Speaking Out on Religious Intolerance in India: A Coalition's Unified Voice
Represented by Sunita Viswanath, Executive Director of Hindus for Human Rights, and comprising:
Dalit Solidarity Forum, Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations, Hindus for Human Rights, Indian American Muslim Council, India Civil Watch International, and the New York State Council of Churches
At a pivotal hearing held by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), a significant coalition consisting of six major organizations unified their voices to address the escalating religious intolerance in India. This statement, read by Sunita Viswanath, the Executive Director of Hindus for Human Rights, underlines the urgency and gravity of the situation. The collaboration of these varied organizations amplifies the message and exemplifies the strength of collective advocacy in promoting human rights. With USCIRF offering the platform, the need for immediate global attention to India's religious unrest has never been clearer.
Understanding the Importance of USCIRF
USCIRF’s role is crucial in the contemporary era. In an increasingly globalized world, the importance of ensuring religious freedom and tolerance across countries is paramount. USCIRF, with its commitment to identify and address religious freedom violations worldwide, plays a pivotal role. The organization's mandate to remain independent and objective, especially in the face of political pressure, lends it a credibility that few bodies can claim.
A Unified Voice for Human Rights
At the heart of the joint statement read by Sunita Viswanath, the Executive Director of Hindus for Human Rights, is the collective voice of multiple organizations. Representing the interests and concerns of diverse groups, the statement addresses the increasing suppression of minority groups in India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership. Key concerns raised by the coalition include:
The perceived indifference of the Biden Administration towards religious persecution in India.
The apparent dangers posed by the rising tide of Hindu nationalism in India.
The concerning situation in Manipur and Uttarakhand states, which showcase a troubling escalation in violence and intolerance.
The statement underscores the dire implications of U.S. silence on the issue and how this inaction may embolden extremist ideologies further.
Safa Ahmed’s Statement for IAMC
While the coalition's joint statement was comprehensive and crucial, another poignant perspective was provided by Safa Ahmed of the Indian American Muslim Council. Due to time constraints during the hearing, Safa Ahmed was unable to present her statement aloud, even though Sunita Viswanath had explicitly requested its inclusion. Nevertheless, we believe it's essential to share Ahmed's testimony here. Painting a grim picture of the daily atrocities faced by Muslims in India, her words add depth to the overarching narrative, describing how India, once hailed as the world's largest democracy, is descending into religious authoritarianism.
A Call for Action
In echoing the sentiment that the U.S. needs to be more proactive, both the coalition and Ahmed urge the Biden Administration to acknowledge the alarming rise in religious intolerance in India. For America, the implications are not just about human rights; they are also about safeguarding a strategic partnership with a country that needs to play a responsible role in international relations.
The unity and collaborative effort of these organizations at the USCIRF hearing is a testament to the importance of collective voices in bringing about change. The situation in India calls for global attention and a prompt response from the international community. As individuals, it's essential to stay informed and support organizations that aim to ensure that human rights, dignity, and religious freedom are upheld worldwide. Only through collective and sustained efforts can the global community hope to address and redress issues of such magnitude.
Below it the complete text:
JOINT STATEMENT AT USCIRF HEARING
Read by: Sunita Viswanath, Executive Director, Hindus for Human Rights
Dear USCIRF Chair Cooper and Vice Chair Davie,
Thank you for inviting me to testify.
I speak on behalf of Dalit Solidarity Forum, Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations, Hindus for Human Rights, Indian American Muslim Council, India Civil Watch International, and the New York State Council of Churches.
We are disappointed that Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and Dalits, who face the brunt of religious freedom and human rights violations under Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have not been invited to speak on this panel.
The Biden Administration is in denial of religious persecution in India, failing to call out India’s persecution of its 250 million Muslims and 40 million Christians.
In June, President Biden shocked the world by applauding India’s “open, tolerant, robust debate” with Modi standing next to him at the White House, just two days after 75 Members of US Congress had written to Biden expressing concern over “the shrinking of political space, the rise of religious intolerance, the targeting of civil society organizations and journalists, and growing restrictions on press freedoms and internet access” in India.
Yesterday, The New York Times wrote: “Mr. Biden has soft-pedaled any criticism of the increasing suppression of minority groups and opposition voices in India and the encouragement of Hindu nationalism under Mr. Modi.”
Two days ago, the Canadian prime minister accused India of assassinating a Sikh Canadian citizen. If true, it would be a reminder that the dangerous Hindu nationalist violence has reached our shores. Many Americans have been intimidated and harassed by, and received death threats from, Indian operatives. To them, India’s possible complicity in this assassination has an element of plausibility. This is bound to have a chilling effect on civil rights activism in America.
