Lawsuit Filed In US Court To Declare Modi’s RSS as “Foreign Terrorist Organization” (FTO)

NEW YORK — The victims of forced conversions from India joined the pending lawsuit with US Federal Court seeking “Foreign Terrorist Organization” (FTO) status for a Hindu supremacist group.

In November 2014 a forced conversions campaign called “homecomings” was launched by powerful Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu nationalist group that is the ideological wing of the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and that once employed the prime minister, Narendra Modi. India’s 1.2 billion people are predominantly Hindus but there are also about 160 million Muslims and a small proportion of Christians.

The lawsuit pleads that “RSS along with its affiliates and subsidiaries be designated as an FTO, in accordance with Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and designate RSS as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity (SDGT) under Executive Order 13224”.

37 seven page complaint filed by Micheal Masih, Hasim Ali and Kulwinder Singh, the named plaintiffs belonging to Christian, Muslim and Sikh faiths allege that since election of 2014, ruling party BJP’s ideological mentor RSS is attempting to forcibly convert their families into Hinduism.

One of the Plaintiffs, Masih, alleges that “in November 2014, workers of RSS party invaded Plaintiff’s home in India and told his wife that they have received orders and directions from the headquarter of RSS to warn all the Christians in the area to be prepared to convert to “Hinduism” or get ready to die. The RSS workers harassed, menaced, abused, and threatened Plaintiff’s wife and told her that she and her family must be prepared to convert to Hinduism or die”.

May 26 complaint filed before Judge Laura Taylor Swain cites 2015 report of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) that “in December 2014, Hindu nationalist groups announced plans to forcibly “reconvert” at least 4,000 Christian families and 1,000 Muslim families to Hinduism in Uttar Pradesh on Christmas day as part of a so-called “Ghar Wapsi” (returning home) program. In advance of the program, the Hindu groups sought to raise money for their campaign, noting that it cost nearly 200,000 rupees (US $3,200) per Christian and 500,000 rupees (US $8,000) per Muslim”.

“In the amended complaint, we have invoked International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998 which was enacted to express United States foreign policy with respect individuals persecuted in foreign countries on account of religion and to authorize United States actions in response to violations of religious freedom in foreign countries, stated attorney Gurpatwant Singh Pannun legal advisor to rights group.

“Based on the evidence and recent report of USCIRF, Obama administration is bound under law to declare organizations like RSS as terror groups”, added Pannun.

The case against Hindu supremacist group was originated by rights group “Sikhs For Justice” (SFJ), requesting the US Court to declare RSS as “terror group” for “believing in and practicing a fascist ideology and for running a passionate, vicious and violent campaign to turn India into a “Hindu” nation with a homogeneous religious and cultural identity”.

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Legal Advisor to SFJ

E: [email protected] T: 718-938-7801

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