Congressmen say atrocities, persecution of minorities should end, ban on beef should be lifted
In an unprecedented diplomatic snub, 34 Congressmen of the United States (US) have sent a letter to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging his government to take immediate steps to ensure that the fundamental rights of religious minorities are protected and that the perpetrators of violence are held to account.
The letter released by The Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, a bipartisan caucus of the House of Representatives, was signed by eight senators and 26 members of the House, from both parties, Republican and Democrats.
Expressing “grave concerns” over the “increasing intolerance and violence” against members of minority communities in India, the US lawmakers, several of them consistently pro-India, referred to the recently imposed ‘beef ban’ in India, and persecution of Indian Muslims by Hindu extremists.
Analysts believe that the lawmakers’ letter on religious violence, specifically naming the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Bajrang Dal that share the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh’s (RSS) ideological space with PM Modi, could be potentially embarrassing for the Indian prime minister during his upcoming trip to the US on March 31 and April 1 to attend the nuclear security summit being convened by US President Barrack Obama.
“The nearly country-wide beef ban is increasing tensions and encouraging vigilante violence against the Indian Muslim community,” says the letter sent to India on Friday, also referring to the killings of Mohammed Hasmat Ali in Manipur and Mohammed Saif in Uttar Pradesh.
It went on to cite the death of two Sikh men in October during protests over the desecration of the religion’s holy book, Sri Guru Granth Sahib.
“Our strong support of this partnership (India-US partnership) encourages us to relay our grave concerns about the increasing intolerance and violence against members of India’s religious minority communities’ experience,” said the lawmakers.
“We urge your government to take immediate steps to ensure that the fundamental rights of religious minorities are protected and that the perpetrators of violence are held to account.”
TURN WORDS INTO ACTION:
Applauding the prime minister’s February 2014 statement that the government was committed to “ensure that there is complete freedom of faith… and not allow any religious group, belonging to the majority or the minority, to incite hatred against others”, the lawmakers said, “We urge you to turn these words into action.”
“On June 17, 2014, more than 50 village councils in the Bastar district of Chhattisgarh adopted a resolution banning all ‘non-Hindu religious propaganda, prayers, and speeches’ in their communities. The Christian minority community has been dramatically affected: the ban effectively has criminalised the practice of Christianity for an estimated 300 Christian families in the region one day after a mob, which included members of the Vishva Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal, seriously injured six Christians in the village of Sirciguda. Since the ban was implemented, Christians in the Bastar District reportedly have been subjected to physical assaults, denial of government services, extortion, threats of forced expulsion, denial of access to food and water, and pressure to convert to Hinduism,” the letter said.
“We also are concerned that the nearly country-wide beef ban is increasing tensions and encouraging vigilante violence against the Indian Muslim community. On Monday, November 2nd, a Hindu mob killed Mohammed Hasmat Ali, a married father of three, in Manipur, India, after he was accused of stealing a cow. Mr. Ali reportedly is the fourth Muslim murdered in just six weeks by Hindu mobs angered over allegations of cows being slaughtered or stolen. We understand that the September 28th murder of 52-year-old Mohammed Saif in Uttar Pradesh sparked a national outcry over rising intolerance toward religious minorities which culminated in hundreds of prominent academics, business leaders, and authors protesting,” read the letter.
STOP EXTREMIST GROUPS:
“We also urge you to take steps to control the activities of groups, such as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and instruct Indian security forces to enforce the rule of law and protect religious minority communities from religiously-motivated harassment and violence,” the letter added.
“We await your response,” the letter concluded. Senators Roy Blunt (R-MO), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Al Franken (D-MN), James Lankford (R-OK), Ben Sasse (R-NE), Tim Scott (R-SC) and Representatives Keith Ellison (D-MI), Joe Pitts (R-PA), Brad Wenstrup (R-OH), Jim McGovern (D-MA), Doug Lamborn (R-CO), Trey Gowdy (R-SC), Juan Vargas (D-CA), Jim Costa (D-CA), Trent Franks (R-AZ), Betty McCollum (D-MN), Mark Walker (R-NC), Doug Collins (R-GA), Tim Walberg (R-MI), Ted Poe (R-TX), Adam Schiff (D-CA) and John Conyers (D-MI) signed the letter.
Commenting on the development, former minister for foreign affairs Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi termed the letter a diplomatic snub for Modi government ahead of his crucial visit to the US on March 31.
“It’s a very timely intervention and we welcome this. It is a clear indication that the world is observing the shifting sands in Indian polity. If the trend continues, there will be more polarisation and extremists will benefit and it will escalate the communal violence. The claim of secular India is under threat,” Qureshi said while talking to Pakistan Today.
Qureshi said this was a commentary on the deteriorating communal situation in India where minorities were feeling insecure and marginalised under the BJP government. “The image of India as a secular society is being compromised while the concept of Hindutva is being projected by the regime,” he added.
“The world has taken notice of the increasing violence against Muslims, Sikhs and other minority religions in India. People from academia, sports, and showbiz have raised their voice against the changing image of India. Many had to leave the country due to insecurity in their own country. The government should revisit its support for extremist forces,” he said.
Former foreign minister Sardar Aseff Ahmed said it was a welcome step as the US lawmakers had decided to break their silence on the ongoing persecution of Muslims and other minorities in India.
“The US Congressmen kept watching the anti-minorities violence since PM Modi took over. The fact of the matter is that Modi has been accused of murders of thousands of Muslims. He himself has been involved in the massacre in Gujarat. But the US administration gave Modi a rousing welcome and treated him like a celebrity during this first visit to Washington,” he added.
He said that perhaps the strategic and corporate interests of the US had compelled them to turn a blind eye to the savage past of Modi who had been refused visa by the US government several times in the past.
Sardar Aseff said that the world should not jump to the conclusion that the US Congressmen had suddenly become champions of minority rights.
“This might be a pressure tactic by US. The US lawmakers have been overlooking crimes of Israelis against Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese,” he added.
He also expressed his shock over the hue and cry raised by some US Congressmen against the sale of eight F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan.
“The outcry against sale of F-16s makes one think that eight F-16s would change the balance of power in the subcontinent. By opposing the sale of F-16s to Pakistan, the US Congressmen are actually supporting the TTP terrorists. I am shocked to see this happen,” he added.
The former minister said that the treatment towards Pakistan by the US Congressmen reflected how callously the US treats its allies.
