Indian diaspora groups campaign against human rights 'abuses' in India

On Human Rights Day, individuals and 30 Indian diaspora groups, as well as international organisations from over 15 countries on Friday, came together for a social media campaign to draw attention to alleged growing attacks on human rights in India.

In a joint statement, UK's Anti-Caste Discrimination Alliance (ACDA), US's Coalition of Seattle Indian Americans, US's Dalit Solidarity Forum, Australia's The Humanism Project, US's Hindus for Human Rights, among others, condemned the “growing attacks on human rights in India”.

Posters with “Speaking up is not anti-national, silencing people is!” slogan were displayed in numerous cities around the world, including Paris, Sydney, Melbourne, Kuala Lumpur, Cape Town, Tokyo, New York and Amsterdam, according to the statement.

"We find it empowering to see so many members of the Indian diaspora, and even partners and allies, come together to make this strong statement.

"With all the noise made by those who want to divide and destroy, we hope others will find it hopeful, too. That is why we are raising our voices as Indian diaspora and allies to highlight that India - just like every country - needs a free press, and needs youth, Dalit, Muslim and all kinds of activists, because we can only guarantee the best possible world for all if everyone can speak,” Alena Kahle from Foundation The London Story said.

On the importance of global solidarity, Michael Gottlob from the India Coordination Group (IndienKoGruppe) at Amnesty Germany said, “The utopian idea of solidarity across boundaries still inspires millions of Amnesty activists from many countries in the world.

“That is why we are glad to join the common protest on the Human Rights Day. Let us make sure that the world is watching India - as Indians are watching the world. So that the movement for human rights will become truly global," he said.

Expressing the pride and hope that the diaspora feels about the native country, Haroon Kasim, co-founder, The Humanism Project based in Australia, said, “We stand proudly as Indians who will speak out loudly against any efforts to compromise or threaten India's proud history of diversity, inclusiveness or her democratic values.

“Governments will come and go, but we remain committed to standing up and protecting India's proud multicultural, multi religious, multilingual and democratic ethos. We will not have it any other way,” he asserted.

Sunita Viswanath from Hindus for Human Rights-US asserted, “We are progressive Hindus who respect the egalitarian and inclusive principles in the Indian constitution. For us, ‘vasudhaiva kutumbakam’ means a world where no one is superior to another (which means an end to caste), and all live in peace and harmony.

"We call on the Indian citizenry -- particularly the Hindu majority -- to wake up to the horrors taking place before their eyes, and remove Hindutva hatred from their hearts and their government,” she said.

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