A coalition of civil and human rights organizations convened a Congressional Briefing in Washington, DC, drawing attention to allegations of organized voter suppression and citizenship revocation targeting marginalized populations in India.
The event, held virtually, was sponsored by groups which claim to be committed to pluralism, religious freedom, and democratic integrity—including the Indian American Muslim Council, Hindus for Human Rights, World Against Genocide, New York State Council of Churches, Genocide Watch, The Religious Nationalism Project, The Humanism Project (Australia), Diaspora in Action for Human Rights and Democracy, Center for Pluralism, and the Association of Indian Muslims of America, Washington DC.
At the briefing, Indian opposition leaders and legal experts outlined a pattern they describe as the systematic manipulation of electoral rolls and marginalization of vulnerable communities. Indian National Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera charged that the Election Commission of India (ECI), in collusion with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is engaged in “organized deletion” of voter lists across regions like Bihar and Bangalore, specifically targeting Muslims, backward castes, Dalits, and other groups that threaten BJP’s vote share. This alleged manipulation, according to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, contributed to the loss of at least 48 parliamentary seats in the 2024 general elections through mass irregularities and manipulated entries.
Opposition parties contend that the ECI’s recent directive, mandating 80 million voters in Bihar to re-register or risk being labeled “suspected foreign nationals,” is part of a broader strategy to disenfranchise millions and strip them of fundamental rights. Khera emphasized the cascading effects: exclusion from government benefits, pensions, housing, and also jeopardizing legal identity and citizenship. Protests against these election policies in Delhi were met with arrests, which opposition leaders decried as suppression of democratic dissent and closure of channels for citizens’ representatives to petition the Election Commission.
Legal experts at the briefing further amplified concerns about the targeting of Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam. Senior Supreme Court advocate Sanjay Hegde described government-led demolition drives, inhumane deportations, and hate rallies as unlawful and arbitrary, equating them to the “forcible throwback” of Indian citizens as “human garbage” across the border to Bangladesh—a country unwilling to accept them. Hegde articulated that these policies, which rely on religion and language as grounds for citizenship denial, have created a climate where Bengali-speaking Muslims are routinely perceived as foreigners and forcibly expelled, despite being born and raised in India.
The Congressional Briefing billed itself as as a platform for coordinated diaspora activism, uniting diverse religious, legal, and human rights organizations to spotlight what they view as a systemic assault on India’s democracy and pluralistic traditions. By mobilizing international attention and policy advocacy, the convening body aims to hold accountable those responsible for disenfranchisement and exclusion, pledging continued vigilance and action to safeguard the rights of minorities and restore democratic norms in India.