U.S. calls out India for persecution

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom warned of growing abuses of Muslims, Christians, and other religious minorities in India in its 2020 annual report released on Tuesday. This year, the commission added India to its Countries of Particular Concern list for the first time since 2004. The country’s ruling Hindu nationalist party instituted citizenship policies in January that USCIRF said could leave the country’s religious minorities, especially Muslims, without legal protections. India also continues to enforce anti-conversion laws and fails to protect Christians from mob attacks.

What else does the report highlight? It recommends adding Nigeria, Russia, Syria, and Vietnam to the list of countries of particular concern. The list already includes Myanmar (also known as Burma), China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. Congress established the commission in 1998 to monitor threats to religious liberty abroad.

Dig deeper: Read the complete report.