Restricted religious freedom

From day one India's claim of a secular state was a deception, and being its immediate neighbour and erstwhile co-citizen we knew it firsthand. But better late than never - thanks to the international media, the world at large, too, is now getting acquainted with the Modi-sponsored Hindutva and its calamitous fallout on religious minorities in India. If its strategic partner, the US, too, thinks so then there should be no doubt about the severity of this curse. Releasing the report of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom last week, Secretary of State, Michael Pompeo, said that in India Hindu groups "used violence, intimidation and harassment" against Muslims and low caste Dalits last year to force religion-based national identity. And that Prime Minister Modi "seldom made public statements decrying mob violence, as certain members of his political party have affiliations with Hindu extremist groups and used inflammatory language about religious minorities publicly". Both "public and private actors" had engaged in this campaign against minorities. However, the said US report has stopped short of saying - what it should have - that the high horse Narendra Modi rode to electoral victory was a one-point agenda - India is for Hindus and others got to become Hindu to remain its citizens. India point-blank rejected the US report, saying how dare you question its "vibrant democracy and dedication to rule of law. We see no locus standi for a foreign government to pronounce on the state of our citizens' constitutionally protected rights."
On the face of it, the said report on religious freedom in other countries is only half-truth, the whole-truth is that it is crookedly silent about the reign of terror that Modi's India has unleashed on the people of Occupied Jammu & Kashmir. If this report is not politically motivated then how come its writers overlooked India's ongoing genocidal campaign in Kashmir? Not only have Indian troops killed thousands of Kashmiris, they have also drastically restricted their religious freedom and Modi government is now set to work on changing the demographic character of the Muslim-majority state. Not a day passes when someone in Kashmir is not blinded if not killed at the hands of occupational force. For this omission the US owes an apology to the people of Kashmir, and also a commitment that it would use its best offices to help protect their state's special status under the Indian constitution.
The state of religious freedom in India is terrible. But the US Commission overlooked what Indian troops were doing in Occupied Kashmir, and instead of blacklisting it is put on the Tier 2 list of countries that engage in or tolerate violation of religious freedom. On the other hand, Pakistan is also placed on the same list - though Secretary Pompeo called Aasia Bibi's release a "good news" of the year. As religious freedom loses space in India, in Pakistan it is gaining space thanks to growing inter-faith harmony and religious tolerance. But, unfortunately, the concerned US commission has lumped Pakistan with India on the same Tier 2 list. We should not forget that it is India where thousands of Sikhs were butchered in the wake of Indira Gandhi's assassination across India and hundreds of Muslims were put to the sword under Modi's watch in his state Gujarat. But that said, due credit goes to the Commission for shining light on this critical area of immense human interest.