from the list has a right to file an appeal within 120 days of receiving a notification exclusion, to the designated Tribunal.

As many 1.9 million Assamese might turn stateless says US-based agency

Russia, on Wednesday, accused the United States of showing disrespect towards India, alleging interference in India's 2024 <keyword id="19923279" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Lok-Sabha-elections" source="keywords">Lok Sabha elections</keyword> and attempts to disrupt the country's internal <keyword id="19930636" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="political-stability" source="keywords">political stability</keyword>. Speaking at a media briefing, <keyword id="20731532" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Russian-Foreign-Ministry" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Russian Foreign Ministry" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Russian Foreign Ministry">Russian Foreign Ministry</keyword> spokesperson <keyword id="20446998" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="maria-zakharova" source="keywords">Maria Zakharova</keyword> criticised the US for its report on <keyword id="20114410" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="religious-freedom" source="keywords">religious freedom</keyword> in India, suggesting a lack of understanding of India's national mentality and historical context. Zakharova reportedly alleged that America continues to make “unfounded accusations” about religious freedoms in India and the reason (behind the US accusations) is to unbalance the internal political situation in India and complicate the general elections. “They (the US) tried to unbalance the political situation in India in order to make it harder to have the general parliamentary elections. That is part of meddling into India's domestic affairs,” Zakharova was quoted as saying by <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/russia-claims-us-aims-to-destabilise-india-during-lok-sabha-elections-2024/articleshow/109968436.cms">The Times of India</a>. "Regular unfounded accusations by the United States against New Delhi of violating religious freedoms are a reflection of the United States' misunderstanding of the national mentality, the historical context of the development of the Indian state and disrespect for India as a state. I am sure that this also comes from the neocolonial mentality, the mentality of the colonial period, the period of the slave trade, and imperialism," she said, as quoted by ANI. The report in question, drawn by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), raised concerns over India's purported infringements on religious freedom. It evoked a strong response from India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), which denounced it as biased and part of a recurring pattern of anti-India propaganda. Zakharova, in addition to criticising the US stance on religious freedom, also accused Washington of adopting a repressive attitude and failing to respect India's sovereignty. She suggested that such behaviour stems from America’s colonial mindset rooted in historical exploitation. Furthermore, Zakharova addressed allegations against an Indian official regarding an alleged "assassination" plot targeting pro-Khalistan leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. The Washington Post had published a report implicating a Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) official in the purported assassination attempt on Pannun. India's Ministry of External Affairs condemned the report as baseless and unverified, emphasising that the matter is under investigation. It also criticised the US media for publishing speculative and irresponsible information. Zakharova weighed in on the situation, stating: “According to the information we have, Washington has not yet provided any reliable evidence of the involvement of Indian citizens in the preparation of the murder of a certain GS Pannun. Speculation on this topic in the absence of evidence is unacceptable.” With accusations and counter-accusations flying between Russia and the US, tensions between the two over their respective stances on <keyword id="21592534" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indias-internal-affairs" source="keywords">India's internal affairs</keyword> continue to escalate. As India grapples with these external pressures, it will be a walk on the tightrope for the country as it attempts to maintain friendly diplomatic relationships with both global superpowers. (With inputs from TOI)

Is the US interfering with Lok Sabha elections? Russia accuses America of disrespecting India, influencing democratic processes

The government on Tuesday strongly lambasted the <keyword id="8806362" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="united-states-commission">United States Commission</keyword> on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), for placing India among the list of countries which violate religious freedoms. The USCIRF has designated India as a 'Country of Particular Concern' on religious freedom along side <keyword id="3001" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Pakistan">Pakistan</keyword>, <keyword id="50996" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Saudi-Arabia">Saudi Arabia</keyword>, Syria, Iran, North Korea, China, Russia and others. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="74488034" title="A US-government funded NGO just called Kashmir ‘not free’ ⁠— and downgraded India’s ranking in the ‘free’ world" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> The 14 countries placed in the list of 'Particular Concern', according to the USCIRF are whose governments engage in or tolerate systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom. The USCIRF is an independent federal government entity set up by the US Congress to monitor and report on religious freedom in the world. "We are seeing impunity for violence by non-state actors committed against religious minorities," USCIRF chair Tony Perkins said about India. Reacting sharply to the US government panel's move, ministry of external affairs spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said: "We reject the observations on India in the USCIRF annual report." Describing the USCIRF's comments against India, "biased and tendentious" and "not new", the spokesperson said, "But on this occasion, its misrepresentation has reached new levels. It has not been able to carry its own Commissioners in its endeavour." The government said that it regards it as "an organization of particular concern and will treat it accordingly." SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/data-of-coronavirus-patients-state-wise-in-india/articleshow/74669748.cms">Coronavirus cases in India state wise</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/topic/coronavirus">Coronavirus News and Updates</a>

