US panel wants India on religious freedom blacklist

A US government panel called for India to be put on a religious freedom blacklist. The panel called for it over a “drastic” downturn under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, triggering a sharp rebuttal from New Delhi.  The US Commission on International Religious Freedom recommends but does not set policy, and there is virtually no chance the State Department will follow its lead on India, an increasingly close US ally.

In an annual report, the bipartisan panel said that India should join the ranks of “countries of particular concern” that would be subject to sanctions if they do not improve their records.

Source: Samaa