India calls US human rights report deeply biased: ‘Attach no value to it’

The External Affairs Ministry on Thursday said the Human Rights Report released by the US State Department is "deeply biased" and added that the Union government attaches "no value to it".

The report highlighted "significant" abuses in Manipur following the outbreak of ethnic conflict in May 2023, the raids by tax authorities on the BBC and cases of transnational repression like the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada.

When asked about the report, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal replied, "This report is deeply biased and reflects a poor understanding of India. We attach no value to it and urge you to do the same."

The report pointed out that at least 175 people were killed in Manipur and more than 60,000 were displaced due to the ongoing conflict between the Meitei and Kuki communities. The violence erupted in May 2023 after a Tribal Solidarity March was organised by the All Tribal Students Union of Manipur (ATSUM) to protest against the inclusion of Meiteis in the ST category.

The report also mentioned the searches conducted by the Income Tax department at the Delhi and Mumbai offices of the UK-based broadcaster, BBC, on allegations of International Taxation and Transfer Pricing irregularities.

The searches were conducted weeks after the British broadcaster released a documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots titled "India: The Modi Question".

The Human Rights Report also mentioned the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada, saying it indicated a "pattern of extrajudicial actions by state agents".

Following the release of the report, Robert Gilchrist, senior bureau official at the US State Department, had urged India to uphold its human rights commitments.