Ilhan Omar

Amid heightened polarisation and anti-immigrant sentiment in the US, American lawmaker Ilhan Omar has attacked India at an event organised by the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) earlier in June, quoting from a report and accusing the country of being in the "eighth stage of genocide". Both Ilhan Omar, a Democratic Party Representative, and the IAMC are known for their anti-India stance.

The growth in the population of minority communities in India and their holding of key posts earlier and today are a fact. What the India-haters prefer to spread are blatant lies at a time when the world is going through a turbulent phase with wars and India trying to emerge stronger economically.

A simple look at India and the subcontinent is enough to reveal the facts. While the minority population, which includes Muslims, Sikhs and Christians among others, has grown in India, the Hindus, who are a minority in the neighbouring countries, have faced religious persecution, forcing them to flee from there.

Minister of Minority Affairs of India, Kiren Rijiju, highlighted that in May, saying, "India continues to remain one of the safest and most inclusive homes for minorities. When we look at neighboring countries in the Indian subcontinent, we often see minority communities facing existential challenges and seeking refuge in India. From Afghanistan to Sri Lanka, minorities from across the region have looked towards India as a place of shelter, security and dignity."

The participation of the minorities in the democratic process is yet another proof of that. However, people and organisations with anti-India interests in mind have continued to spread falsehoods.

"Reports coming out of India [place it at] the 8th stage of genocide," Omar said, according to videos and an IAMC statement. "It's really important for us to continue to raise the alarm, because we know that it is not just the Modi administration that is causing havoc in India, but it is becoming systematic, and it's becoming societal," she alleged.

Omar was referring to the 10 stages of genocide devised by Gregory H Stanton, an American jurist and founding president of Genocide Watch.

For context, Stanton identifies persecution as the eighth stage of genocide, marked by large-scale, state-sanctioned targeting of a minority group. According to his framework, this stage involves the systematic violation of a group's rights through measures such as extrajudicial killings, seizure of property, forced displacement, segregation into ghettos, or deprivation of necessities including food, water, and healthcare.

Though the event was held on June 7, it is only now that videos of the vitriolic statements have come out after clips were circulated on social media platforms.

Ilhan Omar, a migrant from Somalia with doubtful credentials, is a known Pakistan sympathiser. She has time and again tried to internationalise the issue of Kashmir, which is an integral part of India.

Ironically, while Omar dedicates so much energy to spreading vitriol against India, she, and the larger Somalian diaspora in the US are themselves recipients of similar levels of hate from US President Donald Trump and his MAGA allies, who have branded the community as "terrorists", and have also alleged that Omar is an illegal immigrant.

Other than Omar, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, Assistant Commissioner of Minnesota Zarina Baber, Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy and Republican State Senator Jim Abeler were among the speakers at the event titled Community Resistance to Hate and Extremism.

The organisation behind the event, the IAMC, is a US-registered non-profit that has long accused India of enabling the persecution of its minority communities. It has repeatedly urged Washington to designate India a "Country of Particular Concern" over its treatment of minorities and has called for sanctions against organisations such as the RSS, as well as political leaders including Yogi Adityanath and Himanta Biswa Sarma.

Keith Ellison linked the rise of Hindu nationalism to religious discrimination in India.

Raj Rajan, a member of Hindus for Human Rights, said "India's secular history, enshrined in the Constitution of independent India in 1950 by the likes of Dr Ambedkar, has unfortunately been on really shaky ground over the last decade or so." He said that it had parallels to what was happening in the US.

Zarina Baber, however, chose to highlight the situation in the American state. "For many Muslims and Minnesotans, anti-Muslim prejudice remains a significant concern," Baber said, according to the IAMC statement.

Kiren Rijiju said the life, quality and overall situation of minority communities in the country have improved significantly over the past 12 years, according to a report in the All India Radio's portal on Wednesday.

"No individual had been compelled to leave the country because of religious identity... Criticise government policies if you wish, but do not spread falsehoods," Rijiju had said earlier in June at a government event.

India had also in May defended its record on rights of minorities, after a Norwegian journalist questioned New Delhi during PM Narendra Modi's visit to Norway.

"Recently, we had elections. You need to know what the level of participation was. More than 90% of the electorate voted. This is the beauty of India," said Sibi George, Ministry of External Affairs Secretary (West), at a media conference at The Hague.

"When we became independent, the minority population in India was 11%. Now it is more than 20%. Name a country where the population of minorities has gone up? You won't find it anywhere other than India," George said.

India's track record speaks for itself and as a buster of falsehoods that people with vested interests, like Ilhan Omar, try to spread against the country.

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