India's anti-terror law used to silence top activist: US religious freedom commissioner

By A Representative
At a Congressional briefing in Washington DC, while condemning the "wrongful incarceration" of well-known activist Umar Khalid, US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Commissioner Eric Ueland called Khalid a “staunch defender of religious minorities” who “peacefully protested… discriminatory legislation.”
Ueland demanded that the United States take seriously the extensive reports of India’s use of "draconian" anti-terrorism laws to silence activists from minority faith backgrounds. He called on the State Department to designate India as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for egregious violations of religious freedoms.
“We strongly urge policy recommendations that take these abuses seriously, especially the importance of the United States in its designation of India as a CPC in the coming months, and not let India off the hook from the consequences of a CPC designation with some sort of scummy waiver,” said Ueland.
On September 13, 2020, Umar Khalid was charged with terrorism and arrested under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) after Indian authorities accused him of inciting communal violence following a speech he delivered during nationwide protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
The CAA is considered a law that discriminates against Muslims and excludes them from being able to receive fast-track Indian citizenship. In his speech, the briefing was told, Khalid had called for non-violent resistance against the far-right government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party BJP.
Also speaking at the briefing was Syed Qasim Rasool Ilyas, father of Umar Khalid, who stated that he was not only speaking to represent the case of his son, but to represent the cases of all India’s political prisoners.

Eric Ueland

“Those who are languishing in jail - what was their crime?” Ilyas asked. “They have spoken against a discriminatory law. [For this,] they have been charged with sedition, they have been charged with terrorism, and they are languishing in jail for the last three years under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.”

He added, “People must know what is prevailing in the country. India is the largest democracy in the world. But we are afraid of whether it will remain as a democracy or not after the 2024 election. If this government comes back, people feel that the democracy of the country will be lost.”

Another speaker at the briefing, Nausicaa Renner, Deputy Editor of "The Intercept", complained, “One of the most dangerous things about what is happening to Umar Khalid — which we are also seeing around the conflict in Israel and Gaza — is that speaking out against state power is being equated with terrorism or sympathy for terrorism.”
Indian journalist Niranjan Takle quoted Umar Khalid’s speech to anti-CAA protestors, saying, “If they spread hate, we will respond with love. If they thrash us with sticks, we will keep holding our national tricolor flag high.”
“What is anti-national in this speech?” he added. “What is it that is provoking violence? But based on this speech, frivolous charges were raised against [Khalid], and he has been incarcerated in jail for the last 37 months… and the Supreme Court of India is not ready to even hear the bail petitions.”
Pieter Friedrich, independent journalist and author of "Saffron America: India's Hindu Nationalist Project at Work in the United States", pointed out the stark contrast between the Indian government’s targeting of Khalid and its silence regarding Sadhvi Rithambara, a leader of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad who has been criticised for inciting anti-Muslim violence with her speeches.

Nausicaa Renner

“This young student activist is incarcerated for participating in protests in which members of his own Muslim community were killed by the ruling authorities, while Sadhvi Rithambara is free to travel internationally as a spokesperson of the Hindu nationalist movement, which is targeting Umar Khalid’s community back in India,” Friedrich said.
This special briefing was co-sponsored by 18 American civil rights organizations including the Indian American Muslim Council, Genocide Watch, World Without Genocide, Hindus for Human Rights, International Christian Concern, Jubilee Campaign, 21Wilberforce, Dalit Solidarity Forum, New York State Council of Churches, Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations of North America, India Civil Watch International, Center for Pluralism, International Commission for Dalit Rights, American Muslim Institution, Students Against Hindutva Ideology, International Society for Peace and Justice, The Humanism Project and Association of Indian Muslims of America.

Comments

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

Gujarat Information Commission issues warning against misinterpretation of RTI orders

By A Representative The Gujarat Information Commission (GIC) has issued a press note clarifying that its orders limiting the number of Right to Information (RTI) applications for certain individuals apply only to those specific applicants. The GIC has warned that it will take disciplinary action against any public officials who misinterpret these orders to deny information to other citizens. The press note, signed by GIC Secretary Jaideep Dwivedi, states that the Right to Information Act, 2005, is a powerful tool for promoting transparency and accountability in public administration. However, the commission has observed that some applicants are misusing the act by filing an excessive number of applications, which disproportionately consumes the time and resources of Public Information Officers (PIOs), First Appellate Authorities (FAAs), and the commission itself. This misuse can cause delays for genuine applicants seeking justice. In response to this issue, and in acc...

