New Delhi: A coalition of Indian-Americans, the Alliance for Justice and Accountability (AJA), has announced that they will be protesting in Houston on Sunday, the day of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Howdy, Modi’ event. US President Donald Trump will also be at the event.
“We are a bona fide group of Indian Americans with roots in India, and not connected with any other nationality or separatist causes,” the AJA said in a statement. “We have one and only one agenda: to expose the undemocratic, anti-people and anti-minorities agenda of Mr. Modi’s government and BJP party.”
According to the press release, the coalition comprises groups of Indian-Americans across religions, including the Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR), the Indian American Muslim Council and the Organization for Minorities of India.
“We are horrified that our religion…is being hijacked by extremists and nationalists who are lynching Muslims, trampling on democracy and law and order, and arresting if not murdering those who are speaking out,” HHR co-founder Sunita Viswanath said.
Also read: The What, Why and How of ‘Howdy, Modi’
A number of American organisations have also expressed their support for the AJA protest, including Jewish Voice for Peace and Black Lives Matter.
The AJA statement said that Modi’s visit was coming at a time when his government is suppressing all voices from Jammu and Kashmir after reading down Article 370 of the constitution. “India’s crackdown on Kashmir comes even as violence against India’s social and religious minorities — Muslims, Christians, Dalits, and Adivasis — has escalated massively in the five years since Mr. Modi has been Prime Minister. This is a recipe for disaster and and a threat to India’s integrity.”
The ‘Howdy, Modi’ event in Texas will see about 50,000 Indian-Americans gathering to hear the prime minister and US president speak.