Foreign governments do not have the right to criticise India�s vibrant democracy and dedication to rule of law. Critically analayse the statement in context of the recent report of United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has recently published its International Religious Freedom Report, 2019.The report was heavily criticized in India and finally rejected.
Features of the Report:

• There was overall deterioration of religious freedom conditions in 2018 in India
• It has placed India in the Tier 2 country category. Tier 2 countries are those in which violations engaged in or tolerated by the government during 2018
• It has given India a status of Country of Particular Concern standard. CPC status is given to countries which engage in or tolerate systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom
• Several limitations to the right to freedom of religion or belief and challenges faced by religious minorities in India
• It has identified a number of extremist groups who are responsible for an organised campaign of alienation against non-Hindus or low-caste Hindus
• Anti-conversion and anti-cow slaughter laws are predominately used to discriminate against religious minorities
• It has raised concerns over the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam.
• There were several attempts to undermine minority institutions and change names of cities that reminded of the pluralistic nature of India. The report highlighted the change of the name of Allahabad to Prayagraj as an example.

The recent rejection of the findings of the report by India clearly highlights that in no case Our Government is ready to allow foreign elements to criticize our rule of law and constitutional provisions. Our Constitution guarantees fundamental rights to all its citizens, including its minority communities. Fundamental right to freedom of religion is guaranteed under Articles 25, 26, 27 and 28 of Part III of the Indian Constitution. The international communities should respect sovereignty of a country till there is no Human rights exploitation.

Topics: GS-II: Important International Institutions Agencies and Fora