August 11, 2020

Dear Senator Harris, soon to be Vice President of the United States,

cc: Farooq Mitha, Amit Jani, and others at the Biden-Harris Presidential Campaign

We are co-founders of Hindus for Human Rights, a U.S.-based advocacy organization that is committed to the ideals of multi-religious pluralism in the United States, India, and beyond. 

We would like to extend our hearty congratulations to you for being named by Vice President Biden as his running mate in one of the most critical elections in America’s recent history.

In addition to your outstanding qualifications to play an active role in driving the Biden-Harris administration, your candidacy as an African American/Indian American woman and as a daughter of immigrants fulfils the aspirations of several important segments of America who have been historically neglected by Washington.

As beneficiaries of America’s welcome to immigrants and minorities, like your family, we stand ready to work with you to help reclaim America after the sad chapter of the last four years. And we hope that you will take an active role in three of the most pressing issues of the day, especially for minority communities: criminal justice reform, health care, and immigration reform.

Our organization’s members are Hindus of conscience who take a firm stand against Hindu Nationalism, both in India and in the U.S. -- which is as dangerous to Indian democracy as White Nationalism is to American Democracy. We live by the inclusive and expansive core Hindu teachings and are very concerned that our country of origin, India, is hurtling towards becoming a Hindu theocracy, where minorities could become second-class citizens.

So it is our earnest hope that in addition to the three areas above that we believe are close to your heart, you will also be actively engaged in reclaiming the traditional U.S.-India relations, which have been based on mutual commitment to democracy, free speech, and equality under law of all citizens. As you are aware, all of these core values have been under great threat in both the largest democracies, under the pressure of the Trump-Modi camaraderie.

As the Biden-Harris campaign team begins work on its domestic and foreign policy priorities, Hindus for Human Rights, as a representative of progressive Hindu voices in America, would like an opportunity to share our views on how we can change the direction of our engagement with India. As a valued ally and friend of India, the Biden-Harris administration must call out India on the dangerous path that it is on and ask it to honor its commitment to the rights of all Indian citizens, as guaranteed by its unique and celebrated constitution.

We also request a meeting with you where our alliance of progressive groups concerned for India can make our case for a reboot of the India policy by the Biden-Harris administration.

You can reach us at sunita@hindusforhumanrights.org and raju@hindusforhumanrights.org.

We are truly excited about your candidacy, and hope we can help in your endeavors to restore justice in America.

Sincerely,

Sunita Viswanath and Raju Rajagopal

Co-founders, Hindus for Human Rights (.org)