India unhappy as US body places it amongst countries that violate religious freedom

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s strategy and political ideology being mismatch have raised new question mark in US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) report. As reported by The Economic Times, USCIRF has slammed the BJP Government on the 'Ghar Vapasi' campaign and the violence against Christians. The only respite for Modi is his statement in mid-February in support of religious freedom, which has been deemed by USCIRF as "positive development". 
 
The annual report of USCIRF mentions, since Modi has come to power, religious minority communities have been subject to "derogatory comments by politicians linked to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)" and "numerous violent attacks and forced conversions by Hindu nationalist groups" such as Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP). 
 
 
In a chapter on India, the report reads, “The states of Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Gujarat, Odisha, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan tend to have the greatest number of religiously-motivated attacks and communal violence incidents. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and religious leaders, including from the Muslim, Christian, and Sikh communities, attributed the initial increase to religiously-divisive campaigning in advance of the country's 2014 general election.” 
 
“Religious minority communities frequently accuse the RSS, VHP and other Hindu-nationalist groups and individuals of intolerance, discrimination, and violence against them, the report adds. Moreover, religious minority communities voice concern that high-ranking BJP members protect or provide support to these groups. In light of these concerns, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement in support of religious freedom made in mid-February 2015 was a positive development," the USCIRF report further read. 
 
As per the news report, USCIRF report adds that the Muslim community in India also has experienced increased harassment and violence. "It faces significant hate campaigns perpetrated by Hindu nationalist groups and local and state politicians that include wide- spread media propaganda accusing Muslims of being terrorists; spying for Pakistan; forcibly kidnapping, converting, and marrying Hindu women; and disrespecting Hinduism by slaughtering cows. Additionally, the Muslim community reports that its mosques are monitored and young boys and men are detained indiscriminately under the pretext of countering terrorism. Muslims also complain that most Indian states violate their religious freedom by restricting or banning cow slaughter, which is required for Muslims during Eid al-Adha," the report has said. 
 
In what may sound rough to Modi’s liking for the US, the financial daily report, the USCIRF has further urged the US government to urge the central Indian government to press states that have adopted anti-conversion laws to repeal or amend them to conform with internationally recognised human rights standards and make clear US opposition to laws that restrict freedom of thought and association. It has further asked the US to urge Indian government to publicly rebuke government officials and religious leaders that make derogatory statements about religious communities, as per the USCIRF report. 
 
(Image: Reuters)

The US didn’t like India’s ‘ghar
wapsi’

<ul><li>India’s Citizenship (Amendment) Act is being challenged by the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) less than a day after being passed by the Rajya Sabha. </li><li>IUML claims that the act is unconstitutional and violates the fundamental right to equality. </li><li>It has asked for stay order on the Act until the matter is resolved. </li></ul>India’s Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB) was passed in the Rajya Sabha just yesterday and it’s already being challenged by the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML). It has filed a petition with the Supreme Court accusing the new act of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/news/academicians-ex-babus-authors-scientists-seek-withdrawal-of-citizenship-bill/articleshow/72469434.cms">being in violation</a> of the Constitution’s fundamental right to equality. <div type="image" title="CAB3" msid="72487641" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Protests against CAB turn violent in Guwahati, Assam&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>
 Protests have been <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india-citizenship-bill-assam-protests-rise-conrad-sangma-and-aribam-syam-sharma-join/articleshow/67830987.cms">ravaging India’s north-east</a> since the cabinet’s decision to introduce the bill in Lok Sabha. The violence only escalated after CAB <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/foreign-policy/news/lok-sabha-works-through-the-night-to-pass-citizenship-bill/articleshow/72450180.cms">moved to the Rajya Sabha for approval</a>. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/society/news/north-east-student-body-in-warns-indian-government-against-amending-the-citizenship-act/articleshow/72276774.cms">Protestors</a> burnt tires on the roads and threw bricks at the police, forcibly shutting down shops and markets. When the Border Security Force (BSF) tried to stop them, they damaged the fire brigade vehicle. 

