Statement for the Record from 

The Sikh Coalition

United States Commission on 

International Religious Freedom 

Hearing

Religious Freedom in Southeast Asia: TechnoAuthoritarianism and Transnational Influences

January 25, 2024

The Sikh Coalition respectfully submits this statement for the record in connection with the 

above-referenced hearing before the United States Commission on International Religious 

Freedom (USCIRF). As a civil rights organization that represents the Sikh community in the 

United States and addresses violations of civil rights and liberties, we seek to ensure that 

religious freedom and democracy are mutually advanced here in the United States and abroad.

By way of background, the Sikh Coalition is the largest Sikh American civil rights organization 

in the United States. We were founded in the immediate aftermath of September 11, 2001, in 

response to a torrent of hate crimes against Sikhs throughout the United States. Our mission 

since then has been to work towards a world where Sikhs and other religious minorities in 

America can freely practice their faith without bias and discrimination.

In recent years, we have also expressed concern with democratic backsliding in the United 

States; however, this concern is far from unique to the United States. As Sikhs, we remain 

deeply concerned about the authoritarian turn underway in India, which is both ostensibly the 

world’s largest democracy and home to the vast majority of the global Sikh population. Even 

before the recent revelations of India’s alleged attempts to assassinate Sikh activists in the 

United States and Canada,1 Sikhs and other religious minorities were already familiar with 

India’s oppressive tactics to silence dissent and curtail religious freedom, which have often 

played out in the digital realm. Many Sikhs in South Asia, who live in the state of Punjab, India, 

have faced systemic oppression such as restrictions on religious practices, economic 

marginalization, and suppression of political dissent—including extrajudicial punishment,2

1 “Justice Department Announces Charges in Connection with Foiled Plot to Assassinate U.S. Citizen in 

New York City,” United States Department of Justice, November 29, 2023, 

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-charges-connection-foiled-plot-assassinateus-citizen-new-york; John Paul Tasker, “Trudeau accuses India's government of involvement in killing of 

Canadian Sikh leader,” CBC, Sept. 18, 2023, https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-indiangovernment-nijjar-1.6970498. 2 “In a chilling throwback McCarthyism in the United States, India’s Parliament has passed the Unlawful 

Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill, 2019 which will allow the Central government to designate 

individuals as ‘terrorists’ without the exercise of due process of law,” Rongeet Poddar, “Constitutionality of 

India’s Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill, 2019: India’s McCarthyism Moment,” Oxford 
violence3 and a decade of enforced “disappearances.”4 Not only are Sikhs a target of religious 

oppression, so too are Muslims, Dalits, Adivasis, Christians, and others. India’s decline in press 

freedom,5 willingness to use excessive force against peaceful protestors,6 arrest and detention 

of dissidents,7 and efforts to curtail the free flow of information online8 all directly affect these 

minority communities. The historical experience of our community in India9 has left Sikhs all too 

aware of how authoritarianism, discrimination, and prejudice can lead to tragedy on the scale 

of genocidal violence.10

As India emerges as “a strategic actor in Southeast Asia” via arms deals and enhanced defense 

cooperation with nations like Vietnam and Indonesia,11 it is setting an alarming precedent for 

using authoritarian tactics through digital mediums domestically and abroad for its neighboring 

region that is already experiencing its own authoritarian shift. 

I. India’s Use of Online Censorship, Harassment, and Disinformation Campaigns as 

Suppression Tactics Against Religious Minorities and Dissidents

In recent years, numerous Sikh civil rights organizations around the world, including the Sikh 

Coalition, have been concerned at the increasing frequency with which Sikhs are being targeted 

in India as well as other countries, including the United States. When Sikhs and other religious 

minorities peacefully dissent, the response from the Indian government has too often been 

marked by attempts to suppress freedoms of expression through internet shutdowns, media 

censorship, intimidation, arbitrary arrests, escalation of violence, and characterizations of 

Human Rights Hub Blog, August 14, 2019, https://ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk/constitutionality-of-indias-unlawfulactivities-prevention-amendment-bill-2019-indias-mccarthyism-moment. 3 “Protecting the Killers: A Policy of Impunity in Punjab, India.” Human Rights Watch, 2007,

https://www.hrw.org/report/2007/10/17/protecting-killers/policy-impunity-punjab-india; “Dead Silence: the 

legacy of human rights abuses in Punjab.” Human Rights Watch and Physicians for Human Rights, May 

1, 1994, https://www.hrw.org/reports/India0594.pdf. 4 Romesh Silva, Jasmine Marwaha, and Jeff Klingner, “Violent Deaths and Enforced Disappearances 

During the Counterinsurgency in Punjab, India - A Preliminary Quantitative Analysis”, Ensaaf (January 

2009), available at https://ensaaf.org/publications/reports/descriptiveanalysis/. 5 “With raids, arrests and hostile takeovers, India press freedom continues to decline.” NPR, Apr. 3, 2023,

https://www.npr.org/2023/04/03/1167041720/india-press-freedom-journalists-modi-bbc-documentary. 6 “India: Excessive use of force, arbitrary detention and punitive measures against protesters must end 

immediately.” Amnesty International, Jun. 14, 2022,

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/06/india- excessive-use-of-force-arbitrary-detention-andpunitive-measures-against-protesters-must-end-immediately

