Members Of U.S Congress Express Their Fear About Religious Repression In India
The members of U.S. Congress expressed their concerns about religious repression in India during the Indian American Muslim Council’s panel discussion at the International Religious Freedom summit.
U.S. Senato, Ed Markey said, “I remain seriously concerned about the Indian government’s commitment to protecting the rights of minorities, including the 200 million Muslims in India.”
“The government’s targeting of social and political activities and crackdown on free speech and their religiously motivated discrimination against minorities cannot be viewed in isolation as escalating nationalism threatens to undermine India’s longstanding oath to democratic values. I will continue to stand up for these principles in the United States Senate, and I will encourage India to do the same.” Along with this, he added, “India has long had an admirable commitment to pluralism. It is the world’s largest democracy, whose bonds with the American people continue to grow, but the United States is right to speak up and speak out when a fellow democracy and strategic partner fails to protect the rights of all their people.” U.S. Rep. Marie Newman said, “In the last seven years, hundreds of Muslims just walking down the street have been attacked by vigilante mobs, they have been lynched. It is a travesty of justice, and I am horrified by it.” “Our own report from the U.S. Department of State, released by Secretary Blinken in 2020, speaks at length about the persecution of India’s Muslims and Christians. The report said, and I quote, ‘there were reports of religiously motivated killings, assaults, riots, discrimination, vandalism, and actions restricting the right of individuals to practice and speak about their religious beliefs.’ She said, “India has long had an admirable commitment to pluralism. It is the world’s largest democracy, whose bonds with the American people continue to grow, but the United States is right to speak up and speak out when a fellow democracy and strategic partner fails to protect the rights of all their people.” “India’s equity and standing in the eyes of the world are severely damaged already. Freedom House has downgraded its rating for India’s democracy from being free to partly free. That is heart breaking. Persecution of the entire sections of society especially, when backed by governments, is a recipe for a future filled with disaster. We must do better. We must pressure both our adversaries and our allies to support human rights around the world.” U.S. Rep. Andy Levin said, “The India of Narendra Modi today is not the India I fell in love with.” He talked about reports of disinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic that targeted religious minorities, the attempts to ban interfaith marriages, riots in Delhi where more than 50 people died and more than 200 injured, where most of them were Muslims. “All of these examples are deeply upsetting, but perhaps what is most alarming about this report to me is the fact that these attacks are not new. All of these examples are deeply upsetting, but perhaps what is most alarming about this report to me is the fact that these attacks are not new.” “Why would I be so critical and so publicly critical of a country that I love?” he asked. “The answer is it is because I love India that I am committed to ending these attacks on its people. It is because I am so passionate in my support for the vibrant democracy I came to know as a young man, that I want to see that democracy flourish for generations to come.” “And I will hold tight to the belief that India is a democracy and can and will be a democracy for all of its people, one that embraces the human rights and dignity of every single person.”
PRESS RELEASE:
— Indian American Muslim Council (@IAMCouncil) July 16, 2021
A United States Senator and two members of Congress were among panelists at @IRFSummit this week who voiced their concerns about how the Indian govt is promoting widespread practice of religious discrimination, intolerance & violence. 1/4https://t.co/I8LqoN1aU5
“The government’s targeting of social and political activities and crackdown on free speech and their religiously motivated discrimination against minorities cannot be viewed in isolation as escalating nationalism threatens to undermine India’s longstanding oath to democratic values. I will continue to stand up for these principles in the United States Senate, and I will encourage India to do the same.” Along with this, he added, “India has long had an admirable commitment to pluralism. It is the world’s largest democracy, whose bonds with the American people continue to grow, but the United States is right to speak up and speak out when a fellow democracy and strategic partner fails to protect the rights of all their people.” U.S. Rep. Marie Newman said, “In the last seven years, hundreds of Muslims just walking down the street have been attacked by vigilante mobs, they have been lynched. It is a travesty of justice, and I am horrified by it.” “Our own report from the U.S. Department of State, released by Secretary Blinken in 2020, speaks at length about the persecution of India’s Muslims and Christians. The report said, and I quote, ‘there were reports of religiously motivated killings, assaults, riots, discrimination, vandalism, and actions restricting the right of individuals to practice and speak about their religious beliefs.’ She said, “India has long had an admirable commitment to pluralism. It is the world’s largest democracy, whose bonds with the American people continue to grow, but the United States is right to speak up and speak out when a fellow democracy and strategic partner fails to protect the rights of all their people.” “India’s equity and standing in the eyes of the world are severely damaged already. Freedom House has downgraded its rating for India’s democracy from being free to partly free. That is heart breaking. Persecution of the entire sections of society especially, when backed by governments, is a recipe for a future filled with disaster. We must do better. We must pressure both our adversaries and our allies to support human rights around the world.” U.S. Rep. Andy Levin said, “The India of Narendra Modi today is not the India I fell in love with.” He talked about reports of disinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic that targeted religious minorities, the attempts to ban interfaith marriages, riots in Delhi where more than 50 people died and more than 200 injured, where most of them were Muslims. “All of these examples are deeply upsetting, but perhaps what is most alarming about this report to me is the fact that these attacks are not new. All of these examples are deeply upsetting, but perhaps what is most alarming about this report to me is the fact that these attacks are not new.” “Why would I be so critical and so publicly critical of a country that I love?” he asked. “The answer is it is because I love India that I am committed to ending these attacks on its people. It is because I am so passionate in my support for the vibrant democracy I came to know as a young man, that I want to see that democracy flourish for generations to come.” “And I will hold tight to the belief that India is a democracy and can and will be a democracy for all of its people, one that embraces the human rights and dignity of every single person.”
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