: US ambassador for religious freedom concerned over treatment of religious communities in India #IndiaNEWS #News Washington: The US ambassador at large for international religious freedom Rashad Hussain

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US ambassador for religious freedom concerned over treatment of religious communities in India #IndiaNEWS #News
Washington: The US ambassador at large for international religious freedom Rashad Hussain has voiced concern over the treatment of a number of religious communities in India and said Washington was dealing directly with Indian officials to address the challenges. Addressing the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit here on Thursday, Hussain said his father came from India to the US in 1969.
This country gave him everything but he loves India and follows what happens every day. My parents and we have a conversation about that, as do so many of you who reach out to us and are looking at whats going on in India and love the country and want to see it live up to its values, he said.
The US was “concerned about a number of religious communities in India and was “dealing directly� with Indian officials to address the challenges, Hussain said.
“India now has a citizenship law thats on the books. Weve had open calls for genocide in India. Weve had attacks on churches. We have had a ban on the hijab. Weve had demolitions of homes, the Indian-American diplomat said.
Weve got rhetoric thats openly being used thats dehumanising towards people, to the extent that one minister referred to Muslims as termites, he said, apparently referring to Union Home Minister Amit Shahs comments. In one of his speeches, he referred to Bangladeshi migrants as termites.
So you have these ingredients. . so its important that we take note and work towards the challenges we face, he said, adding that it is the “responsibility� of the United States to speak out on human rights and religious freedoms not just in India, but across the world.
India has repeatedly rejected the criticism against it in the US State Department reports on religious freedom and statements by senior officials, saying it is unfortunate that vote bank politics is being practised in international relations. In its reaction, India has expressed concern over racially and ethnically motivated attacks, hate crimes and gun violence in the US.
In his remarks, Hussain also said that he had met with Indian Christians, Sikhs, Dalits and the indigenous people.
He recalled that the Early Warning Project of the US Holocaust Museum had “designated India as the number two country in the world at risk of mass killings. For any society to live up to its potential, we have to secure the rights of all people. Our job is to protect the religious freedom of all people everywhere in the world he said.
“It is important that we work together and fight for the rights of all people. If there is anyone who is attacked there was an attack yesterday, it was despicable — we have to condemn that too,� he said, apparently referring to the killing of a tailor in Udaipur.

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