Search the Internet          Tips

US panel expresses concern over
Gujarat riots

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, a statutory body, which advises Congress and the American president, has expressed concern over the riots in Gujarat.

The commission is headed by Michael Young, Dean of the George Washington University Law School and comprises of eight others including a person of Indian origin, Shirin Tahir-Kheli of the Johns Hopkins University.

The panel said in its report that it has observed with great concern the riots in India since February 2002 that have killed more than 800 people, "primarily Muslims".

The commission, the report said, "continues to urge the US government to press the Indian authorities to exercise their power to halt the atrocities and violence, bring perpetrators to justice, and do more to root out the causes of religious intolerance, especially by resolving the impasse over the Babri mosque in Ayodhya destroyed in 1992 by Hindu nationalists who are vowing to construct a Hindu temple on the site".

The commission said it "has focused on India in light of the increase in recent years in severe violence against religious minorities in that country -- Muslims, Christians and Sikhs nationwide, and Hindus in Tripura state".

It noted that following the Gujarat riots, the commission issued a statement calling upon the US to help the Indian government "foster a climate of religious tolerance and citing its May 2001 recommendations for US policy to promote religious freedom in India".

PTI

The Sabarmati in Flames: Complete Coverage

Back to top

Tell us what you think of this report