US Lawmakers Urge Review of Arms Sales to India Over Repression Allegations
WASHINGTON — A United States lawmaker and national security experts have called on Congress to review arms sales to India, citing allegations of transnational repression. The appeal was made during a briefing at Capitol Hill on July 14, organised by civil society groups including Equitas Forum USA, Hindus for Human Rights, and the Sikh Coalition.
Congressman Jim McGovern, co-chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to assess India’s eligibility for US arms sales under the Arms Export Control Act. He also called for passage of the bipartisan Transnational Repression Policy Act.
The briefing, titled 'India's Transnational Repression: Implications for U.S. National Security', featured former intelligence officers and policy experts who argued that transnational repression poses a threat to diaspora communities and US sovereignty. Daniel Stanton, a former senior official with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, warned that hostile states use organised criminal networks to intimidate and coerce individuals abroad.
Stephen Schneck, former chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), noted that for the seventh consecutive year, the commission has recommended designating India as a 'Country of Particular Concern' over religious freedom violations. India has consistently rejected these reports, calling them misrepresentations of facts and motivated narratives.
Speakers emphasised that strategic partnerships should not shield governments from accountability. 'Transnational repression is not merely an attack on individual communities, it is an attack on U.S. sovereignty,' said Harjot Singh of the Sikh Coalition. Lavleen Kaur Madahar of SALDEF described the goal of such repression as creating fear that limits free speech and civic participation.
The Indian government has not officially responded to the latest briefing but has previously dismissed similar allegations as baseless. The Biden administration has not indicated any change in arms sales policy towards India, a key strategic partner in the Indo-Pacific region.
