US sets up fund against religious violence in India

The United States has announced a grant of nearly $500,000 for a non- governmental organisation to come up with proposals to develop early warning systems for "reducing religiously-motivated violence and discrimination" in India, according to a report on Wednesday.

The Press Trust of India (PTI) said the US State Department also announced a similar grant for Sri Lanka.

The Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour, in its notice of funding opportunity, said through its $493,827 Indian programme, it seeks to "reduce religiously- motivated violence and discrimination in India".

The State Department said the NGOs applying for the grant should come out with proposals to develop and implement early warning systems to mitigate large-scale violence and implement conflict mitigation programmes between minority and majority groups, PTI said.

The applicants also need to come out with ideas for successful programme activities to counter hateful or discriminatory public messages with positive messages.

They should also have proposals to educate civil society and journalists about legal protections for religious freedom, particularly for members of religious minorities; document and report religious freedom violations to authorities; and educate law enforcement on human rights standards.

Among other proposals could be ideas to engage law enforcement to better protect rights of religious minorities, including preventing incidents of discrimination and violence and holding perpetrators accountable, the State Department said.

The State Department did not respond immediately to a set of questions on the necessity of such a grant amounting to nearly $500,000, PTI said.