This article was first Published on October 29, 2019 at – : https://centerforpluralism.com/india-report-presented-at-liberty-committee/
INDIA REPORT
10/28/2019 – Religious Liberty committee Meeting
An appeal to President Trump and his administration requesting him to ask Prime Minister Modi to restore freedom to the people of Kashmir. It was submitted to Ambassador Brownback on Tuesday, October 15, 2019, for further action. We thank 34 NGO’s for signing the letter shared by the religious liberty committee. The letter is appended following the summary and solutions.
This paper outlines the concerns, the background for such developments, and the solutions.
Summary
The primary concern about India today is the gross violation of religious freedoms and human rights, which could lead to genocide and bring disastrous results for the Indian economy, it will adversely affect India’s hitherto cohesiveness, and hurt American Security interests.
Modi can save India if he listens to the sane voices and restores freedom to every Indian to pursue his/her life, liberty, and happiness. The downfall can be reversed, provided Modi sees the full picture and warns the nation of consequences to lynching, harassing, raping, and threatening Christians and Muslims to convert to Hinduism, disappear or live as 2nd class citizens. Mistreatment and harassment of Dalits need to stop.
The Congressional hearings on 10/22/19 were devastating to the Indian American supremacists, as it tore open the façade of democracy posed by the Modi administration. More at https://countercurrents.org/2019/10/hindutva-loses-in-the-us-congress
Modi administration has a record of creating facts to support its undemocratic actions. I suspect they will attempt to bulldoze the State Department with fake security threats that led them to revoke article 370 in Kashmir. The Indian court system has thrown out the fake encounters manufactured by the Modi administration in the past and information should be verified before trusting.
To save India from getting slapped on a label of a country of particular concern, all that the Modi government has to do is issue visas to the commissioners of USCIRFT to visit India and report the facts.
The Government of India has denied visas to the Commissioners of USCIRF, and also denied access to Senator Van Hollen to go into Kashmir. If India needs to come out clean, it should be open to investigations and let the truth come out.
Consent of the Governed meant nothing to Mr. Modi when he abolished the article 370 – The Indian Parliament did pass the abrogation bill after the fact but without the consent of the people of Kashmir.
1.9 million Indians are declared stateless. The ugliest part of the situation is the bill the Modi administration is trying to pass, it would reward citizenship to Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs while denying the same to Muslims. Civilized nations do not discriminate.
I must advise everyone to distinguish between Hindutva and Hinduism. Hindutva is an aggressive movement patterned after Nazi ideals claiming Hindus to be a superior race. The problem is not the belief, as the preachers of all religions ridiculously claim superiority of their faith. The problem is the violence it is unleashing on the minorities. Hindutva guides people to acquire political power and subjugate all others. Indeed, it calls for the continued oppression of Dalits (Untouchables) and the elimination of the inferior people like Christians and Muslims from India by 12/31/2021. Modi has not condemned these statements by his party men. Hinduism, like all other religions, guides one to live a meaningful life. It teaches how to receive moksha or salvation from the conflicts of life and frees one from the cycle of life and death.
Except for a few, most of the Indians and the Indian diaspora dream about a cohesive India where every Indian feels secure about his/ her faith, ethnicity, and culture. Where he or she is free to eat, drink, wear, or believe whatever suits him/her.
My advice to Indian Americans is to be on the right side of history. If you stick to Justice and stand for liberty and religious freedom instead of the RSS cult and its leaders like Modi, you cannot go wrong. And you don’t need to pander to either Republicans or Democrats.
THE APPEAL FOR SIGNATURES
10/15/2019
INDIA APPEAL
TO:
Hon. President of the United States, Donald Trump
Hon. Secretary of the State, Mike Pompeo
Hon. Attorney General William Barr
Hon. Secretary of Defense, Mark Esper
Hon. Ambassador for International Religious Freedom, Sam Brownback
Dear President Trump,
We urge you to ask the Honorable Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi, to lift the six-week-long severe restrictions on the ordinary lives of the 7 million citizens of Kashmir, restore their freedom, and ensure the rule of law is in place. Here are a few points to consider;
- Prime Minister Modi’s actions in Kashmir can unleash a genocide of the Christians, Muslims, Dalits, Sikhs and others, and further lead to a significant setback to American economic and security interests in South Asia.
- Seven million people have been living in a prison-like environment in Kashmir since August 5, 2019. It has been more than a month now, and there are no signs of easing. The complete blockade of communications and freedom of movement has made life unbearable for the people, as they cannot purchase food, medicine, or even know what is happening to their relatives. This blockade needs to end.
