US body's comment on lack of religious freedom in India is a case of an 'emperor without clothes': Security expert

Security expert Sushant Sareen on Friday said that a United States Congress report on religious freedom in India is a case of an 'emperor without clothes', pointing to the wave of racist attacks taking place in the former.

"The report is an internal Congressional report but it is a bad idea for India to ignore such reports, simply because, then the message that goes across is that perhaps there is a tacit acceptance or a discomfort with such reports. I think India's record in terms of religious freedom, in terms of a secular polity, is second to none. For the Americans, who are reeling under a wave of racist attacks by their police forces, and with the other kinds of discrimination in the US, for them to point fingers at India is rather disingenuous," Sareen told ANI.

"The US is hand-in-glove with countries like Pakistan, which is an Islamo-Fascist state, and Saudi Arabia, which has rampant religious discrimination. The real problem with the US is that it has its own fanatical Christian right-wing groups which tend to become very active on issues like religious freedom. India's response to the US report should be that the emperor is also without clothes," he added.

Earlier this week, a US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) claimed that minorities in India have been subjected to 'violent attacks' and 'forced conversions' since Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed power.

India has voiced its strong disapproval over the statement and has said it does not take cognizance of such reports.