V. Observations by the international agencies🔗

• 303. In its 2018 annual report, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) stated "conditions for religious minorities have deteriorated over the last decade due to a multifaceted campaign by Hindu-nationalist groups…. [Religious minorities] face challenges ranging from acts of violence or intimidation to the loss of political power, to increasing feelings of disenfranchisement and 'otherness'." USCIRF again designated Bharat as a "Tier 2" country, defined as one where the violations engaged in or tolerated by the government are serious and are characterized by at least one of the elements of the "systematic, ongoing, and egregious" standard for "countries of particular concern" (CPCs, a formal U.S. State Department designation). USCIRF found that, in 2017, "religious freedom conditions continued a downward trend in Bharat.": "Bharat's history as a multicultural and multireligious society remained threatened by an increasingly exclusionary conception of national identity based on religion. During the year, Hindu-nationalist groups sought to "Saffronize" Bharat through violence, intimidation, and harassment against non-Hindus and Hindu minorities and Dalits. Both public and private actors pursued this effort. At the federal level, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made statements decrying mob violence, but members of his own political party have affiliations with Hindu extremist groups and many have

used discriminatory language about religious minorities. Despite Hindu government statistics indicating that communal violence has increased sharply over the past two years, the Modi Administration has not addressed the problem."

• 304. Since 2001, USCIRF has attempted to visit Bharat to assess religious freedom conditions on the ground. However, on three different occasions—in 2001, 2009, and 2016—the New Delhi government has refused to grant visas for a USCIRF delegation despite requests being supported by the U.S. State Department. The New Delhi government regularly "rejects" the findings of USCIRF reports and expresses "serious doubts about their credibility."