- Reports from the United Nations point to more than 50,000 deaths since 1989 in the area. 214,000 children have been orphaned during the years of conflict. Civilians continue to experience brutal oppression. “Close to 3,000 people have been detained in Kashmir — many of them children — since Aug. 4,” The most recent study (2011) shows over 20,000 people have been detained without charges. An unaccounted number of rapes are happening.
- The Christians, Muslims, Sikhs, Dalits, and others are patiently enduring lynching, abuse, rape, and endless harassment. If there is no solution offered to their suffering, it may lead to chaos and genocide, which may require costly international intervention if the conflict is to be prevented from spreading.
- Modi and his government must further ensure that every Indian, regardless of religion or ethnicity, will be treated as an equal citizen, protected by legal authorities. and allowed to pursue life, liberty, and happiness.
- We urge you to ask Prime Minister Modi to allow the Commissioners of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) to visit Kashmir and Assam, and enable them to report the facts on the ground.
- India is a bulwark for us against Chinese expansionism. It needs peace and stability to remain healthy, not social unrest.
- Kashmir is a flashpoint of Indo-Pakistan conflict, and it is a ticking time bomb. Should a nuclear exchange over this land occur, it will result in millions of casualties.
Your message will carry enormous weight with the Government of India, and an additional dispatch from the Department of State as well as Ambassador Brownback to this effect will keep our allies — India and Pakistan — from moving towards disaster.
Your timely statement will do miracles. The world would appreciate you and your administration for stopping a possible genocide of Uyghurs, Kashmiris, and Indians if you can act in time.
Ambassador Brownback has reiterated that if people are free from fear, they can focus on nation-building, and everyone will prosper. Religious freedom in the United States is a compelling reason for our prosperity; the world can learn from our experience.
Your message will help promote and restore India’s democracy and freedoms.
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Initiated by the Center for Pluralism, Washington, DC
Mike Ghouse – Cell (214) 325-1916 | (202) 290-3560
Respond to: Mike@CenterforPluralism.com
NGOs supporting the appeal.
- International Christian Concern – Matias Perttula
- Christian Freedom International – Wendy Wright
- United Sikhs – Pawan Kang
- Nicholas Freedom Group – John Anderson
- Christian Solidarity Worldwide – Anna Lee Stingl
- US Women Christian Chamber of Commerce – Ambassador Lydia Gonzalez
- International Center for Rights and Justice – Rev. Joseph Grieboski
- US India Policy Institute – Dr. Hyder Khan
- American Indian Muslims – Kaleem Khawaja
- International Human Rights Committee – Nasim Malik
- Uyghur Human Rights Project — Omer Kanat
- Redeem the USA – Dr. William T. Devlin
- Church of Scientology – Sue Taylor
- Citizen Power Initiatives – Jianli Yang
- Hardwired, Inc – Tina Ramirez
- Islamic Society of North America – Dr. Sayyid Sayeed
- Indian American Muslim Council – Mohammad Jawad
- The Way to Happiness Association of Florida – Kelly Pomeranz
- Muslim Philanthropy – Rasheed Ahmed
- United Muslims of Interfaith Alliance – Iftekhar Hai
- Red Eagle Enterprises – Scott Morgan
- Jubilee Campaign USA – Ann Buwalda
- Great Truth – Andy Swarna
- Happy Science USA Washington Bureau – Satoshi Nishihata
- Advance USA – Dr. Carl Herbster
- The Association against Religious Persecution – Shirley Fan
- Law and Liberty Trust – Lauren Homer
- Journal of America – Abdul Sattar Ghazali
- UMA Interfaith Alliance – Iftekhar Hai
- The way to Happiness Association – Kelly Yaegermann
- Liftup Now foundation – Dr. A. Ojutiku
- Nicholas Freedom Group – Fr. John Anderson z
- JAMAAT – Jews and Muslims and Allies together – Walter Ruby
- American Humanist Association – Roy Speckhard
Individuals
- Mohammed Siddique
2. Tufail Ahmed
3. Uma Shankari Naren
4. Rabbi Herb Levy
5. Asrarul Haque
6. Dr. Rashid Chotani, MD, MPH, FRCPH
7. Danielle Khan. special Asst to Ambassador Swanee Hunt
8. Victor Begg, Interfaith Community Leader, Florida
Hindutva forces lose out at Congressional hearings
https://countercurrents.org/2019/10/hindutva-loses-in-the-us-congress
Hindutva is not Hinduism
https://centerforpluralism.com/hindutva-is-not-hinduism/
Sincerely,
Mike Ghouse
Center for Pluralism
Mike@CenterforPluralism.com
(202) 290-3560 or Cell (214) 325-1916
Washington, DC
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If you wish to receive the full 20 pages report, kindly email to Mike@CenterforPluralism.com