Over 300 U.S. Christian Leaders Appeal for Persecuted Indian Religious Minorities
Letter to U.S. State Department demands designating India a “Country of Particular Concern” CLICK TO VIEW LETTER & SIGNATORIES August 1, 2024: Washington, DC — Hundreds of mostly American Christian leaders have united in a powerful call to action in a letter urging the U.S. State Department to designate India a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC). “As Indian Christians struggle to follow their faith in the face of Hindu supremacist policies, persecution of religious minorities is being buried by U.S. adoration of the current Indian regime,” says Federation of Indian-American Christian Organizations in North America (FIACONA) Executive Director Rev. Neal Christie. “This letter highlights the rapidly escalating state-sanctioned violations of human rights targeting religious minorities, including Christians, Muslims, Dalits, and indigenous tribal peoples.” The over 300 signatories include 18 bishops, three archbishops and 167 clergy from diverse denominational and non-denominational backgrounds, eight current or former presidents and deans from five theological schools, and leaders from over 40 Christian organizations. This is the first letter ever produced by U.S. Christian leaders addressing religious persecution in India. Signatories include the immediate past president of the National Council of Churches; the president, immediate past president, and ecumenical officer of the Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Church
JOINT STATEMENT AT USCIRF HEARING
Read by Sunita Viswanath, Executive Director, Hindus for Human Rights (832 words / 4:35 min) Dear USCIRF Chair Cooper and Vice Chair Davie, Thank you for inviting me to testify. I speak on behalf of Dalit Solidarity Forum, Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations, Hindus for Human Rights, Indian American Muslim Council, India Civil Watch International, and the New York State Council of Churches. We are disappointed that Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and Dalits, who face the brunt of religious freedom and human rights violations under Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have not been invited to speak on this panel. The Biden Administration is in denial of religious persecution in India, failing to call out India’s persecution of its 250 million Muslims and 40 million Christians. In June, President Biden shocked the world by applauding India’s “open, tolerant, robust debate” with Modi standing next to him at the White House, just two days after 75 Members of US Congress had written to Biden expressing concern over “the shrinking of political space, the rise of religious intolerance, the targeting of civil society organizations and journalists, and growing restrictions on press freedoms and internet access” in India. Yesterday, The New York Times wrote: “Mr. Biden has soft-pedaled any criticism of the increasing
FIACONA APPLAUDS EU PARLIAMENT ON ADOPTING A RESOLUTION CONDEMNING THE ATTACKS ON CHURCHES IN INDIA:
The Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations of North America (FIACONA) welcomes the strong response from the European Union Parliament (EUP) on the tragic crises in Manipur, India. FIACONA calls the violence in Manipur against Christians as state sponsored. The BJP government armed and aided the militia loyal to the Hindu nationalist BJP party. In speech after speech, Members of the EUP challenged the Indian government’s disregard for human rights in Northeast India and questioned the policies of the Indian Prime Minister Modi when it comes to human rights within India. The Indian Prime Minister has remained silent on the rapidly deteriorating situation in Manipur where mainly Christians have been killed and churches destroyed. “The situation in the state of Manipur in the North East of India is serious…violence is ongoing without the perpetrators being prevented. We call on the Indian government to do everything to restore order, bring the perpetrators to justice, and stop the excessive violence. With this resolution of the European Parliament, we call on the most populous democracy in the world to do what it is duty-bound to do as per its Constitution — to maintain religious freedom for the Christians in Manipur,” said parliament speaker Sven Simon,
Press Release: FIACONA Launched 2023 Annual Report
PRESS RELEASE Washington DC. January 30, The Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations launched its 2023 Annual Report on India on January 30 at an event held at Washington Hilton, ahead of the IRF Summit. The 2023 Report is unique in several aspects. For the first time, the Report calls for accountability from the government of India for its institutional failures to safeguard the lives and properties of Christians. The Report has recorded 1198 confirmed and verified incidents of violence against the Christian community across India. All these attacks were carried out by groups affiliated with or controlled by the Hindu nationalist party, the BJP, and its parent organization, the RSS. Most of these attacks took place in states with some Anti-Conversion Laws. The attackers used perceived conversion, restricted by those laws, as a cover to attack the prayer meetings and churches. The police had joined the attackers in many instances. The Report estimates around 100 million US Dollars as a net loss caused by the violence against Christians in these 1198 incidents. FIACONA calls on the government of India to form an independent committee to calculate the financial damage caused to each individual family affected. FIACONA is asking the US Congress to pass legislation
Press Release
FIACONA Launched the 2023 Annual Report on India The Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations launched its 2023 Annual Report on India on January 30 at an event held at Washington Hilton, ahead of the IRF Summit. The 2023 Report is unique in several aspects. For the first time, the Report calls for accountability from the government of India for its institutional failures to safeguard the lives and properties of Christians. The Report has recorded 1198 confirmed and verified incidents of violence against the Christian community across India. All these attacks were carried out by groups affiliated with or controlled by the Hindu nationalist party, the BJP, and its parent organization, the RSS. Most of these attacks took place in states with some Anti-Conversion Laws. The attackers used perceived conversion, restricted by those laws, as a cover to attack the prayer meetings and churches. The police had joined the attackers in many instances. The Report estimates around 100 million US Dollars as a net loss caused by the violence against Christians in these 1198 incidents. FIACONA calls on the government of India to form an independent committee to calculate the financial damage caused to each individual family affected. FIACONA is asking the US Congress to
