REQUEST - Please sign our joint letter, now endorsed by the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM). We need Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to oppose genocidal events taking place in India.

The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, P.C., M.P.

Prime Minister of Canada

Langevin Block

Ottawa, Ontario

K1A 0A2

December 30th, 2021 

Dear Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, 

On December 22nd, 2021, a meeting between Canada’s Minister of International Trade, Hon. Mary Ng, and India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, revealed increased diplomatic measures being taken to foster Canada-India economic ties and trade benefits. 

This important meeting took place only two days after an assembly of militant Hindutva leaders with close ties to the BJP, publicly called for genocide against Muslim minorities in India’s pilgrimage city Haridwar, adding to previous such calls for Indian Muslim Genocide. Between December 17th and 19th, the three-day conclave called Dharam Sansad (Religious Parliament) openly urged India's army and politicians “to do what was done in Burma”, referring to the 2017 genocide against Rohingya Muslims where thousands were massacred and hundreds of thousands displaced as refugees.

The organizer of the hate conclave, Yati Narsinghanand, is one of many militant Hindutva leaders with close ties to ministers and members of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Hindutva is a radical nationalist and supremacist ideology that aims to make India an exclusively Hindu nation. The harmful ideology violates India’s secular constitution—which guarantees freedom of religion for over 200 million Muslims, 28 million Christians, and followers of other minority faiths who call India home. Attacks on Muslim prayers spaces and Christian churches have recently seen a sharp increase. The sexist and bigoted attacks against outspoken Muslim women is yet another low in the increasing hate of right wing nationalists that as Human Rights Watch has documented, are protected by the Indian Government.

On behalf of the undersigned Canadian civil society, non-governmental, and human rights organizations, we express our strongest condemnation to the Hindutva leaders’ calls for genocide of Muslims. It is alarming that in recent years, the Indian government has largely ignored the attacks on Muslims and Christians. According to activists and lawyers, the emergence of militant Hindutva extremism represents a blatant example of rising religious persecution in India, largely due to the ruling party BJP’s endorsement of hardline Hindutva ideology.

In television debates, elections rallies, press conferences and social media videos, prominent BJP leaders are seen engaging in hate speech and incitement of violence towards minorities, mainly Muslims, and yet Prime Minister Narendra Modi has maintained his characteristic silence. Political analysts have interpreted Modi’s non-response as a tacit signal of approval for Hindutva extremism. While Canada is working hard on dismantling racism, sexism, and casteism in our nation, by increasing trade relations with India, and staying silent on its genocidal policies, Canada is essentially approving of the ills of casteism, sexism, and racism in India. 

Since the BJP came to power in 2014, hate crimes against India’s minority Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Dalits and Indigenous Adivasi minorities have dramatically increased. India has been under Genocide Watch for its crimes against Muslims in India and its oppression in Kashmir. This is because perpetrators are confident of impunity under the BJP government. The New York Times expressed that amid the rise of religious intolerance in India, the Haridwar event “produced the most blatant and alarming call for violence in recent years and yet, the topmost leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have not broken their silence”.

In maintaining Canada’s bilateral relations and engagements with India, the federal government has failed to address the existential threat to millions of minority citizens of India, particularly Muslims. As a founding member of the United Nations, ignoring India’s crimes against humanity violates Canada’s commitment to global human rights. We remind you, Hon Prime Minister Mr. Trudeau, that Canada has also ratified the Genocide Convention and our nation’s failure to uphold these human rights obligations poses serious concern over the legitimacy of our stance against other nations guilty of similar crimes of ethnic cleansing.

We urge you, Hon. Prime Minister Mr. Trudeau, to break your silence and prioritize this issue as a grave human rights crisis that demands our collective attention. The following joint-organizational letter levels the following critical demands to you:

1. Canada must end its longstanding silence over human rights abuses in India by officially denouncing the open calls for genocide made by Hindutva groups against Indian Muslims and attack on religious freedoms of Christians, Dalits, Sikhs, Kashmiris, and Indigenous Adivasis. 

2. The Canadian Government must include the participation of human rights experts during any foreign affairs meetings and engagements with India going forward. 

We will be happy to support a strong peace resolution emanating from your office. Looking forward to a favourable response.

Yours sincerely,

The undersigned civil society and human rights groups:

<Signatories will be populated below, alphabetized. Add your group here: https://bit.ly/SignAgainstGenocide>

Bosnian Islamic Centre

Bosnian Islamic Centre of Hamilton

Canadian Arab network

Canadian Council of Imams

Canadian Council of Indian Muslims

Canadian Council of Indian Muslims

Canadian Council of Muslim Women

Canadian Foreign Policy Institute

Canadian Muslim Civil Liberties Association

Canadian Muslim Public Affairs Council

Canadian Muslim Research Think Tank

Canadian Rohingya Development Initiative (CRDI)

Canadian-Muslim Civil Liberties Association

Canadians Against Oppression And Persecution

Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME)

Canadians in Support of Refugees in Dire Need

Danforth Community Center o/a Baitul Aman Masjid

Danforth Islamic Centre

Dar Al-Tawheed Islamic Centre

DAR Foundation

Downtown Muslim Professional Network

Downtown Muslim Professional Network

Edmonton Small Press Association

Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA)

Global Peace Alliance Society BC

Halton Islamic Association

Ibrahim Jame Mosque

Indian Farmers & Workers Support Group

Info-Exchange

International Commission for Dalit Rights

Islamic Institute of Toronto

ISNA Canada

Jerrahi Sufi Order of Canada

Just Peace Advocates

KANATA MUSLIM ASSOCIATION

Let Kashmir Decide Global Coalition

Malayalee Muslims in USA and Canada (NANMMA)

Muslim Advisory Council of Canada

Muslim Neighbour Nexus

Muslim Neighbour Nexus

Muslim social services

Muslims of Alliston Centre

Muslims of Dufferin

Muslims of Shelburne

Punjabi Literary and Cultural Association

Queen's University Muslim Student's Association

Regina Peace Council

Share2care

TDSB

The National Council of Canadian Muslims

Think for Actions

University of Ottawa Muslim Students' Association

University of Toronto Muslim Students Association

University of Waterloo Muslim Students' Association

Vaughan Islamic Community Centre

Wilfrid Laurier University Muslim Students’ Association