A Call for Accountability:
Redefining the US-India Relationship
on the Basis of Human Rights

With an invitation from President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, arrives in the U.S. for an Official State Visit tomorrow, June 22. While this bilateral engagement is intended to honor the U.S. and India’s alliance, the focus however, should be on the erosion of democracy and human rights in India.
 

In a political environment where efforts to commemorate the 75th Nakba — the mass displacement of Palestinians — is met with accusations of antisemitism by House Speaker McCarthy, the hypocrisy in the U.S.'s decision to host a politician with an active hand in oppressing, harassing, surveilling, and violently targeting religious minorities is alarming. This celebratory, official invitation to Prime Minister Modi raises concerns regarding the foundation of the United States’ core principles and constitutional values based on the protection of human rights.

Prime Minister Modi is at the forefront of a government that grossly violates the human rights of India’s religious minority communities, particularly Muslims, through the promotion and enforcement of state and national-level laws that promote a Hindu-nationalist agenda.

India is home to 1.4 billion people, and Hindus constitute 79.8 percent of the population– Muslims 14.2 percent; Christians 2.3 percent; and Sikhs 1.7 percent. India’s constitution refers to the nation as a secular, democratic republic. However, the ​​Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi continues to promote policies to create a prominently Hindu state at the expense of the freedom and liberties of religious minorities...

For more, read our full statement here.