NEW DELHI: Close on the heels of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken saying that his country was monitoring the rise of human rights abuse in India, the US has released a report that touches upon a wide range of issues ranging from the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits to freedom of expression.
The atrocities faced by the Kashmiri Pandits are mentioned under the section of ‘conflict-related abuses’ in the report.
‘‘Tens of thousands of Hindus, known as Kashmiri Pandits, fled the Kashmir Valley after 1990 because of violent intimidation that included murders, destruction of temples, and rapes by Kashmiri Muslim residents,’’ it said, adding that there were approximately 65,000 registered Kashmiri migrant families across India.
In its report, the US State Department quoted data placed by the Indian government regarding the efforts made to bring back Kashmiri Pandits to the Valley.
‘‘In March, 2021, the Ministry of Home Affairs informed parliament that 3,800 Kashmiri Pandit migrants had returned to J&K since the 1990s.’’
In other sections, the report said that independent media were active and generally expressed a wide variety of views. At the same time, it mentioned that there were instances in which government officials at both the local and national levels were involved in intimidating media.
‘‘NGOs alleged criminal prosecutions and investigations were used to intimidate journalists critical of the government.’’
It also spoke about the excesses of terrorists as well as police in India.
‘‘Terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir, northeastern states, and Maoist terrorism-affected areas committed serious abuses, including killings and torture of armed forces personnel, police, government officials, and civilians, kidnapping, and recruitment and use of child soldiers,’’ the report said.
‘‘Reports of prisoners or detainees who were killed or died in police and judicial custody continued. In March, the National Campaign Against Torture reported the deaths of 111 persons in police custody in 2020. The report stated 82 of the deaths were due to alleged torture or foul play.’’