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Why the US can no longer ignore Modi’s intolerance for Muslims

Hate crimes in India are on a sharper rise than ever


At the end of 2021, Rana Ayyub reported on the Dharma Sansad, a religious conference where Hindu leaders issued direct calls for the genocide of Muslims. Invoking mass atrocities such as the Rohingya genocide, speakers and attendees, including members of Modi’s ruling BJP party, vowed to make India into a Hindu Rashtra (Hindu nation). Afterwards, a group of Hindu monks congregated to form a mob inciting “war against Muslims,” advocating for a ban on the Quran, and urging Hindus to “take up weapons” to kill 20 lakh (2 million) Muslims. Today’s Indian leaders are openly glorifying Nathuram Godse, Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin. 


Modi himself is silent  on the matter while his own party members have chimed in with loud assent, actively fomenting the genocide of India’s largest religious minority. In fact, a government minister even garlanded and honoured 8 Hindus who had been convicted of lynching a Muslim. Meanwhile, the United States has so far failed to condemn this gross and overt incitement of violence.


The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Early Warning Project detects the risk of mass atrocities around the world in order to increase the likelihood of preventative action being taken to stop genocide. After Pakistan, India is currently ranked #2 in the statistical risk assessment and is marked as currently experiencing ongoing mass killings. This is up from being ranked #13 in 2019, indicating the sharp and dramatic escalation of Hindutva violence in the past few years.


The BBC reported in September 2021 that Hindu lynch mobs against Muslims have become “routine,” with murder cries of “Jai Shri Ram” accompanying brutal abuses and murders occurring openly in the street. The BBC stated that over 90% of hate crime victims in India in the past 10 years have been Muslims. Muslim women have been subject to online abuse and sexual exploitation as exemplified by the viral auction app Bulli Bai earlier this year.


Gregory Stanton, founder and director of Genocide Watch who predicted the Rwandan genocide years before it took place, warned that “genocide could very well happen in India.” Stanton notes that genocide occurs as a process and highlighted a number of warning signs in India’s case. From brutal crackdowns in military-occupied Kashmir to discrimination against people in Assam to the 2019 Citizenship Amendment Act which excluded Muslims, he observed that India has implemented a number of policies that parallel policies implemented in Myanmar before the Rohingya genocide. 


In a special interview for The Wire, Stanton referred to the Dharma Sansad as “incitement to commit genocide,” point out that these speakers should be prosecuted. Not only has the Indian state failed to prosecute, Modi’s inflammatory, but exclusionary rhetoric has also given rise to many of the mobs in question. Back in 2002, when at least a thousand Muslims died in Gujarat, Stanton states that Modi was complicit “at the very least.” At this stage, with the government’s systematic attack against minorities at the social, ideological, and policy levels, Modi (who is openly a member of the paramilitary RSS) is abetting and fomenting such a genocide, benefiting tremendously politically the more that Muslims are otherised.

 


Stanton also noted that President Biden also has a moral responsibility to condemn this hate speech and violence. Stanton, who was working in the State Department at the time of the Rwandan genocide, notes the impact of the US refusing to use the word “genocide.” He is advocating for the US Congress passing a resolution warning that genocide should not be allowed to occur in India, and it should be U.S. foreign policy to prevent it, with President Biden warning Modi that it must not happen. Weeks have passed since the inflammatory conference in Haridwar, and yet the U.S. government has not released a statement. As Rana Ayyub writes, “Not only does Modi’s silence give encouragement to the most dangerous elements threatening India, but the silence of our allies is also enabling them.” At the very minimum, Biden should make clear to Modi that his regime will face political consequences from the US -- irrespective of whether a genocide happens or not, Modi should already be facing accountability for his government’s anti-democratic actions.


It is the absolute moral duty of President Biden and the United States Congress to pass such a resolution. Vice President Kamala Harris, progressive representatives Ro Khanna and Pramila Jayapal, and other South Asians have the opportunity to spotlight this grave issue facing India and push vocally for their colleagues to rally around human rights. The alliance between the U.S. and India has grown, especially out of  mutual interest to counterbalance China. Due to the significant strategic relationship and high volume of trade, the U.S. certainly can have leverage against Modi.


The normalisation of lynchings, abuse of women, and mob violence against Muslims in Modi’s India is abhorrent, as is the silence of international leaders. Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch, observed that “The Indian authorities have given up any appearance of tolerating dissent and are using the machinery of the state to silence critics.” As the Hindu majority looks on and attempts to organize or even critique are quashed immediately, the diaspora and international community have a more vital role than ever. 

About the author

Ria Mazumdar is South Asian Today's US political analyst. A Bengali-American, she is originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico. A recent graduate of Tufts University, her interests include politics, economic development, and postcolonial thought. Ria is currently working as a Research Associate in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Instagram: @ria.maz  / Tweets: @riamaz

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