{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/news/press-releases/baldwin-introduces-resolution-calling-for-end-to-religious-and-political-persecution-in-india", "Baldwin Introduces Resolution Calling for End to Religious and Political Persecution in India", "2023-10-24", "2023", "2023-10", "Democrat", "Senate", "WI", "Tammy Baldwin", "B001230", "www.baldwin.senate.gov", "baldwin", "https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin introduced a resolution in the Senate urging the U.S. government to engage with India to reverse policies that discriminate on the basis of religion and push for an end to violence against peaceful civilian protesters in India.\n\n\u201cReligious freedom is a fundamental human right, and when any country infringes on it, the United States must stand up and speak out,\u201d said Senator Baldwin. \u201cI am calling on the United States to continue pushing the government of India to reverse course on the systematic religious and political persecution that is endangering and disenfranchising innocent civilians.\u201d\n\nPrime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s tenure has been marked by a troubling increase in violence, hate crimes, incendiary rhetoric by politicians, and an overall decline in religious freedom typically seen in healthy democracies. The Senate resolution introduced by Senator Baldwin urges the U.S. government to engage with the government of India to end the persecution of, and violence against, religious minorities and human rights defenders in India, and work to reverse government policies that discriminate against Muslims and Christians on the basis of faiths.\n\n\u201cIndia is a key partner of the United States and that makes it doubly important that the Indian government observe, practice and implement civil and political liberties as enshrined in the Indian Constitution. Rising social conflict and democratic backslide in India will weaken and not strengthen India\u2019s relevance as a global bulwark against anti-democratic forces. We applaud Senator Baldwin for introducing this significant resolution and we encourage the US Senate to pass it to send a clear and unequivocal message to both the Biden Administration and the Indian government,\u201d said Rasheed Ahmed, Executive Director of Indian American Muslim Council.\n\n\u201cAs a proud Indian-born American, I strongly believe in India\u2019s Constitution as written, and if faithfully followed, would ensure that India remains the world\u2019s largest secular democracy, as a role model for other countries,\u201d said Masood Akhtar, a Wisconsin entrepreneur and activist.\n\nFull text of the resolution is available here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T00:49:26Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/news/press-releases/baldwin-introduces-resolution-calling-for-end-to-religious-and-political-persecution-in-india"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.107232179492712, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}