India's human rights are the subject of a planned protest during Modi's US trip. Over what they claim is India's deteriorating human rights situation, US rights groups plan protests next week against his state visit to Washington.



On June 22, when Modi is scheduled to meet with US President Joe Biden, the Indian American Muslim Council, Peace Action, Veterans for Peace, and Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition plan to gather near the White House.


Rights advocates worry that geopolitics will overshadow human rights concerns, despite Washington's hopes for closer ties with the world's largest democracy, which it views as a counterweight to China. According to the United States, these include the government's targeting of religious minorities, journalists, and dissidents.


The groups made flyers with the slogans "Save India from Hindu Supremacy" and "Modi Not Welcome."


Another event with a show called "Howdy Democracy," a play on the 2019 "Howdy Modi!" event, is planned for New York. Indian Prime Minister and then-US President Donald Trump attend a rally in Texas.


A BBC documentary on Modi that questioned his leadership during the deadly riots in Gujarat in 2002 has been invited to a screening in Washington next week by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.


According to analysts, none of this is likely to alter the discussions between Biden and Modi.


Donald Camp, a member of the Washington think tank Centre for Strategic and International Studies and a former State Department official, stated, "My guess is that human rights will not be much of a focus of the conversation."


Camp stated that Washington would be reluctant to raise human rights issues in order for the Modi trip to be viewed as successful on both sides.


The US State Department has stated that it respects the free speech rights of US residents to demonstrate against Modi and regularly raises human rights concerns with Indian officials.


Reuters inquired about the matter and received no immediate response from a spokesperson for India's foreign ministry.


Concerns about press freedom India has fallen to 161st in the World Press Freedom Index since Modi took office in 2014, it's lowest ranking ever. It has also topped the list for the highest number of internet shutdowns worldwide for five years in a row.


The criticism is dismissed by the Indian government, which asserts that its laws are equally enforced and that its policies aim to improve the well-being of all communities. Most people think that Modi will stay in office after the elections next year because he is still the most popular leader in India.


They point to a citizenship law that was passed in 2019 and excluded Muslim migrants, which the UN human rights office called "fundamentally discriminatory." legislation against conversion that questioned the constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of belief; furthermore, the renouncing of Muslim-greater part involved Kashmir's unique status in 2019.


In 2005, President George W. Bush's administration denied Modi a visa in accordance with a 1998 US law prohibiting foreigners who have committed "particularly severe violations of religious freedom" from entering the country.


When Modi became Gujarat's chief minister in 2002, sectarian riots resulted in the deaths of at least 1,000 people, most of whom were Muslims.


Modi denied involvement. The supreme court of India ordered an investigation, but no evidence was found to support a prosecution. The US ban was lifted when he became prime minister.


Under Biden, the State Department and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, as well as its 2023 reports on human rights and religious freedom, have expressed some muted concern regarding Washington.


Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Washington-based Wilson Center think tank, stated, "The China factor is certainly a prime reason why the US treats rights.