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New Delhi, Sept 21: There is a 'steady' and 'alarming' erosion of fundamental rights, particularly of religious and other minorities in India, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Minority Issue has told the USCIRF.

During a hearing on Wednesday, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Minority Issue Fernand de Varennes told the US Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) that the situation in India can be summarised in three words -- 'massive, systematic and dangerous'.

The USCIRF had announced that it would hold a hearing on religious freedom in India on September 20. India has previously rejected USCIRF reports that alleged violations of religious freedom in the country.

Appearing before the USCIRF for the hearing on policy options for advancing religious freedom in India, de Varennes alleged there is a 'steady' and 'alarming' erosion of fundamental rights, particularly of religious and other minorities in the country.

'India risks becoming one of the world's main generators of instability, atrocities and violence because of the massive scale and gravity of the violations and abuses targeting mainly religious and other minorities such as Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and others. It is not just individual or local, it is systematic and a reflection of religious nationalism,' he said.

The hearing comes on the heels of two successful bilateral meetings between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden -- the official state visit of the Indian leader here in June and a bilateral meeting in New Delhi in September.

USCIRF chair Abraham Cooper claimed Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Dalits and Adivasis are experiencing 'increased levels of attacks and acts of intimidation' in India.

'The national government has continued to suppress minority voices and those advocating on their behalf through surveillance, harassment, demolition of property and detention under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. These trends and their implication for the US foreign policy should not be ignored,' he said.

Cooper alleged that for the past several years, religious freedom conditions in India have deteriorated, capturing international attention and highlighting the need for continued discussions and engagement on policy options for advancing religious freedom in the country.

The USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan US government advisory body created by the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA). Its recommendations are not binding on the US government.

On May 2 this year, India rejected as 'biased' and 'motivated' a report by the USCIRF that alleged 'severe violations' of religious freedom in the country.

'The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) continues to regurgitate biased and motivated comments about India, this time in its 2023 annual report. We reject such misrepresentation of facts, which only serves to discredit USCIRF itself,' the Ministry of External Affairs had said.

'We would urge USCIRF to desist from such efforts and develop a better understanding of India, its plurality, its democratic ethos and its constitutional mechanisms,' it had said.

Modi's state visit to Washington in June reflects the close bilateral relationship between the United States and India, the USCIRF had said last week.

'However, over the last decade, the Indian government has enacted and enforced discriminatory policies targeting religious minorities, including anti-conversion laws, cow slaughter laws, legislation granting citizenship preferences based on religion, and restrictions on foreign funding for civil society organisations,' it alleged.

'Recent trends include the eruption of violence between Hindus and Muslims in Haryana in July and targeted attacks against Christian and Jewish minorities in Manipur, highlighting the need for new strategies to mitigate violence against religious minorities in India,' it said.

Since 2020, the USCIRF has recommended that the US Department of State designate India as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC).

New Delhi, Sept 21: The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the women's reservation bill with near-unanimous backing, setting it on course to be cleared by the Rajya Sabha possibly by Thursday evening.

It was the first time that the women's quota bill, the Constitution (128th Amendment) Bill in Parliament's terminology, had been put to vote in the Lok Sabha and it glided past the 2/3rds bar with a massive 454-2 leap, with only both members of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, who had demanded a quota for Muslim and OBC women within the larger quota, voting against the affirmative action measure, which has been decades in the waiting.

The landslide support came in spite of the opposition failing to secure acceptance of its demands - that it should be implemented immediately rather than by 2029 as the government has proposed, quota for OBCs and Muslims within the general quota, and for clubbing a caste-wise headcount with the decennial census. This showed that the bill is likely to cruise through the RS as well on Thursday, bringing the prospect of enactment of a law reserving one-third seats in Parliament and legislatures tantalisingly close.

Government sources stressed that once the bill was passed by Parliament and got the President's assent, it would automatically apply to all state assemblies without having to secure ratification by them.

Criticism fails to turn into opposition

Parliament has the prerogative to decide the number of seats in state assemblies, which have no role to play in this regard," a senior government functionary said.

PM Narendra Modi, who vigorously pushed for the long-delayed legislation, was jubiliant. "Delighted at the passage of the Constitution Amendment Bill 2023 in Lok Sabha with such phenomenal support. I thank MPs across party lines who voted in support of this bill," he posted on social media site X.

"The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam is a historic legislation which will further boost women's empowerment and will enable even greater participation of women in our political process," he tweeted.

Given the bill's troubled history - it was brought to Parliament five times only to be cast aside in view of resistance which would often take an aggressive turn - its smooth passage came as an anti-climax to many and a pleasant surprise for legions of women activists.

The opposition parties, which unanimously saw the bill as a move timed to coincide with the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls, refused to give the government a free pass. Congress and others pressed for immediate rollout. Congress also reversed itself on the issue of "quota within quota". It had refused to concede the demand of OBC parties in 2010, leading to the demise of the bill after it was passed by the Rajya Sabha.

Congress also demanded tagging a caste census with the decennial enumeration exercise, in a marked pivot towards the "social justice" platform.

But the criticism did not translate into opposition, something that appeared to be testimony to the PM's sense of timing as well as the influence that women have begun to wield in many parts.

It was home minister Amit Shah who parried the opposition's insistence on immediate rollout by saying that for anything to be considered, the bill had to go through first. "Yesterday was Shri Ganesh Chaturthi, so let the bill have an auspicious beginning," he said.

A few amendments moved by the government relating to the numbering of the Constitution amendment bill were also cleared by the House. When the proposed legislation goes to the Rajya Sabha for consideration, it will be called the Constitution (106th Amendment) Bill, officials said.

Bengaluru, Sept 18: The Cauvery Water Management Authority has asked Karnataka to continue releasing 5,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu for another 15 days, a senior Jal Shakti Ministry official said on Monday.

The direction came after an emergency meeting was held on Monday in which both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu gave their representations.

In the meeting, Karnataka said it could release 3,000 cusecs while Tamil Nadu demanded 12,500 cusecs of water, the official said, adding that an agreement was reached to release 5,000 cusecs of water for the next 15 days, after which the matter would be reviewed again.

Taking note of the severity of drought in the Cauvery Basin in Karnataka, which has been increasing and putting at greater risk even drinking water needs and minimum needs of irrigation, the state made submissions that it is not in a position to release water unless the inflows into reservoirs improves, the official said.