Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund
June 21, 2023 | 6 min. read | Opinion
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting the United States today for a four day state visit. The White House Strategic Coordinator for Communications has openly welcomed theupcoming visit by proclaiming India to be a “vibrant democracy”, to the joy of Modi andBharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters alike. However, such a claim masks what many in the Sikh and South Asian American community are acutely aware of – the widespread and alarming suppression of civil and democratic rights committed by Modi and his party.
The Indian state, despite its reputation as “the world’s largest democracy,” has slowly stripped the rights of many Indian citizens across multiple religious and ethnic minority groups and has started a campaign of censorship to limit the political rights of Indians abroad.
The Indian State and its global agents have deliberately crafted a narrative to uphold India’s status as a democracy and keep civil injustices from headlines as they successfully attack basic rights for minority groups in India, including but not limited to: Dalits, women, Christians, and Kashmiri citizens, as well as stripping the rights of and inciting violence against the Muslim and Sikh populations within the country.
Modi’s most well-known human rights violation occurred during the 2002 Gujarat Muslimgenocide. Following an incident that led to the death of 60 Hindu pilgrims, a mob was incited against Muslims in Gujarat, leading to the death of 1,000 Muslims and the displacement of thousands more. Then Chief Minister Modi was accused of inciting the violence and shielding the perpetrators of the genocide, including blocking the filing of cases against those committing the violence.
The aftermath led to the Bush Administration in the United States denying his visa status, citing his failure as leader of a state institution to control the violation of human rights of people within the state. More than 20 years later, Muslims in India still regularly face violence with little condemnation from the State.
While caste-based discrimination was made illegal in India in 1950 through the Constitution, Dalits still face regular discrimination. They are routinely denied access to jobs, land, education, and other basic rights. The Modi administration has allowed these violations without condemnation or action. An ISDN report has shown that violence against Dalits has been on the rise and lower caste members routinely face human rights violations such as sexual assault, forced labor, and structural discrimination in politics and education.
Caste discrimination extends beyond India as well, with the issue becoming more prevalent in the United States. Equality Labs found that many Dalit and lower caste individuals have faced discrimination in the United States. Many feel unwelcome at their place of worshipdue to their caste, while a whopping 25% of Dalits have faced physical or verbal abuse due to their caste. One of the most well known minority groups to suffer human rights violations at the hand of the Indian State is the Sikh community. The most well known example is Operation Blue Star and the following Sikh Genocide. It was during this time that Indira Gandhi, her supporters, and the Indian state’s agents incited, perpetrated, and facilitated the killing of countless Sikhs. However, the violation of Sikhs’ human rights does not stop there. The extrajudicial arrests and murders of Sikhs are common acts carried out by the Indian State. Most prominently in recent history is the arrest, and continued arbitrary detention, of Jagtar Singh Johal in 2017 – Jagtar is a UK citizen who was active online in documenting the persecution of Sikhs in India. To this day Jagtar Singh sits in an Indian jail through an extrajudicial abduction and faces murder charges despite the state having no evidence against him.
Beyond incidents like this, Sikhs also face systemic crackdown due to their faith. A recent example is Amritpal Singh. A popular community leader in Punjab, Amritpal Singh was advocating for reform in Punjab to combat issues related to drug abuse, farmer suicide, and generally pushingfor Sikhs to call out the injustices committed by the Indian State. For doing so he was branded a “radical separatist” and a manhunt for his arrest began – but along with this came a mobile internet shutdown in Punjab and the suppression of other basic civil rights.
Millions of people were cut off from the world and the fate of Amritpal Singh, as well as his supporters and other Sikh activists, was worryingly unknown. This uncalled-for act was disproportionate to the allegations leveled against Amritpal Singh; he had committed no violent or criminal act, and is now held under draconian and colonial laws that strip basic legal rights.
Outside of India, minority groups still see the Indian State infringing on their right to free speech. SALDEF recently released a report on this media censorship, showcasing the steps taken by the Indian government to block critiques of human rights violation. This ranges from Canadian Sikhs speaking on the atrocities of 1984, to American Sikhs highlighting the farmers protests in Punjab, to even the BBC documentary “The Modi Question” which documents the human rights abuses committed by Prime Minister Modi from his role in the 2002 Muslim genocide to his revocation of Kashmiri autonomy.
The reaction amongst politicians and American politics is split on the visit of Modi. Senators Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer along with Representatives Hakeem Jeffries and Kevin McCarthy have invited the Prime Minister to speak at a joint session of Congress. Representative Ro Khanna from California has applauded this decision and welcomes Modi with open arms. Fellow Indian American Representative Shri Thanedar also welcomes the visit and will be entrusted with escorting the Prime Minister to his Joint Address on June 22.
Not everyone is as welcoming, however. There are members of Congress that have called Modi out on his human rights violations and have made their disappointment well known. Representative Pramila Jayapal and Senator Chris Van Hollen have authored a bicameral letter urging President Biden to discuss with Modi the need for India to uphold human rights and democratic values. Seventy other members of Congress, both senators and representatives, have signed on to the letter including Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Judy Chu.
“A series of independent, credible reports reflect troubling signs in India toward the shrinking of political space, the rise of religious intolerance, the targeting of civil society organizations and journalists, and growing restrictions on press freedoms and internet access. Specifically, the State Department’s 2022 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in India documents the tightening of political rights and expression,” the letter reads.
Representative Rashida Tlaib has denounced the Modi administration and their violation of human rights through Twitter and announced she will be boycotting his joint address this Thursday. Similarly, the office of Representative Ilhan Omar has announced a plan to counterprogram the Joint Address with a briefing that will examine the issues of Indian violations of human rights.
Additionally, Representative Omar has introduced a resolution to the House that condemns the human rights and international religious freedoms violations targeting religious and cultural minorities in India.
The above examples are not an exhaustive list of the actions taken by the Indian state and Modi against minority groups in India, but just some examples of the many reasons the Sikh community, along with other South Asian communities, are disappointed in the Biden administration’s decision to invite the Indian Prime Minister to the United States for an official state visit. Sikhs are also deeply disappointed with Congressional leadership extending an invitation for Modi to speak to a Joint Session of Congress.
The Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF) is a national Sikh American impact organization focused on building leadership and capacity in the Sikh American community. You can find them on Twitter at @SALDEF