US lawmakers ‘gravely concerned’ at growing intolerance in India

Letter signed by 34 lawmakers urges Modi to turn words into actions

Thirty-four US lawmakers have written to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, expressing ‘grave concerns’ at the ‘increasing intolerance and violence’ against members of minority communities.

“Our strong support of this partnership [India-US partnership] encourages us to relay our grave concerns about the increasing intolerance and violence members of India’s religious minority communities experience,” the lawmakers said in a letter sent on Friday, according to The Hindustan Times.





The letter released by The Tom Lantos Human Rights Com­mission, a bipartisan caucus of the House of Representatives, carried signatures of eight senators and 26 members of the house, from both the Democratic and Republican side of the aisle.

“We urge your [Modi’s] government to take immediate steps to ensure the fundamental rights of religious minorities are protected and that the perpetrators of violence are held to account,” it read.

They referred to the June 2014 ban on ‘non-Hindu religious propaganda, prayers, and speeches’ which had been imposed by 50 village councils in Bastar, Chattisgarh.

The lawmakers argued that it effectively “criminalised the practice of Christianity for an estimated 300 Christian families in the region”.



They went on to point out that the “nearly countrywide beef ban is increasing tensions and encouraging vigilante violence against the Indian Muslim community”. It mentioned the murders of Mohammed Hasmat Ali in Manipur and Mohammed Saif in Uttar Pradesh in this connection.

The letter also cited the death of two Sikh men in October. Referring to Modi’s statement from February 2014 statement in which he said his administration was committed to “ensure 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 urged him to “turn these words into action”.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 29^th,  2016.