Minorities in India face deteriorating treatment, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom said on Tuesday, and it recommended targeted sanctions against India’s external spy agency over alleged involvement in assassination plots against Sikh separatists.
The panel’s annual report also said communist-ruled Vietnam stepped up efforts to regulate and control religious affairs. It recommended Vietnam – a country like India with which Washington has sought to build close ties given shared concerns about China – also be designated a “country of particular concern.”
Analysts say Washington has long seen New Delhi as a counter to China’s rising influence in Asia and elsewhere, and, hence, overlooked human rights issues in India. It is unlikely the US government will sanction India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) spy service, as the panel’s recommendations are not binding.
