US panel wants India on religious freedom blacklist

A US government panel on Tuesday called for India to be put on a religious freedom blacklist over a "drastic" downturn under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, triggering an sharp rebuttal from New Delhi.The US Commission on International Religious Freedom recommends but does not set policy, and there is virtually no chance the State Department will follow its lead on India, an increasingly close US ally.In an annual report, the bipartisan panel said that India should join the ranks of "countries of