IndiaTomorrow.net,

Washington, Feb 28: As many as 34 members of US Congress - eight from the Senate and 26 from the House of Representatives - have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the rise in violent attacks on religious minorities especially Christians, Muslims and Sikhs in the country. They urged him to fulfil his post-victory promise of 2014 about religious freedom and communal harmony. The US lawmakers also urged Modi "to take steps to control the activities of groups, such as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)."

"We write as Members of the United States Congress to reiterate our strong support for the partnership that exists today between India and the United States. Our strong support of this partnership encourages us to relay our grave concerns about the increasing intolerance and violence members of India's religious minority communities experience," they said.

"We urge your government to take immediate steps to ensure that the fundamental rights of religious minorities are protected and that the perpetrators of violence are held to account," the US lawmakers said in the letter publicly released here on Saturday by the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the US Congress.

In the letter, the members of US Congress specifically mentioned some incidents with Christians, Muslims and Sikhs in the recent past.

"On June 17th, 2014, more than 50 village councils in the Bastar district of Chhattisgarh adopted a resolution banning all "non-Hindu religious propaganda, prayers, and speeches" in their communities. The Christian minority community has been dramatically affected: the ban effectively has criminalized the practice of Christianity for an estimated 300 Christian families in the region one day after a mob, which included members of the Vishva Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal, seriously injured six Christians in the village of Sirciguda..."

The US lawmakers also mentioned mob lynching of some Muslims over beef issue.

"We also are concerned that the nearly country-wide beef ban is increasing tensions and encouraging vigilante violence against the Indian Muslim community.  On Monday, November 2nd, a Hindu mob killed Mohammed Hasmat Ali, a married father of three, in Manipur, India, after he was accused of stealing a cow. Mr. Ali reportedly is the fourth Muslim murdered in just six weeks by Hindu mobs angered over allegations of cows being slaughtered or stolen..."

The first incident occurred on 28^th Sep 2015 when 52-year-old Mohammed Akhlaq was lynched over rumours that he ate and stored beef at his home in Dadri in Uttar Pradesh.

The US lawmakers expressed concern at the "lack of recognition of Sikhism as a distinct religion".

"We want to raise additional concerns about the lack of recognition of Sikhism as a distinct religion, which prevents members of the community from accessing social services and employment and educational preferences available to other religious communities," they said in the letter.

Reminding PM Modi of his promise soon after winning May 2014 Lok Sabha polls that he would ensure religious freedom, the US lawmakers said:

"Mr. Prime Minister, we applaud India as a pluralistic society with a long-standing commitment to inclusion and tolerance.  We also applaud your statements about religious freedom and communal harmony, including your promise in February 2014 that your government would "ensure that there is complete freedom of faith...and not allow any religious group, belonging to the majority or the minority, to incite hatred against others." We urge you to turn these words into action by publicly condemning the ban on non-Hindu faiths in the Bastar District of Chhattisgarh, and the violent assaults and other forms of harassment against religious minorities throughout India," they said.

"We also urge you to take steps to control the activities of groups, such as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and instruct Indian security forces to enforce the rule of law and protect religious minority communities from religiously-motivated harassment and violence," they demanded.

"Such steps would demonstrate your government's commitment to fostering a stable and inclusive society and respecting international obligations on the rights of religious minorities, including religious freedom.  We await your response," reads the letter signed by 34 US lawmakers including Joseph R. Pitts (House of Representatives), Roy Blunt (Senate), Keith Ellison (House of Representatives), Amy Klobuchar (Senate), Brad R. Wenstrup (House of Representatives) and James Lankford (Senate).