Indian leadership must speak against extremist rhetoric:USCIRF

Denial of visa by India to the members of a US commission on religious freedom is a "tremendous missed opportunity" for it, a top official of the independent body has said and asked India's top leadership to speak more forcefully against "extremist rhetoric".
"This is world's largest democratic country of 1.25 billion people. The fact that they should somewhat be defensive about permitting commissioners and professionals from US Commission looking into protection of vital human rights, reveals weakness and not strength in my view," Katrina Lantos-Swett, commissioner of US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), told PTI.
"I find it somewhat incomprehensible and a tremendous missed opportunity on the part of India," said Lantos-Swett, who was scheduled to travel to India leading a USCIRF delegation along with other members.

This is the third time - after 2001 and 2009 - that India has failed to issue visas to the members of USCIRF, she said, adding that India is a great society and one of the most significant countries in the world.
"One would hope that a democratic and pluralistic society like India would welcome a visit from the commission," she said, adding that the decision taken by the Indian Government is defensive.
"Pluralistic, incredibly diversified with huge challenges. We strongly feel that India would be strengthened in meeting these challenges if it could do a better job that it is currently doing by robustly protecting this fundamental human rights of religious consciousness and believe," she said.

Lantos-Swett said there are some "very problematic laws" in some of the Indian States, and issue of communal violence directed at religious minorities is a huge concern.

Responding to a question, Lantos-Swett welcomed some of
the statements made by Prime Minister Modi on ensuring religious freedom.
"We welcome that and encourage that. But it would be fair to say that we think he can do much more," she said.
"More needs to be done, precisely because of the party that he represents. It would be very beneficial and very important for the Prime Minister to speak up with greater frequency, greater passion and greater clarity about the respect for freedom of religious consciousness and believe," Lantos-Swett said.

She also called for "unequivocal condemnation" of acts of violence against religious freedom.
"Leaders have a unique platform to set the tone of a nation," she said.
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"We welcome the couple of positive statements that he (Modi) has made, but we would like to see the government act much more pro-actively both in terms of the tone that is set by the statements by the highest leadership in Indian society in support of religious freedom, tolerance, pluralism and statements...," Lantos-Swett said.
Lantos-Swett is the daughter of former top American Congressman Tom Lantos, the only Holocaust survivor to have served in the US Congress. She also served as USCIRF chairman in the past.

She said she is a great admirer of India's democracy and pluralistic society.
It is very possible even perhaps likely that had commission members been permitted to visit India and given the opportunity with people in a position to truly know and understand what India's policy is dealing with these very challenging, USCIRF might even have come out saying "oh my gosh we were not aware of how much diversity" there is in India, she pointed out.
Lantos-Swett said the Indian decision to deny "us the visa made this issue much more high-profile".
"If human rights organisations from India wanted to come and get visas to investigate whether or not Sikhs or Hindus were being discriminated in some way in the United States, the US would welcome that," she said in response to a question.

India, she said, is one of the most extraordinary that established a vibrant democracy at a time when it did not enjoy the economic growth, the large middle class that it now enjoys it, under a truly difficult circumstances.
"And India's commitment to democracy is unquestioned," she said.