Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with members of Dawoodi Bohra community (Ismā’īlī branch of Shia Islam) on Saturday in Houston, Texas. (ANI)
Sun 22 September 2019:
Tens of thousands of people are expected to gather in Houston, Texas, on Sunday to hear Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump address a rally dubbed “Howdy Modi”.
Organisers say more than 50,000 people – many from the Indian-American diaspora – have registered for the event, which the White House labelled “a great opportunity to emphasise the strong ties between the two countries” and “reaffirm the strategic partnership between the world’s oldest and largest democracies”.
The rally, hosted by the Texas Indian Forum, is set to kick off around 8:45am local time (13:00 GMT) with cultural performances before Modi and Trump take the stage at NRG Stadium around 10:00am (15:00 GMT).
About 500,000 people in Texas identify as Indian American, including some 150,000 in Houston.
On Saturday Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met and interacted with members of Dawoodi Bohra community in Houston on Saturday.
They felicitated PM Modi and recalled his visit to Indore last year to attend a programme of their community. They also highlighted the Prime Minister’s association with Dawoodi Bohra leader Syedna Sahib.
“The Dawoodi Bohra community felicitated PM @narendramodi in Houston. They recalled PM Modi’s visit to Indore last year to attend a programme of their community as well as highlight PM Modi’s association with Syedna Sahib,” tweeted PMO India.
The Dawoodi Bohra community felicitates PM @narendramodi in Houston. They recall PM Modi’s visit to Indore last year to attend a programme of their community as well as highlight PM Modi’s association with Syedna Sahib. pic.twitter.com/PBOd0k0PTv
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) September 22, 2019
Human rights organisations are also expected to draw more than 15,000 people to counter-rallies outside the stadium, aiming to raise awareness of the alleged human rights violations in Indian-administered Kashmir, as well as other parts of India, including Assam state.
“Most of us try to defend human rights violations no matter where they happen,” said Mohammed Nasrullah, of the International Humanitarian Foundation, one of the main organisers of the protests.
Last month, India’s Hindu nationalist government revoked Article 370 of the country’s constitution, which guaranteed special rights to Indian-administered Kashmir. New Delhi also imposed a communications blackout and deployed thousands of additional troops to the disputed territory. Hundreds of people have been wounded in protests in parts of the Muslim-majority state, while thousands have been detained.
Michelle Bachelet, the UN human rights chief, said earlier this month that she was “deeply concerned about the recent actions by the government on the human rights of Kashmiris”.
She specifically pointed to the “restrictions on internet communications and peaceful assembly, and the detention of local political leaders and activists”.
Over 20,000 Kashmiris and Sikhs have come together for #GoBackModi campaign in Houston against PM Modi’s #HowdyModi event and have dubbed him as the “Face of Indian terrorism”. pic.twitter.com/prf5v3duNb
— Rofl Republic (@i_theindian) September 21, 2019
In India’s northeastern Assam state, nearly two million people were recently excluded from a list of citizens. This includes a number of Bangladeshi refugees, both Muslims and Hindus, who fled to India more than 40 years ago during their country’s war of independence. Those excluded have 120 days from the end of last month to prove their citizenship.
Amnesty International last month urged the Indian government “to ensure that it is not depriving a person of his/her nationality on arbitrary or vague grounds, by diminishing procedural due process, or if such deprivation stands to render a person stateless”.
Sunita Viswanath, cofounder of Hindus for Human Rights, urged other Hindus to “wake up, and find out what’s going on” in India.
Houston City Hall packed with minorities from India protesting: “Go Back Modi.” #HowdyModi pic.twitter.com/h1miaSoCxj
— Pieter Friedrich (@FriedrichPieter) September 17, 2019
“Hindus in the world, Hindus in America are not awake to the horrors taking place,” she told Al Jazeera. “I do not believe that most of the Hindus that are supporting Modi really, truly, understand the extent to which the [Hindu nationalist] forces are aligned with fascism.”
Viswanath, whose organisation is part of the Alliance for Justice and Accountability, which consists of Hindu, Muslim, Dalit, Sikh and Christian groups, said the protest was not just against Modi, but also Trump.
“Both are nationalist, both suppress minorities in their countries, both seem to have no regard for law and order process. Both seem to be absolutely destroying the fabric of very important democracies in the world,” she said.
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