Washington, DC: In a written release issued on 19 September 2024, the Sikh Coalition said that after consulting with Congressman Adam Schiff’s (D-CA) office over the past several weeks, it has endorsed the Transnational Repression Reporting Act.
The bill was introduced today by Congressman Schiff, along with its original co-sponsors Congressman Daniel Goldman (D-NY), Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Congressman James McGovern (D-MA), Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-CA), Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA), and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC).
Adam Schiff | File Photo
“This proposed legislation would establish clear requirements for the U.S. government to gather information about and publicly report actions taken to address all reported instances of transnational repression; it also specifically centers, among other examples, India’s recent targeting of Sikh activists. The bill is, in part, an effort to address the lack of transparent and concrete action in response to India’s and other countries’ behavior”, the release reads.
“As a reminder, despite independent reporting by the Washington Post that has identified agents of India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and members of Prime Minister Modi’s inner circle who likely coordinated and approved of a plot to assassinate U.S.-based Sikhs in 2023, the U.S. government has not moved to hold India directly accountable, nor have they imposed economic or diplomatic consequences on India like other nations (including Canada and Australia)”, it reads further.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi
“We are deeply grateful to Congressman Schiff for proposing this legislation and taking the continuing threat of all transnational repression, including India’s recent targeting of Sikhs, seriously,” said Deepali Gill, Federal Policy Manager at the Sikh Coalition.
“Now, it is critical that sangat members urge their representatives to make a strong, bipartisan show of support for this proposal”, Deepali Gill.
“Advising Congressman Schiff’s office on this legislation is just one aspect of the Sikh Coalition’s advocacy work on transnational repression. We have also briefed federal agencies, members of Congress, and state legislators; supported and consulted on additional federal and state legislation; organized letters from members of Congress, civil rights organizations, and gurdwaras; and published our own independent report, So Many Targets, which details the scope of Indian transnational repression against the Sikh community. We continue to undertake all of this work because we oppose threats to the lives and civil rights of U.S.-based Sikhs, as well as narratives that seek to paint members of the Sikh community as dangerous extremists”, read the release issued by the Sikh Coalition (copy available with SSN).
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