America
Protest against PM Modi in San Jose
The Indian American community is sharply split on Modi's performance during his first year in office, and that was obvious in the huge crowds of protesters filling up the designated protest zones and sidewalks in front of the
“We were pleasantly surprised by the turnout, which was much higher than we anticipated,†said Bhajan Singh, a community leader with the AJA. People came from cities as far away as
Protesters enacted a “die in†to dramatize the attacks against Muslims, Christians, Dalits, women, and other communities that are occurring with increasing frequency under the Modi administration. As in
Local Politicians Not Impressed
Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, in whose district the event took place, chose not to attend. Congressman Honda, who has the largest number of Indian American constituents, issued a statement stating that he is “well aware of the controversy that surrounds Prime Minister Modi's visit…I will neither overlook nor forget my duty to be a strong advocate for human rights.†Ro Khanna, who is running against Honda, issued a statement saying the US-India partnership “must be rooted in a respect for civic dissent, for human rights, for a robust public square that engages NGOs, and for religious tolerance and liberty.†AJA ran an outreach campaign to local elected officials, educating them on Modi's failed civil rights record; many subsequently declined the Modi invite.
Speakers representing the wide variety of groups in the alliance addressed the gathering and the media. They recounted the repeated and increasing violence visited upon
Said Virali Modi-Parekh, “Modi talks about Digital India, while ignoring millions of Digital Indians demanding an end to Internet censorship, restrictions on online privacy, and arrests of social media users.†Added Neil Tangri, “Since 2014, the Modi government has tried to shut down Indian civil society organizations, including targeting frontline groups, cracking down thousands of NGOs like Greenpeace India and the Sierra Club, and intimidating journalists who expose inconvenient facts.â€
“It's important to compare Narendra Modi's words versus his actions,†explained Sabiha Basrai of the Alliance of South Asians Taking Action. “This is a man being praised for tweeting #SelfieWithDaughter, even though he actually slashed funding for the Ministry of Women and Child Development by 50 per cent just months before.†Imam Zaid Shakir said, “Modi was banned from the
Protesters held signs, chanted, and connected with communities impacted by Modi's regressive policies in
The month-long campaign included some of the following highlights:
Billboard campaign
The Modi PR team announced to the media that they raised nearly a million dollars from companies wanting to do business in
A week before Modi's arrival, Silicon Valley residents started mailing packages of Purell hand sanitizer to Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, so he could wash off the stain after shaking hands with Narendra Modi, who was accused by Human Rights Watch of presiding over the killings of about 2,000 Muslims in 2002. Over 250 bottles have already been sent, with more pouring in; each package is dedicated to a named victim of the
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