‘Grave concern’: US House gets resolution on India’s rights record
WASHINGTON: Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar on Wednesday introduced a resolution in the US House of Representatives condemning India’s alleged human rights record and violations of religious freedom.
Expressing “grave concern about the worsening treatment of religious minorities in India”, the resolution reiterates a recommendation made by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), calling on the US secretary of state to designate India as a “country of particular concern”.
The resolution has three co-sponsors, including Rashida Tlaib. A Palestinian-American Congresswoman from Michigan Tlaib, along with Omar, is part of a grouping popularly called ‘the Squad’, a left-wing cohort within the Democratic Party.
Both Omar and Tlaib are the first two Muslim women to be elected to the House.
Another co-sponsor is Jim McGovern, a Congressman from Massachusetts, member of the Democratic progressive caucus in the House, and also the co-chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, a bipartisan caucus of the House.
The third co-sponsor is Juan Vargas, a Congressman from California who, after college, joined the Jesuits working in El Salvador, served in the California state Senate, and got elected to the House in 2012.
The allegations
The resolution relies largely on USICRF’s 2022 report, which claimed that in 2021, “the Indian government escalated its promotion and enforcement of policies — including those promoting a Hindu-nationalist agenda — that negatively affect Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Dalits, and other religious minorities”.
India rejected the USICRF’s report at the time.
Omar’s resolution cites USICRF 2022 report in alleging that the Indian government has continued to “[systematize] its vision of a Hindu State…hostile to the country’s religious minorities”. It also alleges that laws such as the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the sedition law are being used to create a climate of fear and intimidation and specifically mentions the cases of the late Jesuit priest and activist Stan Swamy, as well as arrested Kashmiri activist Khurram Parvez as “emblematic cases” of the government’s “repression of religious minority leaders and voices for religious pluralism”.