India’s Refusal to Admit U.S. Religious Freedom Watchdog Seen As Attempt to Hide ‘Crimes’ Against Religious Minorities
India’s refusal to admit a delegation from a U.S. religious freedom watchdog is an attempt to hide its “crimes” against religious minorities from the world, a Sikh advocacy group declared after the Indian government questioned the legal standing of an outside body to judge India’s record.
“India is once again trying to hide its crimes from the world,” Sikhs for Justice said on its website. “The Indians think if they refuse entry to international observers of religious freedoms, the world will never know the way they are trying to exterminate minorities.”
“But this isn’t the 80s and 90s,” the U.S.-based group continued. “Today there are a million different ways information gets out and today the Sikh nation is a lot stronger in the free world than ever before.”
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) on Thursday expressed disappointment about not being able to secure visas for a long-planned visit to the country, which was to have begun on Friday.
“As a pluralistic, non-sectarian, and democratic state, and a close partner of the United States, India should have the confidence to allow our visit,” said the commission’s chairman, Robert George.