iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
As the incoming US President is warming up to take the oath on January 20, a group of Indian Americans has a message to the new President on the outlook relationship with India and Modi’s government.
As Modi’s government has a knack to put out a liberal front yet behave in an authoritarian way, Indian American Alliance Against Caste are urging Biden to be tough on the Modi government, and refrain from appointing persons linked to “militant Hindu organizations such as the RSS”.
Citing several issues that ripped people of personal liberty, oppression of minorities, and inciting caste-based atrocities, the group has written a letter to the incoming president-elect and asked him to garner support for the House Bill H.Res.745.
House Bill H.Res.745 was a resolution in the United States Congress urging “India to end the restrictions on communications and mass detentions in Jammu and Kashmir as swiftly as possible and preserve religious freedom for all residents.”
Biden and his running mate Harris, have both earlier outrightly condemned certain decisions of the Modi government.
In regarding to the recent Kashmir controversy, Biden had then said that “the Indian government should take all necessary steps to restore rights for all the people of Kashmir. Restrictions on dissent, such as preventing peaceful protests or shutting or slowing down the Internet, weaken democracy.”
The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) was another huge step that tried to end secularism in India. And Biden stood clearly against such a move saying that “the CAA threatens to disenfranchise millions of Indian Muslims, a move that you expressed concern about in your campaign”.
In the letter written by the group, they have clearly mentioned the influence of the BJP, the ruling party. “The BJP is an affiliate of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu paramilitary organization that believes India is a country solely for Hindus and views other minority groups as enemies or infiltrators.”
Cautioning Biden to “thoroughly screen all individuals offering advice to, lobbying, vying for a position within, or in any way engaging with your administration,” the group of Indian Americans said,
“The BJP and RSS have long sought to influence – and infiltrate – American politics through its affiliate diaspora organizations. Worryingly, many South Asian-American individuals with ties to far-right Hindu organizations in India are affiliated with the Democratic party,” it cautioned.
The group of Indian Americans has also urged Biden to add caste as a protected category in civil rights laws and company policies.
The Indian American Alliance Against Caste((IAAAC) has long been demanding that caste be included as a vector of discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in America. IAAAC is a coalition of the most prominent community-based organizations representing Dalits in the USA and other social justice organizations from the Indian diaspora.