7 “Indian activist’s arrest spotlights crackdown on dissent.” The Associated Press, Mar. 9, 2021,

https://apnews.com/article/india-media-social-media- crime-arrestsf9331e556a1faf26eced6c05c40a71de. 8 “Five years in a row: India is 2022’s biggest internet shutdowns offender.” Access Now, Mar. 20, 2023,

https://www.accessnow.org/press-release/keepiton-internet-shutdowns-2022-india/

9 WELL-FOUNDED FEAR: Understanding Legal Challenges and Best Practices for Sikh Asylum 

Applicants and Their Attorneys.” The Sikh Coalition, Nov. 1, 2021, 

https://www.sikhcoalition.org/wpcontent/uploads/2021/10/2021.11.01-asylum-report.pdf. 10 Remembering 1984.” The Sikh Coalition, Jun. 1, 2023, 

https://www.sikhcoalition.org/blog/2023/remembering1984-4. 11Derek Grossman, “India Is Becoming a Power in Southeast Asia,” RAND Corporation, July 10, 2023, 

https://www.rand.org/pubs/commentary/2023/07/india-is-becoming-a-power-in-southeast-asia.html. 
peaceful dissidents as terrorists. Actions like these contradict human rights freedoms and risk 

exacerbating civil unrest and alienation of an entire religious minority community.

In March of 2023, Indian authorities executed weeks-long massive mobilizations of paramilitary 

and police forces, conducted multiple coordinated arbitrary arrests with brutal violence, imposed 

mobile internet data blackouts, blocked SMS services, censored media, and disproportionately 

targeted Sikhs and political dissenters across Punjab.12 Similar oppressive tactics were also 

displayed during the Farmers’ Protests that began in September 2020.13

Last year, 2023, was the fifth year in a row that India chose to rely on internet shutdowns to 

control largely peaceful protests and create a shield of impunity.14 Moreover, the Indian 

government and its intelligence services have demonstrated a pattern of suppressing and 

intimidating dissidents and aid organizations by issuing indiscriminate and vague legal notices, 

auditing financials, and even arresting individuals on artificial charges and detaining them for 

unreasonably long periods.15 Since 2020, India has regressed further down the Reporters 

Without Borders World Press Freedom Index. It is now ranked among the worst for global press 

freedom with the likes of Russia, China, and Iran.16 India has expelled foreign journalists due 

to work critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,17 and imprisoned a growing number of 

journalists in-country for their reporting.18 Even journalists in the United States who ask simple 

questions about India’s human rights record face online threats and harassment.19

Broader actions by the Indian government to censor certain aspects of the country’s national 

conversation evoke grave concerns of fostering a climate that could lead to mass violence 

against Muslims, Sikhs, and other minorities,20 especially given that India is considered a 

12 Anisha Singh, “Letter to U.S. Sec. of State Antony Blinken Re: Support for Sikhs and Democratic 

Norms in India during March 2023 civil unrest,” March 21, 2023, https://www.sikhcoalition.org/wpcontent/uploads/2023/03/Support-for-Sikhs-and-Democratic-Norms-in-India-March-21-2023.pdf. 13 “Modi’s Response to Farmer Protests in India Stirs Fears of a Pattern.” New York Times, Feb. 3, 2021,

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/03/world/asia/india-modi-farmer-protest-censorship.html; “India: 

Government must stop crushing farmers’ protests and demonizing dissenters.” Amnesty International, 

Feb. 9, 2021, https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/press-release/2021/02/india-government-must-stopcrushing-farmers-protests- and-demonizing-dissenters/. 14 “Five years in a row: India is 2022’s biggest internet shutdowns offender.” Access Now, Feb. 28, 2023,

https://www.accessnow.org/press-release/keepiton-internet-shutdowns-2022-india/. 15 “As Farm Law Protests Continue, NIA Sees ‘Anti-National’ Plot, Summons Activists.” The Wire, Jan. 

16, 2021, https://thewire.in/rights/nia-summons-activists-linked-to-farm-law-protests-%20suspectsconspiracy-against-india. 16 “India: Media freedom under threat.“ Reporters Without Borders, Mar. 5, 2023, https://rsf.org/en/indiamedia- freedom-under-threat. 17 “VICE journalist Angad Singh deported from Delhi.” The Hindu, Aug. 25, 2022, 

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/vice-journalist-angad-singh-deported-fromdelhi/article65810246.ece. 18 Kavitha Iyer, “‘They Can Target Anybody’: India’s War on Free Press Is in High Gear,” TIME, Aug. 1, 

2022, https://time.com/6202430/zubair-modi-muslims-target-media-free-press/. 19 Amy B Wang, “White House defends WSJ reporter facing harassment over Modi question,” The 

Washington Post, June 28, 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/06/28/white-house-modireporter-wall-street-journal/. 20 “India’s Muslims: An Increasingly Marginalized Population,” Council on Foreign Relations, Jul. 14, 2022,

https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/india-muslims-marginalized-population-bjp-modi.
country at high risk for mass killings.21 Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) like Amnesty 

