Opinion: Mayor Lightfoot, support Indian rights
International Human Rights Day offers opportunity to bolster India’s democracy against Prime Minister Modi
President Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi meet in India earlier this year. (PTI)
By Harish Patel, Pushkar Sharma, and Sufyan Sohel
Today, on International Human Rights Day, we urge Mayor Lightfoot to publicly support a nonbinding Chicago City Council resolution (R2020-583) honoring India’s Republic and Democracy.
The resolution stands up for human rights and equality. It condemns religiously motivated violence and rejects Indian laws that leave no pathway to citizenship for Jews and Muslims. It is supported by over 20 community, religious, and civil-rights organizations; over 50 Chicago businesses; and 12 city aldermen.
Our families all immigrated to the United States from India. In different ways, we have all faced the consequences of religious persecution and have recognized that religious persecution must be stopped, so no one, our family or yours, is attacked because of their faith.
Chicago is a sanctuary city that welcomes all regardless of their religion; these are values that we are so proud our mayor has championed.
Our respective faiths have taught us the importance of nonviolence and respect for life everywhere. True to our faiths, we are committed to fighting violent extremism everywhere.
Unfortunately, supremacists have used Chicago as a base to spread hate and their ideologies.
More specifically, last year the suburban-Chicago-based Republican Hindu Coalition named Steve Bannon an honorary chairman at an event titled “A Call to Arms.” Bannon, a Trump adviser and White supremacist, united White- and Hindu-supremacist ideologies in our own backyard.
Another example of Chicago being used as a platform for hate was the “World Hindu Congress” held in the Chicago area in 2018. The event was sponsored by organizations that have been classified by the CIA as “militant religious outfits.” Prominent Indian-American city and state political leaders refused to attend the event, and at the event six protestors were viciously assaulted by participants.
Their experiences are well-documented, and this event is one of many that demonstrates how an ideology of hate and supremacy in India has had brutal consequences here in Chicago.
President Trump has plainly endorsed Prime Minister Modi’s anti-democratic, anti-rights agenda. In February 2020 he visited Chicago’s sister city, Delhi. Over 50 were killed and thousands displaced in pogroms during his visit, while violent extremists of a single religious group were unchecked by police as they attacked minority neighborhoods. When asked about this violence, Trump said “I don't want to discuss that.”
There is no excuse for violent extremism and there is no excuse for a U.S. president supporting it. Mayor Lightfoot has never shied from criticizing Trump’s violent and bigoted policies. The City Council too has passed resolutions opposing Trump’s ban on the transgender community serving in the military, his policy to separate families traveling from Central America, and his effort to expand the “public charge” rule.
The Chicago City Council resolution honoring India’s Republic and Democracy reflects the positions of President-elect Joe Biden, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Schakowsky, and Sens. Durbin and Duckworth — all of whom have expressed concern over the situation in India. Even the former Republican governor and current ambassador for Religious Freedom, Sam Brownback, has made similar statements, demonstrating a bipartisan support for the points raised in this resolution.
Similar resolutions have passed in six cities across the country, including Seattle, San Francisco, St. Paul, Albany, and Cambridge, Mass. The Chicago City Council has passed many resolutions on human rights and global issues, including a 2019 resolution in support of international Children’s Human Rights; one recognizing former Irish President Mary Robinson for her achievements in global human rights; another calling for the United Nations to establish a human-rights convention for older people; another declaring Chicago torture-free on International Human Rights Day; and yet another calling for the release of abducted Israeli teens. Time and time again the City Council and its mayors have accepted the responsibility, as a truly global city, to stand up for international human rights, equality, and democracy.
On this International Human Rights Day, the situation in India is only growing more and more dire. Indian states are passing laws against interfaith marriage while tens of thousands of protesting Indian farmers are being put down by police with tear gas, water cannons, and batons.
On International Human Rights Day, our demands are clear: we ask Mayor Lightfoot to stand by her convictions as a champion of human rights. We ask her to make a public statement of support for resolution R2020-583 and support its passage at the next City Council meeting.
Mayor Lightfoot has a chance to support democratic values — including human rights, equality, and secularism — around the globe.
We know the mayor stands against supremacist ideologies and sincerely hope she will take advantage of International Human Rights Day to demonstrate her values and Chicago’s values to the world.