June 20, 2023
The Honorable Joseph R. Biden
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear President Biden:
We write in advance of your meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his
upcoming visit to the United States. As the world’s oldest democracy and the world’s largest
democracy, the United States and India have forged a close relationship based on strategic
interests and shared democratic values. India is an important member of the Quadrilateral
Security Dialogue (the “Quad”) and a crucial partner for stability in the Indo-Pacific. We support
the trip Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin took to New Delhi earlier this month to finalize a
“Roadmap for U.S.-India Defense Industrial Cooperation,” deepening our strategic partnership.
Trade and investment between the United States and India continue to grow, and there is an
opportunity to greatly expand our economic ties. We welcome India’s potential increased role in
supporting secure supply chains for critical sectors such as semiconductors and pharmaceuticals.
And robust cultural engagement lies at the heart of our friendship, underscored by the immense
contributions of the Indian-American diaspora community in the United States, many of whom
also still have close and extended family living in India. We trust and expect that these important
dimensions of the U.S.-India partnership — strategic, economic and cultural — will be part of
your discussion when you meet directly with Prime Minister Modi.
As longtime supporters of a strong U.S.-India relationship, we also believe that friends can and
should discuss their differences in an honest and forthright way. That is why we respectfully
request that — in addition to the many areas of shared interests between India and the U.S. —
you also raise directly with Prime Minister Modi areas of concern.
You have rightly said that America must “lead not merely by the example of our power but by
the power of our example.” You have once again made respect for human rights, press freedom,
religious freedom, and pluralism core tenets of American foreign policy. Moreover, these tenets
are necessary to the functioning of true democracy. In order to advance these values with
credibility on the world stage, we must apply them equally to friend and foe alike, just as we
work to apply these same principles here in the United States.
A series of independent, credible reports reflect troubling signs in India toward the shrinking of
political space, the rise of religious intolerance, the targeting of civil society organizations and
journalists, and growing restrictions on press freedoms and internet access. Specifically, the State
Department’s 2022 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in India documents the tightening
of political rights and expression.1 Similarly, the State Department’s 2022 Report on
1
U.S. Dep’t of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, 2022 Country Reports on Human Rights
Practices: India, https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/india.
International Religious Freedom in India details the worrisome increase of religious intolerance
toward minorities and religiously motived violence by both private and state actors.2 Further, the
annual assessments compiled by Reporters Without Borders show that India, a country that has
been known in the past for its vibrant and independent press, has fallen significantly in the
rankings for press freedom.3 And according to Access Now, India ranks first in terms of the most
internet shutdowns for the fifth year in a row.4
Both the United States and India enshrined human rights—including free speech, freedom of the
press, and religious freedom—in our constitutions. And we share a special bond through moral
leaders who shaped our histories. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, who gave his life in pursuit of
building the beloved community here in the United States, was an ardent student of the teachings
of the Mahatma Gandhi, known in India as the “Father of the Nation.” Both King and Gandhi
had the vision of building a more perfect union among people from different backgrounds, races
and faiths — Gandhi in India, and King in the United States. We share their vision.
We join you in welcoming Prime Minister Modi to the United States. We want a close and warm
relationship between the people of the United States and the people of India. We want that
friendship to be built not only on our many shared interests but also on shared values. We do not
endorse any particular Indian leader or political party — that is the decision of the people of
India — but we do stand in support of the important principles that should be a core part of
American foreign policy. And we ask that, during your meeting with Prime Minister Modi, you
discuss the full range of issues important to a successful, strong, and long-term relationship
between our two great countries.
Sincerely,
Chris Van Hollen Pramila Jayapal
United States Senator Member of Congress
2
U.S. Dep’t of State, Office of International Religious Freedom, 2022 Report on International Religious Freedom:
India, https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom/india .
3
Reporters Without Borders, “World Press Freedom Index 2023,” https://rsf.org/en/index.
4
Zach Rosson, Felicia Anthonio & Carolyn Tackett, Weapons of Control, Shields of Impunity: Internet shutdowns in
2022, ACCESS NOW (Feb. 2023) https://www.accessnow.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/2022-KIO-Report-
final.pdf.
Richard J. Durbin James P. McGovern
United States Senator Member of Congress
Jeffrey A. Merkley Greg Casar
United States Senator Member of Congress
Mazie K. Hirono Lloyd Doggett
United States Senator Member of Congress
Richard Blumenthal Barbara Lee
United States Senator Member of Congress
Tammy Duckworth Jamie Raskin
United States Senator Member of Congress
Brian Schatz Jan Schakowsky
United States Senator Member of Congress
Bernard Sanders Mark Takano
United States Senator Member of Congress
Elizabeth Warren Juan Vargas
United States Senator Member of Congress
Tim Kaine Nydia M. Velázquez
United States Senator Member of Congress
Benjamin L. Cardin Nanette Diaz Barragán
United States Senator Member of Congress
Peter Welch Judy Chu
United States Senator Member of Congress
Thomas R. Carper Jason Crow
United States Senator Member of Congress
Jeanne Shaheen Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr.
United States Senator Member of Congress
Sherrod Brown Delia C. Ramirez
United States Senator Member of Congress
Ron Wyden Mike Thompson
United States Senator Member of Congress
Martin Heinrich Mark DeSaulnier
United States Senator Member of Congress
Sheldon Whitehouse Maxwell Alejandro Frost
United States Senator Member of Congress
Al Green Betty McCollum
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Bonnie Watson Coleman Jill Tokuda
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Suzanne Bonamici Mark Pocan
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Grace Meng Veronica Escobar
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Earl Blumenauer Jesús G. "Chuy" García
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Jerrold Nadler David J. Trone
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Mary Gay Scanlon Kweisi Mfume
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Dan Goldman Steve Cohen
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Mike Levin John P. Sarbanes
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Anna G. Eshoo André Carson
Member of Congress Member of Congress
John B. Larson Becca Balint
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Sean Casten Robert Garcia
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Elissa Slotkin Emanuel Cleaver, II
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Raúl M. Grijalva Jared Huffman
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Robin L. Kelly Seth Moulton
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Sylvia R. Garcia Valerie P. Foushee
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Mike Quigley Jake Auchincloss
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Tony Cárdenas Linda T. Sánchez
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Susan Wild Nikema Williams
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Yvette D. Clarke
Member of Congress
