Since assuming office as prime minister, Modi has presided over a surge in anti-Muslim hate speech, emboldening Hindu extremists to commit acts of violence against Muslims with impunity.
Team Clarion
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) on Tuesday condemned Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s election speech, which labelled Muslims as “infiltrators” and promoted Hindu far-right conspiracy theory alleging that India’s Muslim population growth poses a threat that must be curbed.
Modi’s inflammatory comments “falsely insinuated” that the opposition Congress party would give away the wealth and resources of Hindu women to Muslims, employing “blatant anti-Muslim dog whistles to incite division and hatred,” the IAMC said in a statement.
“They (Congress) will gather all your wealth and distribute it among those who have more children. They will distribute it among the infiltrators,” Modi told the crowd.
The IAMC is the largest US-based advocacy organisation of Indian American Muslims.
“We are appalled by Modi’s unabashed demonisation of India’s most vulnerable minority group, pandering to his fervently Hindu supremacist base,” said IAMC President Mohammed Jawad. “Modi’s rhetoric not only violates Indian law, which prohibits communal speeches during election campaigns but also legitimises the very narratives that fuel violence against Muslims.”
Since assuming office as prime minister, Modi has presided over a surge in anti-Muslim hate speech, emboldening Hindu extremists to commit acts of violence, intimidation, and discrimination against Muslims with impunity.
“Modi’s words endanger the lives of over 200 million Muslims, subjecting them to the spectre of horrific violence,” Jawad emphasised. “The Biden administration must swiftly condemn Modi’s reprehensible rhetoric, unequivocally denounce the pervasive anti-Muslim violence in India, and designate India as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), as recommended by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom,” the statement said.