Statement
Extremist outfits and their proxies in America should think deep and hard as to what they are actually doing on the US soil. December 21. 2022, Washington DC. Last May, the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) filed a defamation lawsuit in federal court in D.C. accusing Mr. John Prabhudoss, the Chairman of the Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations, along with the co-founders of Hindus for Human Rights, Ms. Sunita Viswanathan and Mr. Raju Rajagopal, and Prof. Audrey Truschke and Mr. Rashid Ahmed of IAMC, of defaming HAF in commentary each made about reports in the press that HAF and other extremist Hindu nationalist organizations had obtained federal COVID relief. The reports were that HAF and others received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the U.S. government meant for companies trying to survive the pandemic. On December 20th, 2022 Federal Judge Amit Mehta dismissed the case against all defendants. While he ruled that there was no personal jurisdiction over Ms. Viswanathan, Mr. Rajagopal, Prof. Truschke, and Mr. Ahmed, Judge Mehta dismissed the claims against Mr. Prabhudoss on the merits. He found that HAF “does not plausibly allege that Prabhudoss’s statements are verifiably false” because they amounted to statements of opinion. He further found
USCIRF ISSUES STATEMENT – USCIRF Outraged by Omission of Nigeria and India from State Department’s List of Countries of Particular Concern
USCIRF Outraged by Omission of Nigeria and India from State Department’s List of Countries of Particular Concern Washington, DC – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) finds it inexplicable that the U.S. Department of State did not include Nigeria or India in its latest designations of “Countries of Particular Concern” (CPCs) under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA), turning a blind eye to both countries’ particularly severe religious freedom violations. “There is no justification for the State Department’s failure to recognize Nigeria or India as egregious violators of religious freedom, as they each clearly meet the legal standards for designation as CPCs. USCIRF is tremendously disappointed that the Secretary of State did not implement our recommendations and recognize the severity of the religious freedom violations that both USCIRF and the State Department have documented in those countries,” said USCIRF Chair Nury Turkel. “The State Department’s own reporting includes numerous examples of particularly severe religious freedom violations in Nigeria and India.” Pursuant to IRFA, the State Department re-designated 10 countries as CPCs—Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. The State Department also added Cuba and Nicaragua to its CPC list, both of which previously had been on the Department’s SWL. In its 2022 Annual Report in
FIACONA Congratulates the Union of India on Her 75th Independence Day:
August 16, 2022. Washington DC. The Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations of North America (FIACONA) congratulates the people of India on the 75th Anniversary of her independence from British Rule. FIACONA applauds the resilience of the people of India and their commitment to a democratic system of government in the face of organized assault on the institutions of democracy by non-state actors and their affiliated political parties. The unprecedented number of attacks against Christian and other religious minority groups and the rise in hate crimes against them should be a serious concern for all democratic nations around the world. It is important for India to stay true to its founding principles of liberal democratic values. Right-wing politics has the potential to threaten stability in the Indian Ocean corridor. A strong pull toward dictatorial tendencies will weaken the Union of India like it has weakened other countries in that region. Such internal developments will lead to social unrest and political instability internally, as has been in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar. India, the largest democracy in the world, should emerge as a leader and example to other democracies in the world. A strong and vibrant India that respects the freedom of all its people irrespective
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 2022 India Report Released.
Sec Blinken and Sec Austin Should not Allow Their Indian Counterparts at the 2+2 Meeting Today Blackmail Them : FIACONA Sensing weakness, the Indian side would demand that the US ignore India's domestic policies and internal developments in return for cooperation on Ukraine. The Federation of Indian American Christians Releases 2022 Report on India Documenting 761 cases of Violent Attacks. Washington, D.C. Federation Indian Christian Associations of North America (FIACONA), an advocacy organization, representing a million Indian American Christians in the U.S., released its 2022 Report documenting 761 attacks against Christians in India. This report was released ahead of the soon-to-be-released report from the United States Commission on Religious Freedom (USCIRF). India is becoming more and more prominent in America’s global engagement. Policymakers in the US Administration tend to blink first to demands from the Indian side that India’s domestic policies be ignored for cooperation on issues involving foreign policy like India’s cooperation on Ukraine. FIACONA asks that America stay firm and resist compromising on its principles and not allow it to be blackmailed by Indian officials meeting with Mr. Blinken and Mr. Austin today The Report shows that all 761 attacks on Christians across India were carried out by the radical Hindu
STATEMENT: Yet another Clear Sign of India Fast Becoming a Hindu Fundamentalist State
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 24, 2020. Washington DC. India to remain a liberal democratic state is vital for the US interests and the US-India relationship. If India slips into a religious fundamentalist state as Pakistan or Turkey has, it will have far-reaching implications for the US interests not only across the Indian Ocean Corridor but even at home. What is taking place in India this week is a clear indication yet of where that country is headed. Prime Minister Modi removed the Hymn "Abide With Me" from India's annual Republic Day Parade this week. This hymn was part of the official annual parade for the last 73 years. It was first included in 1949 by the Indian Amry played by its band. It is considered to be Mahatma Gandhi's favorite hymn. Ever since, it has been a tradition for the army band to play it every year. It is not about whether or not a tune is removed or added in a lineup this year. It should be seen from a historical perspective. Mr. Modi's Hindu nationalist party has long been arguing that, for India to be truly independent, she should shed the remnants of colonial past and all that are associated with it - including the
