Religious freedom in India has deteriorated.

Non-secular freedom in India has deteriorated “significantly” under the Hindu nationalist government, according to a US committee, because it has again backed targeted punishments in response to violations.

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom has proposed that India be included to a list of “nations of particular concern” for the third consecutive year — a suggestion that has enraged New Delhi and is likely to be dismissed by the State Department.

In its annual report, the panel — which is established to provide guidance but does not make US policy — expressed widespread concern about South Asia and endorsed the State Department’s inclusion of Pakistan on the blacklist.

The report cited “many” attacks on religious minorities in India in 2021, mainly Muslims and Christians, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government pursued “its ideological vision of a Hindu state” through policies antagonistic to minorities.

“Conditions of religious freedom in India have dramatically deteriorated,” according to the report.

It cited a “culture of impunity” for countrywide threats and violence by mobs and vigilante groups, as well as the detention of journalists and human rights activists.

In prior years, the Indian government has vehemently disputed the commission’s findings, accusing it of prejudice.

President Joe Biden, like his predecessor, Donald Trump, has pushed to strengthen ties with India, seeing common ground in the face of a rising China.

Biden is slated to meet Modi in Tokyo next month as part of a “Quad” four-way summit with Japan and Australia.

Following the Taliban’s victory, the commission recommended putting Afghanistan to the blacklist and relisting Nigeria, which had been removed by the Biden administration.

China, Eritrea, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan are among the countries on the State Department’s spiritual freedom blacklist, which might result in penalties.