Dear advocates,

From June 21st to the 23rd, Indian Prime Minister (PM) Modi will be visiting the United States for his first state visit. During this trip, he has been invited to address Congress in a joint session and President Biden will host him at the White House for a state dinner on June 22, 2023.

President Biden has made championing democracy a cornerstone of his presidency; to invite Modi, especially following a number of credible reports highlighting Modi’s extremism, demonstrates a profound disregard for human rights, freedom, and democracy. Both the Biden Administration's and Congress’ silence on the ongoing religious repression and human rights violations in India is unacceptable. 

YOU CAN HELP by reaching out to your Congressional Members, urging them to not attend the joint session on June 22. 

More Info:

PM Modi will address Congress upon his visit to Washington, DC, an opportunity granted only to America's closest allies. Senators and Representatives have invited him, saying that the speech on June 22 will celebrate the “enduring friendship” between both countries.

This is deeply troubling considering PM Modi and his government’s continued violence against Indian Muslims and other minorities. Just last month, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), in its annual International Religious Freedom Report for 2022, found “open calls for genocide against Muslims, lynching and other hate-fuelled violence, attacks on places of worship and home demolitions, and…impunity…for those who have engaged in attacks on religious minorities.”