We implore the Biden Administration to urgently acknowledge that India under Modi is on a dangerous and alarming path towards religious authoritarianism, and is undeniably a Country of Particular Concern.
Encouraged by America’s silence, the fanatical and murderous ideology of Hindu nationalism in India has now reached a new low, instigating horrific violence against Christians and Muslims, including extrajudicial killings, mob lynchings, arbitrary arrests, and demolition of their homes and places of worship.
Graphic sexual violence against women has sharply risen, most horrifically demonstrated in a viral video from Manipur state. Of course, such violence against Dalit communities predates the Modi regime, but has significantly become worse since his coming to power.
Since May, more than 180 people have been killed, 400 churches burnt to the ground and 50,000 Christians driven from their homes in Manipur state. This violence has been carried out by militant mobs supported and armed by the state administration run by the BJP, Modi’s party, and egged on by the police. In Uttarakhand state, mobs backed by the BJP-ruled administration have forced thousands of Muslims to flee as their homes and businesses were demolished.
We also object to the Modi government’s closing of FCRA accounts, which has barred American charities from continuing to serve the needs of marginalized Indian people. We decry the misuse of conversion laws to stop both Indian and American Christians from doing charitable work. And we object to the intimidation, denial of entry, and even detention of American visitors to India who represent religious minority groups.
Sadly, the man at the apex of the escalating violence against religious minorities – Modi – is being feted by government after government, including ours, who are paying lip service to human rights. The rejection by the Biden and Trump Administrations of USCIRF’s recommendation to designate India as a CPC for three years in a row is a troubling precedent.
If the Biden Administration continues its uncritical embrace of the Modi government despite mounting violations of religious freedom and human rights in India, America will carry the burden of being on the wrong side of history.
USCIRF’s credibility has historically rested on its mandate to remain independent in calling out religious freedom violations worldwide without political interference. Only USCIRF is in a position to speak truth to power, as it has by recommending that the US designate India as a CPC and sanction Indian officials engaged in religious persecution.
The first step to advancing religious freedom in India within US-India bilateral relations would be for Secretary Blinken to designate India as CPC in December.
As a Hindu and as the Executive Director of Hindus for Human Rights, I reiterate that we stand unequivocally in solidarity with India's minority communities. Our Hindu faith and Indian democracy have pluralism and religious freedom at their heart. We reject the hateful voice of Hindu nationalism claiming to speak for all Hindus. We invite Hindus across the world to join us in rejecting Hindu nationalism. The alternative will be a catastrophe, which we simply should not want on our collective conscience.
Some of our allied organizations have submitted separate statements, which they would like entered into the record.
I request the Chair to please allow Safa Ahmed of the Indian American Muslim Council to share a brief comment.
The text that would’ve been read from IAMC but was instead introduced into the record without being read
Safa Ahmed:
Thank you, Sunita.
Thank you, Chair and Vice-Chair. I am grateful for this opportunity.
My name is Safa Ahmed. I speak on behalf of the Indian American Muslim Council, which fights to protect the rights of not just our Muslims brothers and sisters in faith but all minorities.
In India, Hindu hatemongers repeatedly call for a genocide of India’s 250 million Muslims. US-based nonprofit Genocide Watch has said this threat of genocide is real.
Every day, India sees multiple anti-minority hate crimes and hate speeches. Though hailed as the world’s largest democracy, India is now a sectarian lawless land where –
daily mob lynchings of Muslim men are normalized and filmed for social media
Muslim homes, businesses, mosques and shrines are illegally demolished
Muslim organizations are banned, their members arrested in the thousands
Hindu teachers call Muslim children slaves and terrorists and humiliate them publicly
Muslim students and teachers are prevented from wearing the hijab
Hindu extremists convicted of gangraping Muslim women are freed and celebrated with flower garlands
I could go on.
On July 31, armed Hindu mobs attacked Muslim neighborhoods in Haryana state ruled by Modi’s BJP party. Thousands of Muslims have since fled their homes. The high court said the Haryana Administration’s demolition of twelve hundred Muslim homes was “ethnic cleansing.”
The Biden Administration must know it is playing with fire by ignoring India’s severe human rights violations. As Manipur and Haryana states have shown, escalations of religious and sectarian conflict in India will destroy peace and stability in that country, making it impossible for India to play a responsible role as a US partner.
Thank you so much.
Full Video for the USCIRF Hearing