<div type="image" title="CAB4" msid="72487676" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Protesters burn tires along the roads&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>

 CAB is now ready to become law — an official act instead of a bill — after the Rajya Sabha passed the bill following a gruelling six-and-half-hour debate. Guwahati continues to be at the epicentre of anti-CAB protests — railways services have been halted, a curfew has been imposed and mobile serves in ten districts have been suspended. To control the deteriorating law and order situation in Assam and Tripura, eight columns of the Indian Army have been deployed along with 12 companies from the Railway Protection Special Force (RPSF). Why is the Citizenship (Amendment) Act being challenged? CAB takes the original Citizenship Act of 1955 and adds a religious element to it, according to PRS, an independent research institute. It restricts the eligibility of citizenship for illegal immigrants to certain religions — Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians — leaving Muslims, Jews and atheists out of the fold. Some have even labelled it India’s new ‘<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-50670393">anti-Muslim</a>’ law. <div type="image" title="CAB2_edited" msid="72487556" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Congressmen burn the effigy of Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) during their protest march in Patna on Wednesday&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>
 IUML claims that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) is in violation of Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the constitution — the right to equality, the right to non-discrimination, and the right to life. Its writ petition to the Supreme Court is asking for a stay order on the amendment until the matter’s been fully explored. <div type="image" title="IUML leaders" msid="72487539" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;IUML leaders (left to right) P K Kunhalikutty, Khader Mohideen, Panakkad Hyder, and Ali Shihab Thangal &amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>

 The US Commission of International Religous Freedom (USCIRF) also echoed <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/indias-citizenship-bill-is-a-dangerous-turn-in-the-wrong-direction-says-us-commission-for-religious-freedom/articleshow/72452797.cms">similar concerns </a>on Monday. “The CAB is a dangerous turn in the wrong direction; it runs counter to India’s rich history of secular pluralism and the Indian Constitution, which guarantees equality before the law regardless of faith,” it said. CAA is also in violation of the Assam Accord of 1985, which led to the deportation of illegal immigrants from the state regardless of of their religion. <div type="image" title="CAB5" msid="72487770" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;People stage a demonstration against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in Agartala, Tripura&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>

 The bill justifies its stance stating that only religions who are a minority in Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were included as eligible for citizenship. This is despite the fact, as many debaters have pointed out, that Muslims are a minority in both Sri Lanka and Nepal. “India is a democracy, though people have the right to voice their ideas and demands, such actions are not appreciated in society,” said Assam Chief Secretary <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/assam-admits-protests-over-citizenship-bill-a-challenge-calls-for-calm-1987411">Alok Kumar</a>. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, will be arguing on IUML’s behalf in the Supreme Court. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/indias-citizenship-bill-is-a-dangerous-turn-in-the-wrong-direction-says-us-commission-for-religious-freedom/articleshow/72452797.cms">India’s Citizenship Bill is a dangerous turn in the wrong direction, says US Commission for Religious Freedom</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/foreign-policy/news/lok-sabha-works-through-the-night-to-pass-citizenship-bill/articleshow/72450180.cms">Lok Sabha works through the night to pass citizenship bill</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/news/academicians-ex-babus-authors-scientists-seek-withdrawal-of-citizenship-bill/articleshow/72469434.cms">Romila Thapar, Amitav Ghosh, Nandita Das join 600 writers and artists to seek withdrawal of Citizenship Bill</a>

India's Citizenship Act gets challenged at the Supreme Court barely a day after passing Parliament

