Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar on Thursday tabled a resolution targeting India for Islamophobia and other human rights abuses in the House of Representatives. The resolution calls on United States (US) Secretary of State Antony Blinken to take heed of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom’s (USCIRF) recommendation to designate India as a “country of particular concern” under the International Religious Freedom Acts of 1998 and 2016.
The bill, which is supported by three other Democratic lawmakers, condemns human rights violations in India against Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Dalits, Adivasis, and other religious and cultural minorities. It asserts that the Indian government has been “promoting a Hindu-nationalist agenda” that is negatively affecting India’s religious minorities.
The bill cites the 2022 report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), which states that India has been systematically targeting religious minorities, especially Muslims.
@USIRCOnline opposes Rep. @Ilhan Omar's vicious resolution against #India.
— United States-India Relationship Council (USIRC) (@USIRCOnline) June 23, 2022
We urge all House lawmakers to oppose the resolution. We also call on @RepMcGovern, @RepRashida, @RepJuanVargas, @RepPressley & @RepRaskin to withdraw their co-sponsorship.
Here is our press release. pic.twitter.com/py1hnBEwwb
A statement released by Omar’s office said that the resolution was introduced following “continued violence and threats made against religious minorities, particularly Muslims and Christians in India.” It cites the introduction of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in 2019, saying it “provides a fast track to Indian citizenship only for non-Muslim migrants.” The statement argues that Act “will open the possibility of rendering millions of Muslims stateless or subject to indefinite detention.”
“The Indian government must be held responsible for human rights violations against religious and cultural minorities,” Omar said. “The United States should stand for religious freedom in India and the fair treatment of all religious minorities. It is past time for the State Department to acknowledge the reality of the situation in India and formally designate India as a Country of Particular Concern under the International Religious Freedom Act,” she added.
A large part of the resolution’s text was based on a 2022 report by the USCIRF, which accuses the Indian government of using existing and new laws to target religious minorities. For instance, the report notes that the introduction of laws like the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and CAA have been used to silence minority voices in the country.
Furthermore, the report accuses the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of enforcing policies of making India into an “overtly Hindu state, contrary to India’s secular foundation.” It notes that these changes have put India’s religious minorities in “grave danger.”
It also speaks out against the “continued enforcement of anti-conversation laws against non-Hindus,” saying the government has “created a culture of impunity for nationwide campaigns of threats and violence by mobs and vigilante groups.
Against this backdrop, the USCIRF recommends that the US designate India as a “country of particular concern,” impose sanctions on individuals and entities responsible for violations of religious freedoms and raise these issues with India during bilateral meetings.
In a similar vein, the State Department condemned the Indian government for enacting policies that targeted religious minorities. In its 2022 report on International Religious Freedom, the Department accused the BJP of discriminating against religious minorities in India, including minority institutions. The report quotes hundreds of examples where discrimination against minorities took place in 2021 alone.
The report also notes that instances of communal violence in the country have increased recently, citing the National Crimes Record Bureau (NCRB). The NCRB reported 857 instances of communal violence in 2020, compared to 438 in 2019. Furthermore, the document blames the government for not taking action against non-state actors who committed crimes against religious minorities.
At the release of the State Department report, Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed concern regarding the fate of religious minorities in India. He noted that the rights of religious minorities in India are “under threat” and “rising attacks on people and places of worship” have undermined India’s reputation as a home of diverse faiths. Blinken also accused some Indian officials of “ignoring or even supporting rising attacks on people and places of worship.”
Previously, during a 2+2 meeting between Indian and American foreign and defence ministers in Washington D.C. in April, Blinken said that the Biden administration is “monitoring some recent concerning developments in India, including a rise in human rights abuses by some government, police, and prison officials.”
However, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar retorted to Blinken’s comments saying that India is also looking into the rising incidents of human rights abuses in the US, referring specifically to hate crimes against the Indian community. “I would tell you that we also take our views on other people’s human rights situation, including that of the United States. So, we take up human rights issues when they arise in this country, especially when they pertain to our community,” Jaishankar said.
Furthermore, responding to the State Department’s report on abuses of minority rights in India, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the report and comments made by certain senior US officials were “ill informed.” “It is unfortunate that vote bank politics is being practiced in international relations. We would urge that assessments based on motivated inputs and biased views be avoided.”.
“In our discussions with the US, we have regularly highlighted issues of concern there, including racially and ethnically motivated attacks, hate crimes and gun violence,” Bagchi added.
In this respect, while India is yet to make an official statement about Omar’s bill, it is likely that New Delhi will respond by criticising the mistreatment of minorities in the US, especially regarding people of Indian origin.
Omar has a record of criticising India’s policies against religious minorities and has even blamed the Biden administration for ignoring India’s actions against Muslims in order to achieve the wider goal of countering China’s growing influence in Asia.
In April, Omar urged the US government not to support “brutal dictators in the name of having a common enemy,” referring to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Citing the examples of Augusto Pinochet in Chile and Suharto in Indonesia, she warned against repeating the “historical injustices,” which she said were “profound, moral, and strategic” mistakes of the Cold War.
In this regard, she declared, “What worries me is that this time we seem willing to let Modi be our new Pinochet.” She highlighted the US’ Indo-Pacific policy, questioning how the aim to promote “a free and open” Indo-Pacific could achieved if the government continued to refrain from criticising the Modi administration.
Omar raised concern that the situation could spiral “out of control” like the Rohingya crisis. She emphasised the importance of standing up for all religious, ethnic, and racial minorities in the world, noting the significance of promoting commitments to human rights amongst the US’ allies, and not just their adversaries.
However, Omar has been criticised for not taking a similar stance against Islamic nations, particularly Pakistan, that continue to violate the human rights of minorities.
In fact, in April, Omar visited Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) and met with senior Pakistani officials, including President Shehbaz Sharif, despite the Pakistani government’s long track record of targeting religious minorities.
Omar failed to raise concern about the treatment of minorities and the rapid deterioration of rights and freedoms in Pakistan, despite the USCIRF itself criticising Pakistan for violating the rights of religious minorities in the country.
For instance, Omar has also failed to speak out against the continued forced conversions of Hindus and Christians to Islam, the mob lynching of a Sri Lankan factory manager by Islamist hardliners in December, the targeting of the Baloch community by the Pakistani government and army (both within and outside Pakistan), and insurmountable evidence of Pakistani state-sponsored terrorism in Kashmir and indeed .