NEW DELHI (TSAT) - The Human Rights Watch (HRW) has criticized the Indian right wing nationalist government anti-Muslim policies and said New Delhi violating the right to religious beliefs.

“A hijab ban in Karnataka, India is violating the right to express one's religious beliefs,” HRW tweeted on Sunday. 

Earlier in a statement, the world rights body said the Hijab ban is the latest example of Indian authorities increasingly seeking to marginalize Muslims, exposing them to heightened violence. 

“At the national and state levels, BJP governments have adopted a slew of laws and policies that systematically discriminate against religious minorities and vulnerable communities, especially Muslims,” said HRW.

In December 2021, Hindu ultra-nationalists, many with links to the BJP, held a three-day religious convention in Uttarakhand in which speakers openly called for the killing of Muslims. 

In Haryana state, the BJP chief minister backed Hindu vigilantes demanding that Muslim prayers in public spaces be stopped. 

“Working-class Muslims are often beaten up, threatened, and harassed with impunity. Photographs of hundreds of prominent educated Muslim women have been displayed on apps saying they were for sale, to humiliate, degrade, and intimidate them,” its further added.

This all comes from a government that says it supports girls’ “education and participation.” It needs to act on those words, ensure that schools are inclusive spaces, and safeguard girls’ right to wear a hijab free of intimidation, the world rights body said.

A day earlier, the US government top envoy for religious freedom also decried over the Indian Karantaka government  decision to banned Muslim girls from education because of wearing Hijab.

In a short statement on social media, the US Amb. at Large for International Religious Freedom Rashad Hussain said the Hijab bans in educational institutions violate religious freedom.

“Religious freedom includes the ability to choose one's religious attire. The Indian state of Karnataka should not determine permissibility of religious clothing. Hijab bans in schools violate religious freedom and stigmatize and marginalize women and girls,” the US envoy tweeted.

Hussain who was appointed by Biden administration on key position, as he earlier served as the President special envoy for the OIC.