Taking note of the recent violence against the Christian community in India, the US has asked the Indian government to protect the religious freedom throughout the country.
When cowards run the State, the nation bleeds
"We urge all parties to refrain from violence and urge government officials to protect religious freedom throughout India and thus preserve India's longstanding tradition of religious tolerance," said Ambassador for International Religious Freedom, John Hanford.
He made the remarks while presenting the 10th Annual State Department Report on International Religious Freedom, which is mandated every year by the United States Congress.
'We're against forcible conversions'
"Approximately 100 churches and Christian institutions were damaged, 700 Christian homes were destroyed causing villagers to flee to nearby forests, and 22 Christian-owned businesses were affected," the report said.
We have also seen violence against Christians in the state of Karnataka this past week, some of which appears to have been politically motivated, it alleged.
The report said that the Constitution provides for freedom of religion; however, some state level laws and policies restricted this freedom.
'Ensure reconversions aren't forced'
"The national government generally respected religious freedom in practice; however, some state and local governments imposed limits on this freedom. There was no change in the status of respect for religious freedom by the national government during the period covered by this report; however, problems remained in some areas," it said.
"Some state governments enacted and amended 'anti-conversion' laws and police and enforcement agencies often did not act swiftly to effectively counter communal attacks, including attacks against religious minorities," the State Department's report said.
Attacks were in areas of conversion acitivity: Karnataka CM
A section on India said, "During the reporting period, the state of Gujarat implemented its 'Freedom of Religion' Law initially passed in 2003 and withdrew an amendment that would have defined 'conversions' as occurring only between denominations and not between religions, and would have classified Jains and Buddhists as denominations of Hinduism. This law requires prior permission from the Gujarat government for a conversion ceremony."
Peace prevails in riot-hit Mangalore, for now
"Throughout the reporting period, mission officers investigated and reported on numerous cases of alleged religious persecution, ongoing cases in Gujarat, attacks against Christians in Orissa, mission officers also monitored the plight of internally displaced Kashmiri Hindus, known as Pandits, who fled their home areas in the valley of Kashmir starting in 1989," the report said.
"The US government continued to express regret over the communal violence in Gujarat in 2002, and urged all parties in Gujarat to resolve their differences peacefully. The report was prepared after Consulate and senior embassy officers met in Mumbai with a range of NGO, business, media, and other contacts, including Muslim leaders, to monitor the aftermath of the Gujarat violence.
"The Embassy and consulates reached out to madrasas directly and through the special International Visitor Madrasa programmes; religious freedom, tolerance, and respect for diversity were topics of discussion," the report said.
