Controversy Surrounds Indian PM's UN Yoga Event Amid Criticism of Human Rights Record

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been met with criticism for hosting a United Nations yoga event on the front lawn of the United Nations in New York City to kick off a controversial visit to the United States. Critics say the event distracts from allegations of Hindu nationalism and human rights violations that have occurred under his administration. PM Modi is set to be honoured with a state dinner hosted by US President Joe Biden on Thursday night, and will address a joint session of the US Congress and hold a joint news conference with Biden that day. Ria Chakrabarty, the policy director at Hindus for Human Rights, accused the prime minister of using the event as “om-washing” - a variation on “whitewashing” that employs the mantra “om” - in order to take advantage of the “soft power” cultural Hinduism has in the West. In response, a coalition of academics, former US government officials, Indian minority groups and journalists opposing Modi’s visit called on the Biden administration to prioritise a laundry list of human rights allegations in his upcoming meetings with Modi.

These include restrictions on freedom of expression, arbitrary arrests of critics, an increase in communal violence, caste- and religion-based hate crimes, and the targeting of indigenous communities. Foreign policy analysts say both Washington and the Indian government have felt increasing unease over China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region, leading to concerns about curbing China’s power that have largely trumped the Biden administration’s vow to pursue a foreign policy led by human rights. Meanwhile, Zaki Barzinji, who served as a White House liaison to Muslim Americans under former President Barack Obama, called for a different type of “turning point” in US-India relations that address the human rights crisis in Kashmir. Despite bipartisan support for Modi’s visit, 70 members of the US Senate and House of Representatives released a letter pushing Biden to broach the “troubling signs in India” that indicate a deteriorating human rights record.

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) also called on Biden to speak about religious freedom concerns and urged the US state department to designate India as a “country of particular concern” for religious freedom. Nadine Maenza, the former chair of USCIRF, called on Biden to make the designation, saying “it is an opportunity for President Biden to show leadership by speaking directly to Prime Minister Modi about the seriousness of the situation”.