Religious freedom in China, India under attack because of ‘aggressive ultranationalism’: Report

Beijing, Nov 23: Religious freedom is coming under increasing threat in one of every five nations in the world with two of the biggest economies China and India featuring in the list and the partial reason of this phenomenon is the rise in "aggressive ultranationalism", a Catholic NGO has said in a report on Thursday, November 22, AFP reported.

The body, Aid to the Church in Need, has spotted incidents of religious persecution in as many as 21 countries in two years till June 2018 and China and India are among them.

On the other hand, acts of discrimination were reported from 17 other nations and they include Russia, Turkey and Algeria.

The report was the 14th edition of the group which covered all regions in 196 countries and the report is carried every two years with the help of independent journalists.

"We've observed a trivialisation of attacks on religious freedom," Marc Fromager, head of the NGO's French chapter, was quoted as saying at a press conference in Paris.

Fromager said of the 38 countries where freedom is imperilled, the situation has worsened in 18 and they include the two most populous nations - China and India.

"This hostility toward minorities has worsened to the point that we can qualify this as aggressive ultranationalism," he was quoted as saying.

Talking about China, Fromager said while churches have been destroyed and the Uyghur Muslims have been barred from observing Ramadan - their holy month - Tibetan Buddhists continue to face the wrath.

In India, too, attacks on religious minorities have become a routine affair and that even includes attacking them over rumours of consumption of beef.