International, which monitor human rights conditions worldwide, were forced to shut offices 

across India after being financially paralyzed by the Indian government.22 Oxfam and Khalsa 

Aid have also been subjected to raids by the Indian government.23 The offices of BBC and other 

media organizations were also subject to government raids.24

Additionally, social media users critical of India’s draconian policies routinely have their 

accounts restricted at the request of the government.25 Any criticism of the Modi government 

can lead to bans and attacks by trolls. Individual users have been targeted for something as 

trivial as sharing a BBC documentary that is critical of Mr. Modi;26 there have also been 

coordinated campaigns to restrict trending topics that peacefully acknowledge India’s genocidal 

violence against Sikhs in 1984.27 When American social media companies such as Meta and 

Twitter do not comply with takedown requests, their employees risk arrests and raids in India.28

Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey alleged that the Indian government threatened to “shut Twitter 

down” if they did not censor accounts commenting on the Farmers Protest.29 

Recent reporting also indicates that a complex web of misinformation has sought to discredit 

foreign critics of the Modi government, and was set up and is run by an Indian intelligence 

officer.30 The social media posts from this entity, Disinfo Lab, have been cited by Indian officials 

on television and presented on Capitol Hill.31 Disinfo Lab often perpetuates "unsubstantiated 

claims to paint U.S. government figures, researchers, humanitarian groups and Indian American 

21 “Rising Mass Atrocity Risks in India,” United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Mar. 30, 2022,

https://www.ushmm.org/genocide-prevention/blog/rising-mass-atrocity-risks-in-india; “India: 2022-23 

Statistical Risk.

22 “Amnesty to halt work in India due to government 'witch-hunt,’” The Guardian, Sep. 29, 2020,

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/29/amnesty-to-halt-work-in-india-due-to-government-witchhunt. 23 “How the Indian Government Uses Raids to Silence Critics,” Time, Feb. 14, 2023,

https://time.com/6255425/india-raid-bbc-modi-documentary/; “NIA teams raid Khalsa Aid’s Patiala office, 

question MD Amarpreet Singh,” https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/nia-teams-raid-khalsa-aidspatiala-office-question-md-531112. 24 Id. 

25 “Twitter accused of censorship in India as it blocks Modi critics,” The Guardian, Apr. 4, 2023,

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/05/twitter-accused-of-censorship-in-india-as-it-blocks-modicritics- elon-musk. 26 “India bans BBC documentary on PM Modi’s role in Gujarat riots,” CNN, Jan. 23, 2023,

https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/23/business-india/india-modi-bbc-documentary-twitter-youtube-censorshipintl- hnk/index.html. 27 “Sites Blocked, Hashtags Banned: Are Sikhs Being Silenced Online?” The Quint World, Jun. 12, 2020,

https://www.thequint.com/news/politics/sikh-banned-social-media-siyasat-punjab-operation-bluestarghallughara- facebook-instagram. 28 “Elon Musk’s Twitter Widens Its Censorship of Modi’s Critics,” The Intercept, Mar, 28, 2023,

https://theintercept.com/2023/03/28/twitter-modi-india-punjab-amritpal-singh/. 29 “Jack Dorsey: India threatened to shut Twitter and raid employees,” BBC, Jun. 13, 2023,

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-65886825. 30 Gerry Shih, Clara Ence Morse and Pranshu Verma, “Covert Indian operation seeks to discredit Modi’s 

critics in the U.S.,” The Washington Post, December 10, 2023, 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/12/10/india-the-disinfo-lab-discredit-critics/#. 31 Id. 
rights activists" as part of a global conspiracy.32 We are deeply alarmed by India’s attempts to 

silence journalists, advocates, and nonprofits around the world, and by the precedent that these 

actions set for other nations.

***

As authoritarians in Southeast Asia borrow strategies to undermine religious freedom from China 

and Saudi Arabia, India is emerging as a notable perpetrator of sophisticated digital oppression 

that they can look to as well. We respectfully request that members of Congress take the 

following actions to send a message to authoritarian regimes around the world: India’s efforts to 

silence dissidents and suppress religious freedom are unacceptable, and they will not be 

replicated by other governments without consequence. 

- Publicly condemn dangerous propaganda narratives that attempt to portray entire 

religious minority communities as violent extremists or terroristic threats.

- Protect the rights and safety of all individuals, especially those targeted by the malicious 

behavior of foreign governments, by passing the Transnational Repression Policy Act 

(H.R. 3654/S.831). 

- Support the documentation efforts of USCIRF by permanently reauthorizing the 

congressional body, and passing legislation to reduce presidential authority to waive 

taking action against Countries of Particular Concern based on longstanding human rights 

concerns. 

- Ensure greater congressional oversight into transnational repression by amending Section 

6 of the Arms Export Control Act to include a reporting requirement of any instances where 

the president declines to enforce the law that would prohibit arms transfers to any country 

determined to be engaged in a consistent pattern of acts of intimidation or harassment 

against individuals in the United States.

32 Id.