Published Oct 17, 2026 | 1:48 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 17, 2026 | 1:48 PM
File photos of Delhi protests
At a time when Delhi is seeing a clampdown on protests, six US lawmakers — Pramila Jayapal, Ilhan Omar, Jim McGovern, Rashida Tlaib, Eleanor Holmes Norton, and Jesus Garcia — have urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is set to visit India, to raise concerns over rights to freedom of assembly and expression during his talks with Indian officials.
Sharing the letter on X, Jayapal wrote: “As the world’s largest democracies, the US and India have an obligation to promote and defend the rights to freedom of assembly and expression. Jim McGovern and I are urging Secretary of State Marco Rubio to prioritise those freedoms and human rights when he meets with Indian officials in the coming days.”
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The letter raised concerns regarding “a pattern of repression, wrongful detention, and excessive use of force by security forces during student protests in Delhi and other localities across India,” citing the examples of the June CJP protests against former Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, and the ongoing protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The letter said, “The United States-India relationship has historically been rooted in democratic values, constitutional governance, and strong people-to-people ties. As the world’s largest democracies and state parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the U.S. and India have an obligation to promote and defend the rights to freedom of assembly and expression. It is in this spirit of shared values and obligations that we raise the following concerns.”
As the world’s largest democracies, the U.S. and India have an obligation to promote and defend the rights to freedom of assembly and expression.
@RepMcGovern and I are urging Secretary of State Marco Rubio to prioritize those freedoms and human rights when he meets with Indian officials in the coming days.
— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) October 16, 2026
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On SIR, the letter expressed concern over the purging of more than 130 million names from the voter rolls since 2025.
“While the Election Commission states that the purpose of the revision is to verify voter eligibility, UN human rights experts wrote to the Government of India earlier this year to raise concerns that the process lacked transparency. They further noted that the process may introduce unreasonable or discriminatory barriers to voting that could disproportionately disenfranchise Muslims and other minority communities in a manner contrary to India’s obligations under the ICCPR and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD). These concerns have been echoed by protesters, who have called for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.”
In the letter to Rubio, the lawmakers said hundreds of people have been detained by police across India since October 10, including leaders of the CJP movement, protesters and journalists. “In Mumbai, which we understand you will visit, more than 600 demonstrators were detained.”
The lawmakers also said authorities have closed public spaces used as protest sites and arrested people who try to enter them, placing an undue burden on those exercising their fundamental rights.
They cited reports from human rights groups and journalists that police and paramilitary forces used tear gas, pellet guns and batons against unarmed protesters throughout the year. They said this contravenes guidelines set by the UN human rights office and India’s own home ministry.
“The Indian government also ordered telecommunications companies to shut down mobile internet services in areas of the city in which protests were ongoing. UNESCO noted in January the human rights concerns associated with internet shutdowns, including the deprivation of the right of individuals to exercise their rights to access information and freedom of expression.”
The letter also cites reports that Indian diplomatic missions in the United States hired photographers to surveil protesters on American soil. Members of US human rights organisations and the Indian diaspora who joined solidarity protests with the CJP student movement in Washington, DC, Chicago and San Francisco said they were photographed by individuals who identified themselves as hired by the Indian Embassy and Consulates General, respectively.
The lawmakers said the incidents are especially alarming given what they described as India’s documented pattern of transnational repression, including the weaponisation of consular services, harassment, intimidation and physical violence.
“It is unacceptable that individuals on United States soil may not exercise their rights to freedom of expression and assembly, guaranteed to them by the U.S. Constitution and international law, for fear of retribution by a foreign government,” the lawmakers wrote.
Noting that the Indian government has taken some steps to address the grievances, the lawmakers, emphasising the way the protestors were abused, sought the following measures.
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(Edited by Sumavarsha)
