Kanishka Sharma

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary Antony Blinken claimed that the United States was closely monitoring the rise in Indian human rights violations by certain officials. It is a rare direct rebuke of Washington’s record on rights in Asia.

Blinken stated Monday that the U.S. defense secretary Lloyd Austin and Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, India’s foreign minister, and Rajnath Singh, India’s defense minister, regularly interact with Indian partners.

Blinken did not elaborate. Singh and Jaishankar spoke following Blinken but did not address the issue of human rights.

Blinken made these remarks days after Ilhan Omar (a U.S. Representative) questioned the U.S. government’s alleged hesitation to critique Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government regarding human rights.

“What does Modi need to do to India’s Muslim population before we will stop considering them a partner in peace?” Omar was speaking on behalf of President Joe Biden’s Democratic Party.

Modi’s opponents claim Modi’s Hindu nationalist ruling group has promoted religious polarization after coming to power in 2014.

Right-wing Hindu groups launched attacks against minorities since Modi was elected to power. They claim they want to stop religious conversions. Numerous Indian states have or are considering laws against conversion that will challenge the constitutionally-protected right to freedom and belief.

The government adopted a 2019 citizenship law, which critics claimed undermined India’s secular constitution. It excluded Muslim migrants from neighboring countries. It was intended to give Indian citizenship to Buddhists. Christians. Hindus. Parsis. Parsis. The law also granted Indian nationality to Jains. Parsis. Sikhs.

Modi’s government also revoked Kashmiri special status in an attempt to integrate this Muslim-majority region into the nation. This was just a year after Modi won his 2019 reelection victory. In order to keep the protests under control, Modi’s administration arrested many Kashmiri politicians and deployed many paramilitary soldiers and police officers in the Himalayan region that was also claimed by Pakistan.

Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, (BJP), recently outlawed the wearing of hijabs in Karnataka schools. Later, Hindu extremist groups demanded that such restrictions be applied to more Indian states.