<ul class="summary-list"><li>President Donald <keyword id="6354862" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="trump">Trump</keyword> said he pushed off sanctioning Chinese officials over their oppression of <keyword id="67873" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Uighurs">Uighurs</keyword> and other ethnic minority groups for the sake of a trade deal, <a href="https://www.axios.com/trump-uighur-muslims-sanctions-d4dc86fc-17f4-42bd-bdbd-c30f4d2ffa21.html">Axios reported</a>.</li><li>Trump signed the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/3744">Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020</a> into law on June 17. It aims to punish <keyword id="1334" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="China">China</keyword> for its treatment of the minority group.</li><li>It gives the administration 180 days to compile a report to Congress identifying those responsible for the human rights abuses, who will be subject to sanctions and more.</li><li>It would also investigate the harassment of Uighurs living in America. </li><li>Uighurs living abroad told Business Insider they are <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-uighurs-spooked-even-outside-country-2019-12">still being harassed by the Chinese government</a> and threatened not to speak out about the persecution.</li><li>They also said China is attempting ethnic cleansing and genocide, and that much more needs to be done beyond Trump's bill.</li></ul>For Rushan Abbas, a member of the Uighur Muslim diaspora, being vocal about the reported human rights abuses, mass surveillance, and detention of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang, western China, is an obligation.But speaking out, she said, has come with a price.Abbas, who now lives in the US, is the founder and executive director of Campaign for Uyghurs, a nonprofit organization that works to promote Uighur rights and freedom. (Uyghur is an alternative spelling.)In 2018, about a week after she spoke about human rights abuses against Uighurs in Washington, DC, her sister went missing from her home in Xinjiang, Abbas said. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/family-of-uighurs-in-china-say-are-blocked-deleted-by-scared-family-2019-2">She believes her sister was taken by the Chinese government as retribution for her speaking out.</a>She told Business Insider this year she still hasn't heard from her sister. In February, she said she wasn't even sure if her sister, who suffers from high blood pressure and other health concerns, is still alive. In early June, <a href="https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/detained-06022020173828.html">Radio Free Asia</a> confirmed that Abbas's sister had been detained, but not much information on her whereabouts and condition could be obtained.<div type="image" title="gulshan abbas rushan abbas" height="600" width="1200" msid="76709478" hostid="261"></div>Abbas's sister is believed to be one of at least one million Uighurs that are being detained in what the Chinese government calls "reeducation camps" in Xinjiang, a western region in China, where roughly half of the population of 25 million is made up of Uighurs and other Turkic minorities.Many Uighurs call their heartland East Turkestan instead of Xinjiang, which is a Chinese name.China sees Uighurs as religious extremists, and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/18/world/asia/china-xinjiang-muslims-leak.html">claims</a> all its actions against the mostly-Muslim group are "counterterrorism and de-extremism measures."Activists, like Abbas, call the abuse tantamount to "genocide."Reports about the internment camps have told of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/muslim-woman-describes-horrors-of-chinese-concentration-camp-2019-10">forced labor</a>, surveillance, confinement, verbal and physical abuse, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/muslim-woman-describes-horrors-of-chinese-concentration-camp-2019-10">forced sterilization</a>, and an intense <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/life-inside-china-internment-camps-for-uighur-minority-in-xinjiang-bbc-report-2018-8">Chinese Communist Party indoctrination regime</a>. Rushan explained that she knows many Uighurs who have had family members leave the camps only to die days or weeks later.<h2>Trump takes action</h2>On June 17, President Donald Trump signed into law the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/3744">Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020</a>, which aims to punish China for its treatment of the Uighurs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang. It was passed almost unanimously by the House and Senate in May.The law gives the Trump administration 180 days to identify Chinese officials responsible for human-rights abuses, and would level sanctions on those alleged to have roles in the mass surveillance and detention."The Act holds accountable perpetrators of human rights violations and abuses such as the systematic use of indoctrination camps, forced labor, and intrusive surveillance to eradicate the ethnic identity and religious beliefs of Uighurs and other minorities in China," Trump said in a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/statement-by-the-president-41/">statement</a>. <h2>Activists divided over Trump's actions</h2>But Trump's signing of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 was just one of several headlines he made in June concerning reports of the detention camps in Xinjiang.The same day Trump signed the new legislation, an excerpt from former national security adviser John Bolton's upcoming memoir had alleged that Trump had expressed approval of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-china-detention-camp-xinjiang-2020-6">the use of detention camps for Uighurs</a> during a private meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.