Job opportunities decreasing, wages remain low: Delhi construction workers' plight

By Bharat Dogra* It was about 32 years back that a hut colony in posh Prashant Vihar area of Delhi was demolished. It was after a great struggle that the people evicted from here could get alternative plots that were not too far away from their earlier colony. Nirmana, an organization of construction workers, played an important role in helping the evicted people to get this alternative land. At that time it was a big relief to get this alternative land, even though the plots given to them were very small ones of 10X8 feet size. The people worked hard to construct new houses, often constructing two floors so that the family could be accommodated in the small plots. However a recent visit revealed that people are rather disheartened now by a number of adverse factors. They have not been given the proper allotment papers yet. There is still no sewer system here. They have to use public toilets constructed some distance away which can sometimes be quite messy. There is still no...

Uttarakhand tunnel disaster: 'Question mark' on rescue plan, appraisal, construction

By Bhim Singh Rawat* As many as 40 workers were trapped inside Barkot-Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi after a portion of the 4.5 km long, supposedly completed portion of the tunnel, collapsed early morning on Sunday, Nov 12, 2023. The incident has once again raised several questions over negligence in planning, appraisal and construction, absence of emergency rescue plan, violations of labour laws and environmental norms resulting in this avoidable accident.

'MGNREGA crisis deepening': NSM demands fair wages and end to digital exclusions

By A Representative The NREGA Sangharsh Morcha (NSM), a coalition of independent unions of MGNREGA workers, has warned that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is facing a “severe crisis” due to persistent neglect and restrictive measures imposed by the Union Government.

Rally in Patna: Non-farmer bodies to highlight plight of agriculture in Eastern India ahead of march to Parliament

P Sainath By A Representative Ahead of the march to Parliament on November 29-30, 2018, organized by over 210 farmer and agricultural worker organisations of the country demanding a 21-day special session of Parliament to deliberate on remedial measures for safeguarding the interest of farm, farmers and agricultural workers, a mass rally been organized for November 23, Gandhi Sangrahalaya (Gandhi Museum), Gandhi Maidan, Patna. Say the organizers, the Eastern region merits special attention, because, while crisis of farmers and agricultural workers in Western, Southern and Northern India has received some attention in the media and central legislature, the plight of those in the Eastern region of the country (Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Eastern UP) has remained on the margins. To be addressed by P Sainath, founder of People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI), a statement issued ahead of the rally says, the Eastern India was the most prosperous regi...

India's health workers have no legal right for their protection, regrets NGO network

Counterview Desk In a letter to Union labour and employment minister Santosh Gangwar, the civil rights group Occupational and Environmental Health Network of India (OEHNI), writing against the backdrop of strike by Bhabha hospital heath care workers, has insisted that they should be given “clear legal right for their protection”.

As 2024 draws nearer, threatening signs appear of more destructive wars

By Bharat Dogra The four years from 2020 to 2023 have been very difficult and high risk years for humanity. In the first two years there was a pandemic and such severe disruption of social and economic life that countless people have not yet recovered from its many-sided adverse impacts. In the next two years there were outbreaks of two very high-risk wars which have worldwide implications including escalation into much wider conflicts. In addition there were highly threatening signs of increasing possibility of other very destructive wars. As the year 2023 appears to be headed for ending on a very grim note, there are apprehensions about what the next year 2024 may bring, and there are several kinds of fears. However to come back to the year 2020 first, the pandemic harmed and threatened a very large number of people. No less harmful was the fear epidemic, the epidemic of increasing mental stress and the cruel disruption of the life and livelihoods particularly among the weaker s...

Targeted eviction of Bengali-speaking Muslims across Assam districts alleged

By A Representative A delegation led by prominent academic and civil rights leader Sandeep Pandey visited three districts in Assam—Goalpara, Dhubri, and Lakhimpur—between 2 and 4 September 2025 to meet families affected by recent demolitions and evictions. The delegation reported widespread displacement of Bengali-speaking Muslim communities, many of whom possess valid citizenship documents including Aadhaar, voter ID, ration cards, PAN cards, and NRC certification.

Counterview

Search This Blog