From: The Honorable Keith Ellison
Sent By: isaiah.kirshner-breen@mail.house.gov
Date: 2/4/2016

DEADLINE: Friday, February 12th

Cosigners:  Rep. Pitts, Sen. Blunt, Rep. Ellison, Sen. Klobuchar, Rep. Wenstrup

Dear Colleague,

We write to request your support on a letter urging Prime Minister Modi of India to do more to prevent violence toward members of India’s religious minority communities.    

Over the past 21 months, India has seen an alarming rise in violence and other forms of persecution against religious minorities. In March of 2015, human rights groups reported documenting over 600 violent attacks against Muslims, Christians, and other religious minorities over the course of 10 months. According to the report, entitled “300 Days,” 149 of these attacks targeted Christians, and 451 targeted Muslims. Forty-three people were killed as a result.

In December, over 100 Indian scientists joined with authors, artists, and business leaders to protest the “climate of intolerance” threatening to engulf India. The protests were sparked in large part by the separate murders of four Muslims at the hands of mobs angered over the alleged theft or slaughter of cows. This letter echoes the calls of the diverse coalition of India’s citizenry protesting the increase in religious intolerance and violence.

In a February 2015 speech, Prime Minister Modi promised that, “[m]y government will ensure that there is complete freedom of faith and that everyone has the undeniable right to retain or adopt the religion of his or her choice without coercion or undue influence. My government will not allow any religious group, belonging to the majority or the minority, to incite hatred against others, overtly or covertly.” 

Despite promises from Prime Minister Modi, there are clear instances of religiously-motivated violence,  a lack of adequate government response, and in some cases, outright discrimination by the government.  This silence and lack of action by the government serves to fuel further unrest.

To that end, we ask that you join our letter encouraging Prime Minister Modi to take action and condemn the persecution of religious minorities throughout India. 

To sign on, please contact one of the following:

Congressman Joe Pitts – Carson Middleton (Carson.Middleton@mail.house.gov)

Senator Roy Blunt – Lauren McCormack (Lauren_McCormack@blunt.senate.gov)

Congressman Keith Ellison – Isaiah Kirshner-Breen (Isaiah.Kirshner-Breen@mail.house.gov)

Senator Amy Klobuchar – Lindsey Herbel (Lindsey_Herbel@klobuchar.senate.gov)

Sincerely,

            Joseph R. Pitts                                     Roy Blunt

            Representative                                     United States Senator

            Keith Ellison                                         Amy Klobuchar

Representative                                     United States Senator

February XX, 2016

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Prime Minister’s Office

152 South Block, Raisina Hill

New Delhi – 110011

Dear Prime Minister Modi,

We write as Members of the United States Congress to reiterate our strong support for the partnership that exists today between India and the United States.  Our strong support of this partnership encourages us to relay our grave concerns about the increasing intolerance and violence members of India’s religious minority communities experience.  We urge your government to take immediate steps to ensure that the fundamental rights of religious minorities are protected and that the perpetrators of violence are held to account.

Of particular concern is the treatment of India’s Christian, Muslim and Sikh communities.  On June 17th, 2014, more than 50 village councils in the Bastar district of Chhattisgarh adopted a resolution banning all “non-Hindu religious propaganda, prayers, and speeches” in their communities. The Christian minority community has been dramatically affected: the ban effectively has criminalized the practice of Christianity for an estimated 300 Christian families in the region one day after a mob, which included members of the Vishva Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal, seriously injured six Christians in the village of Sirciguda. Since the ban was implemented, Christians in the Bastar District reportedly have been subjected to physical assaults, denial of government services, extortion, threats of forced expulsion, denial of access to food and water, and pressure to convert to Hinduism.

We also are concerned that the nearly country-wide beef ban is increasing tensions and encouraging vigilante violence against the Indian Muslim community.  On Monday, November 2nd, a Hindu mob killed Mohammed Hasmat Ali, a married father of three, in Manipur, India, after he was accused of stealing a cow. Mr. Ali reportedly is the fourth Muslim murdered in just six weeks by Hindu mobs angered over allegations of cows being slaughtered or stolen.  We understand that the September 28th murder of 52-year-old Mohammed Saif in Uttar Pradesh sparked a national outcry over rising intolerance toward religious minorities which culminated in hundreds of prominent academics, business leaders, and authors protesting.

We want to raise additional concerns about the lack of recognition of Sikhism as a distinct religion, which prevents members of the community from accessing social services and employment and educational preferences available to other religious communities.  Sikh community members reportedly are harassed and pressured to reject religious practices and beliefs distinct to Sikhism.  On October 14, security forces killed two Sikhs and injured scores of others in Punjab who were protesting peacefully against the desecration of Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Sikhism’s holy book.

Mr. Prime Minister, we applaud India as a pluralistic society with a long-standing commitment to inclusion and tolerance.  We also applaud your statements about religious freedom and communal harmony, including your promise in February 2014 that your government would “ensure that there is complete freedom of faith…and not allow any religious group, belonging to the majority or the minority, to incite hatred against others.” We urge you to turn these words into action by publicly condemning the ban on non-Hindu faiths in the Bastar District of Chhattisgarh, and the violent assaults and other forms of harassment against religious minorities throughout India. We also urge you to take steps to control the activities of groups, such as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and instruct Indian security forces to enforce the rule of law and protect religious minority communities from religiously-motivated harassment and violence.

Such steps would demonstrate your government’s commitment to fostering a stable and inclusive society and respecting international obligations on the rights of religious minorities, including religious freedom.  We await your response.

Sincerely,

Members of Congress