(US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told The <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/john-bolton-the-scandal-of-trumps-china-policy-11592419564">Wall Street Journal</a> that Bolton's account of their conversation "never happened" and that it was "absolutely untrue.")Days later, Trump told reporters he had not imposed sanctions on Chinese officials over the detention of Uighurs earlier because: "Well, we were in the middle of a major trade deal" with China.Nihad Awad, director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said he thought it was ironic that Trump signed the legislation on the same day the book excerpts were published. "We condemn President's Trump's reported approval of China's concentration camps — places of untold suffering, torture, abuse, rape, and death — for Uighur Muslims," Awad wrote in a <a href="https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-condemns-trumps-approval-of-uyghur-muslim-concentration-camps-in-china/">statement</a>. "Congress must immediately investigate whether Trump gave his blessing to round up, imprison, and oppress an ethnic religious community in concentration camps."Meanwhile, Campaign for Uyghurs — Rushan Abbas' group — applauded Trump and Congress's move on the law, but said much more work needs to be done."As we celebrate one victory on the long path that still lies ahead, we grieve the countless people who are still suffering," <a href="https://campaignforuyghurs.org/on-the-occasion-of-the-signing-of-the-uyghur-human-rights-policy-act-of-2020/">the organization wrote in a statement.</a><div type="image" title="Trump Xi" height="1667" width="2222" msid="76709479" hostid="261"></div><h2>The detention camps</h2>In recent years, the Chinese Communist Party has constructed <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-uighur-prison-camp-suspected-locations-maps-2019-11">hundreds of prisons and detention centers</a> in Xinjiang and the surrounding region.People who have been inside them — either as a visitor, employee, or inmate — have spoken of the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/muslim-woman-describes-horrors-of-chinese-concentration-camp-2019-10">forced consumption of forbidden foods in Islam</a>, such as pork, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/leaked-documents-how-china-operates-xinjiang-detention-centers-2019-11">mass surveillance</a>, and various other forms of psychological and physical torture.Leaked documents published by The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/11/16/world/asia/china-xinjiang-documents.html">New York Times</a> showed a "ruthless and extraordinary campaign," with instructions on how to handle every facet of the mass internment even down to how to answer the basic question of someone asking where their missing family member was.There have also been <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-harvesting-organs-of-uighur-muslims-china-tribunal-tells-un-2019-9">allegations of Uighurs and others in religious minorities being the victims of organ harvesting</a>.The Associated Press reported this week that Uighur women <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-forcibly-sterilizing-uighur-women-xinjiang-abortions-contraception-ap-2020-6">forcibly sterilized and given unwanted abortions</a> as part of China's campaign to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-forcibly-sterilizing-uighur-women-xinjiang-abortions-contraception-ap-2020-6">keep Muslim minorities' birth rate down</a>.A report from <a href="https://www.aspi.org.au/report/uyghurs-sale">the Australian Strategic Policy Institute</a> found that Uighurs in Xinjiang, including some in detention camps, have also been moved across China to forcibly work in factories. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/china-compels-uighurs-to-work-in-shoe-factory-that-supplies-nike/2020/02/28/ebddf5f4-57b2-11ea-8efd-0f904bdd8057_story.html">The Washington Post reported</a> that many of them likely provided material for well-known international brands like Nike.Uighurs living abroad have also told Business Insider they are <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-uighurs-spooked-even-outside-country-2019-12">frequently intimidated by Chinese agents</a> through mysterious automated calls and sinister Facebook comments, among others.Chinese officials have repeatedly denied human rights abuses and claimed the camps are vocational training camps meant to quell extremism. Last year, providing no evidence, China claimed to have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/09/china-claims-detained-uighurs-have-been-freed">released those who were detained.</a>But many see it as an effort to eliminate the Uighur identity."It's just what they call it so they can ethnically cleanse us," Sadam Abdusalam, a Uighur living abroad in Australia, told Business Insider, adding that an extended family member had been imprisoned just for praying five times a day. "What does not eating pork have to do with national security?" Rushan Abbas said.<h2>Suppressing the voices of Uighurs abroad</h2>In addition to the untold horrors in the camps, members of the Uighur diaspora told Business Insider that there is still a large effort to suppress their voices and hide what's happening in these camps.In February, Abdusalam attempted to reunite with his wife and young child who have been trapped in Xinjiang for three years. His wife Nadila, and their two-year-old son — whom he has never met — are being kept under house arrest.Abdusalam told Business Insider the only "crime" his wife committed was traveling to Turkey and the US after they were married. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-gives-these-excuses-to-imprison-uighur-ethnic-minority-2018-9">China often punishes Uighurs just for traveling abroad.