Wednesday, November 9 2005 15:00 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Washington: The US State Department has said that religious freedom in India has improved 'significantly' with the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government espousing an inclusive and secular platform but nevertheless 'problems' remain in some other areas.

In its seventh Annual International Religious Freedom Report, 2005, released yesterday (Nov 8, 2005), the Department redesignated Myanmar, Eritrea, China, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Vietnam as 'Countries of Particular Concern' for 'severe violations' of religious freedom.

However, it noted that Georgia, India, Turkmenistan and the UAE showed 'significant improvement' in the protection and promotion of religious freedom.

On India, the 2005 Report said the status of religious freedom 'improved in a number of ways' and noted that the UPA 'espoused an inclusive and secular platform pledging to respect the country's traditions of secular Government and religious tolerance and respect the rights of religious minorities'.

However, in spite of all this 'problems remained in some areas', the maintained.

"While the Central Government has not been implicated in cases of abuses of religious freedom, it has come under criticism for alleged indifference and inaction in the face of abuses committed by state and local officials," the report states.

"Although discrimination based on caste is officially illegal, it remains ubiquitous, stratifying in almost every segment of society," the report contended.

The International Religious Freedom report, which is mandated by an act of Congress in 1998, examined the barriers to religious freedom in 197 countries as also highlighting the improvement that may have taken place.