India: U.S. Voices Dismay Over Denial of Visas to Religious Freedom Group
The State Department on Monday expressed disappointment that Indiahad refused visas to members of an American commission that examines violations of religious freedom around the world. The commission, made up mainly of professors and leaders of nonprofit groups appointed byPresident Obama and members of Congress, had planned to travel to India last week. The Indian Embassy said in a statement that “a foreign entity” had no standing to pass judgment on the state of India’s constitutionally protected rights. In last year’s report, the commission said reports of religiously motivated and communal violence in India had increased for three consecutive years.