</a>In a live Q&amp;A session with ABC Australia, a Chinese diplomat claimed that Abdusalam's wife told officials in Xinjiang she did not want to reunite with her husband in Australia. Her son is an Australian citizen. "How could he even say that?" Abdusalam said. "Who wants to raise a child by herself?"In response, Nadila sent a photo of herself holding a handwritten note that said: "I want to leave and be with my husband."Abdusalam called his wife "brave" for sending the photo knowing she could face consequences from Chinese authorities but explained that he knew that if she hadn't, Chinese officials would send their own media crews to spread a false message that his wife was happy and wanted to stay. <h2>Uighurs abroad say speaking out is the only way</h2>Abdurehim Gheni, an activist living in Amsterdam, told Business Insider in March that he has been protesting since June 2018, and feels that speaking out is the only method to publicize the human rights abuses — despite being threatened."I have lost contact with all my family members in East Turkestan (so-called Xinjiang Uighur autonomous region) since 23rd May 2017," Gheni told Business Insider in a Facebook message. "I don't know if they are alive, dead or in concentration camps or in prison. Although I have tried in different ways, I haven't been able to reach them.""Uighurs abroad are the only agents that speak about what has been happening in our homeland because we can get information from the region in this or that way, plus losing contact with our family members can be a piece of great evidence about the oppression," he said.Nicholas Bequelin, a regional director at Amnesty International, explained that China's efforts to intimidate those in the diaspora into staying quiet is a part of their tactic to keep what's happening in the region under wraps. "Policies are so excessive and extreme that China cannot allow the world to know what is happening," he told Business Insider."Any kind of original thought or belief is a threat," Abbas added.<div type="image" title="Xinjiang checkpoint" height="1333" width="2000" msid="76709480" hostid="261"></div><h2>'Keeping silent is not going to take us anywhere'</h2>Eldana Abbas, a Uighur who lives in Australia (and is not related to Rushan Abbas), told Business Insider in February that in order to speak out about China's human-rights abuses while protecting her family, she has cut off ties with all relatives and friends in China.Now, she doesn't know anything about how they're doing. But "keeping silent is not going to take us anywhere," she said.Earlier this month, <a href="https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/detained-06092020170643.html">Radio Free Asia</a> reported that Qurban Mamut, a retired magazine editor in Xinjiang who went missing in November 2017, was confirmed detained in the region.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/family-of-uighurs-in-china-say-are-blocked-deleted-by-scared-family-2019-2">He visited his son, Bahram Sintash</a>, in the state of Virginia a few months before he vanished. Sintash believes his father is innocent, and told Radio Free Asia in 2018 that his father was likely detained because "authorities regularly arrest people who have relatives living abroad [to gain leverage over them]."<h2>'Swift and continued unified action'</h2>The bill Trump signed into law requires American authorities to look into the pervasive reports of harassment and threats of Uighurs and other Chinese nationals in the United States.It would also require the US government to report violations of human rights in Xinjiang and China's acquisition of technology used for mass detention and surveillance to Congress. And while many have said it's a step forward, activists say much more needs to be done. "There must be swift and continued unified action from the American government and all peace-loving nations across the world to act against the Chinese government officials who are complicit in these atrocities," Campaign for Uyghurs said."They must not be allowed to continue to enjoy the benefits of free societies while denying it to millions of human beings."Gheni said he hopes for political and economic international pressure on China to address the persecution of Uighurs and other minorities."They have been deprived of their very basic human rights," he said, "freedom of speech, freedom of travel, freedom of practicing their identity and faith."<ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/leaked-documents-how-china-operates-xinjiang-detention-centers-2019-11">Leaked Chinese documents give unprecedented insight into how Muslim detention centers in Xinjiang control detainees' every move</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-uighurs-spooked-even-outside-country-2019-12"> Mysterious automated calls, vanished relatives, and sinister Facebook comments: How China intimidates Uighurs who don't even live in the country</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-uighur-detention-camps-cleanse-religion-leaked-documents-nyt-2019-11">China tells Uighur Muslims they are abducting their families so they can cleanse their brains like they have a disease, leaked documents show</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-china-propaganda-department-glosses-over-human-rights-2018-6">Planting spies, paying people to post on social media, and pretending the news doesn't exist: This is how China tries to distract people from human rights abuses</a></li></ul>

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US raises 'concerns' on alleged discrimination of religious minorities in India

ANI

India’s Citizenship Bill is a dangerous turn in the wrong direction, says US Commission for Religious Freedom

Sanchita Dash

As many 1.9 million Assamese might turn stateless says US-based agency

PTI

Is the US interfering with Lok Sabha elections? Russia accuses America of disrespecting India, influencing democratic processes

Kunal Kambli

India unhappy as US body places it amongst countries that violate religious freedom

IANS

The US didn’t like India’s ‘ghar wapsi’

BI India Bureau

India's Citizenship Act gets challenged at the Supreme Court barely a day after passing Parliament

Prabhjote Gill

Trump signed a law to punish China for its oppression of the Uighur Muslims. Uighurs say much more needs to be done.

Sarah Al-Arshani

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