Prioritise human rights during India visit: US NGOs urge Congressman Ro Khanna

By David Kalal*
A coalition of Indian American civil society organizations has met with Congressman Ro Khanna, the first Indian American to lead the bipartisan Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans. The meeting was held ahead of Congressman Khanna's upcoming trip to India, during which he aims to highlight and discuss critical priorities for the region. The coalition presented diverse perspectives, shedding light on various concerns within the Indian American community.
Husnaa Vohra, representing the Indian American Muslim Council, expressed her deep concern about the threat to liberal democracy, pluralism, and human rights in India. Vohra emphasized, "We stand as a diverse coalition of Indian American organizations, seeking to safeguard the fabric of pluralism and democracy in India, and urging Congressman Khanna to address ongoing violent acts and human rights violations."
A spokesperson for India Civil Watch India International stressed the importance of a democratic alliance against totalitarianism and called for Congressman Khanna to "reposition the India-US relationship around democracy." emphasizing that democracy must be the cornerstone of trade and military deals between the two nations.
Ria Chakrabarty, Policy Director for Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR), urged Congressman Khanna to embrace progressive Hindu values and support efforts to combat caste discrimination unequivocally. She stated, "It is vital to combat efforts that co-opt and subvert the history of 1971 and ensure that the leadership of Bengalis is central to any recognition of the Bangladesh genocide."
Prachi Patankar, a board member at India Civil Watch International, raised concerns about the extremist groups and ideologues that Congressman Khanna has allowed to claim his support, urging the Congressman to distance himself from organizations that spread hate and misinformation. Patankar underscored, "We request you to take a clear step in the pro-democracy direction and support proactive federal action for protection against caste discrimination in the United States.”
In response to the testimonies, Congressman Ro Khanna expressed his unwavering commitment to upholding democratic values and human rights both within India and the United States. He fully recognized the concerns articulated by the coalition and wholeheartedly endorsed the imperative of fostering a pluralistic and democratic India. He expressed his desire to protect minority rights in India.

Khanna has cosponsored SAFEGUARD Act, which requires protection of human rights as prerequisite for export of arms

Furthermore, Congressman Khanna underscored his dedication to these principles by proudly announcing his cosponsorship of the SAFEGUARD Act, which ensures that the protection and promotion of human rights are intrinsic considerations in the export of arms and defense services to foreign countries. Finally, the Congressman agreed to hold a public call with our coalition when he returns from India.

Policy Asks for the India Trip:
The coalition outlined several policy asks for Congressman Khanna, including:

Advocating for visa bans against individuals accused of human rights violations, especially in Manipur, Haryana, and Uttarakhand, to deter communal violence.
Integrating human rights considerations into the security analysis of the US-India relationship and cosponsoring the SAFEGUARD Act to strengthen human rights reporting requirements for arms exports.
Combatting caste discrimination: Strengthen your stand against caste discrimination by clarifying your separation from far-right factions. Support proactive federal action to counter caste discrimination in the US.
Engaging with the coalition before, during, and after the trip to foster an open dialogue and inclusive discussion about the US-India relationship with a focus on human rights. This includes a public readout with our coalition after the trip.
Disassociation from extremist influences: We ask you to distance yourself from extremist groups and their harmful narratives, sharing details of their far-right affiliations with your office.
Championing democracy and accountability: Lead an India Caucus conference to address concerns of civil society, spotlighting the BJP's role in eroding democracy and rights. Invite credible experts to testify.

---
*HfHR Communications

Comments

Plastic burning in homes threatens food, water and air across Global South: Study

By Jag Jivan In a groundbreaking study spanning 26 countries across the Global South , researchers have uncovered the widespread and concerning practice of households burning plastic waste as a fuel for cooking, heating, and other domestic needs. The research, published in Nature Communications , reveals that this hazardous method of managing both waste and energy poverty is driven by systemic failures in municipal services and the unaffordability of clean alternatives, posing severe risks to human health and the environment.

Economic superpower’s social failure? Inequality, malnutrition and crisis of India's democracy

By Vikas Meshram India may be celebrated as one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, but a closer look at who benefits from that growth tells a starkly different story. The recently released World Inequality Report 2026 lays bare a country sharply divided by wealth, privilege and power. According to the report, nearly 65 percent of India’s total wealth is owned by the richest 10 percent of its population, while the bottom half of the country controls barely 6.4 percent. The top one percent—around 14 million people—holds more than 40 percent, the highest concentration since 1961. Meanwhile, the female labour force participation rate is a dismal 15.7 percent.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

The greatest threat to our food system: The aggressive push for GM crops

By Bharat Dogra Thanks to the courageous resistance of several leading scientists who continue to speak the truth despite increasing pressures from the powerful GM crop and GM food lobby , the many-sided and in some contexts irreversible environmental and health impacts of GM foods and crops, as well as the highly disruptive effects of this technology on farmers, are widely known today.

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

Jayanthi Natarajan "never stood by tribals' rights" in MNC Vedanta's move to mine Niyamigiri Hills in Odisha

By A Representative The Odisha Chapter of the Campaign for Survival and Dignity (CSD), which played a vital role in the struggle for the enactment of historic Forest Rights Act, 2006 has blamed former Union environment minister Jaynaynthi Natarjan for failing to play any vital role to defend the tribals' rights in the forest areas during her tenure under the former UPA government. Countering her recent statement that she rejected environmental clearance to Vendanta, the top UK-based NMC, despite tremendous pressure from her colleagues in Cabinet and huge criticism from industry, and the claim that her decision was “upheld by the Supreme Court”, the CSD said this is simply not true, and actually she "disrespected" FRA.

UP tribal woman human rights defender Sokalo released on bail

By A Representative After almost five months in jail, Adivasi human rights defender and forest worker Sokalo Gond has been finally released on bail.Despite being granted bail on October 4, technical and procedural issues kept Sokalo behind bars until November 1. The Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) and the All India Union of Forest Working People (AIUFWP), which are backing Sokalo, called it a "major victory." Sokalo's release follows the earlier releases of Kismatiya and Sukhdev Gond in September. "All three forest workers and human rights defenders were illegally incarcerated under false charges, in what is the State's way of punishing those who are active in their fight for the proper implementation of the Forest Rights Act (2006)", said a CJP statement.

Stands 'exposed': Cavalier attitude towards rushed construction of Char Dham project

By Bharat Dogra* The nation heaved a big sigh of relief when the 41 workers trapped in the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel (Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand) were finally rescued on November 28 after a 17-day rescue effort. All those involved in the rescue effort deserve a big thanks of the entire country. The government deserves appreciation for providing all-round support.

Epic war against caste system is constitutional responsibility of elected government

Edited by well-known Gujarat Dalit rights leader Martin Macwan, the book, “Bhed-Bharat: An Account of Injustice and Atrocities on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-18)” (available in English and Gujarati*) is a selection of news articles on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-2018) published by Dalit Shakti Prakashan, Ahmedabad. Preface to the book, in which Macwan seeks to answer key questions on why the book is needed today: *** The thought of compiling a book on atrocities on Dalits and thus present an overall Indian picture had occurred to me a long time ago. Absence of such a comprehensive picture is a major reason for a weak social and political consciousness among Dalits as well as non-Dalits. But gradually the idea took a different form. I found that lay readers don’t understand numbers and don’t like to read well-researched articles. The best way to reach out to them was storytelling. As I started writing in Gujarati and sharing the idea of the book with my friends, it occurred to me that while...

Search This Blog