The Coalition Against Genocide includes a spectrum of organizations and individuals in the United States and Canada that have come together in response to the Gujarat genocide to demand accountability and justice.
The Coalition Against Genocide is protesting the visit of Narendra Modi, the Chief Minister of Gujarat, a state in western India, to the United States in March 2005.
Narendra Modi has been invited by the Asian American Hotel Owner's Association (AAHOA) as chief guest for the AAHOA Annual Convention and Trade Show to be held at the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center in Florida on March 24-26, 2005. Mr. Modi is also speaking at Madison Square Garden in New York on March 20.
In Gujarat, between February 28 and March 02, 2002, under Narendra Modi's leadership, more than 2,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed, aided and abetted by the state. In the aftermath, 200,000 people have been rendered homeless and internally displaced. Three years later, the victims of the violence still await justice and reparations. Narendra Modi and the Gujarat Government not only failed to take preventative measures against those who were planning the violence with his knowledge, but undertook a series of actions which either tacitly or explicitly condoned the genocidal violence, which included torture of children and mass rapes of women. The Government of Gujarat continues to harass and discriminate against its Christian and Muslim minority populations, tribal peoples and other marginalized groups, as well as progressive activists and intellectuals, with new policies and prejudiced application of existing laws. Under Mr. Modi's leadership, more than 2,000 of 4,000 cases filed by the victims of the violence were never investigated or dismissed, leading the Supreme Court of India to rebuke both the Gujarat judiciary and the Government of Gujarat for its handling of the cases, and transferring several cases out of the state for trial. Mr. Modi is a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ultra-nationalist Hindu fundamentalist group, which, along with other Hindu extremist groups, receive funds from charities in the United States and the United Kingdom. Mr. Modi is in violation of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, and other international laws, and there are currently two civil suits filed against him for crimes against humanity and genocide.
CAG will adopt a multi pronged strategy to expose and marginalize the extremists and will work towards safeguarding the pluralist ethos of India and the economic well being of the Indian Diaspora in US.
The coalition consists of the following organizations:
- Alliance for a Secular and Democratic South Asia (ASDSA)
- Alliance of South Asians Taking Action (ASATA)
- American Federation of Muslims of Indian Origin (AFMI)
- Association of Indian Muslims of America (AIM)
- Association of South Asian Progressives (ASAP)
- Building Bridges of Understanding Coalition (BB)
- Coalition for a Secular and Democratic India (CSDI)
- Campaign to Stop Funding Hate (CSFH)
- Center for Study and Research in South Asia (CERAS, Montreal)
- Coalition against Communalism (CAC)
- Dharma Megha
- EKTA
- Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations of North America
(FIACONA)
- Forum of Inquilabi Leftists (FOIL)
- Foundation For Pluralism
- Friends Of South Asia (FOSA)
- Indian Christian Forum (ICF)
- Indian Muslim Educational Foundation of North America (IMEFNA)
- Indian Muslim Council-USA (IMC-USA)
- Indian Muslim Relief and Charities (IMRC)
- Indian Progressive Study Group of Los Angeles (IPSG-LA)
- International South Asia Forum (INSAF)
- Manavi (An organization for South Asian women)
- Muslim Youth Awareness Alliance (MYAA)
- NRI's for Secular and Harmonious India (NRI-SAHI)
- Organizing Youth (OY)
- Policy Institute For Religion And State (PIFRAS)
- Sikh American Heritage Organization (SAHO)
- Sneha (A network for women of South Asian origin)
- South Asian Collective (SAC)
- South Asian Magazine for Action and Reflection (SAMAR)
- South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy (SANSAD, Canada)
- South Asian Progressive Action Collective (SAPAC)
- Students For Bhopal (SFB)
- Supporters of Human Rights in India (SHRI)
- The Organization of Universal Communal Harmony (TOUCH)
- Vaishnava Center for Enlightenment
- Vedanta Society of East Lansing
- Voices for Freedom (VFF)
- World Tamil Organisation (WTO)
- Youth Solidarity Summer (YSS)
Supporting organizations:
- Center for Religious Freedom (Freedom House)
- Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
- DC Collective for South Asians (DCCSA)
- Genocide Watch
- Institute on Religion and Public Policy (IRPP)
- Interfaith Freedom Foundation (IFF)
- Middle East Children's Alliance (MECA)
- National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum (NAPAWF)
- Project REACH
- Tikkun
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