RSS; A Terrorist Organ

http://zeenews.india.com/news/world/us-lawsuit-demands-terror-label-on-indian-group_1534354.html

New York: Sikh activists said they filed a lawsuit on Wednesday in New York demanding the United States blacklist as a terrorist organization a hardline Hindu group linked to India`s ruling party.
federal court issued a summons for US Secretary of State John Kerry to respond to the suit within 60 days, according to court papers sent to AFP by US-based advocacy group "Sikhs For Justice."

The 26-page complaint likened Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to Nigeria`s armed group Boko Haram.

It held the RSS, the ideological mentor of Prime Minister Narendra Modi`s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), responsible for instigating multiple acts of violence.

Activists accused RSS of "running a passionate, vicious and violent campaign to turn India into a `Hindu` nation with a homogeneous religious and cultural identity."

The lawsuit comes with US President Barack Obama to be guest of honor at India`s Republic Day celebrations on January 26.

A New York judge last week dismissed on grounds of immunity a lawsuit that accused Modi of "attempted genocide" over deadly 2002 anti-Muslim riots that killed at least 1,000 people.

Gurpatwant Pannun, legal advisor to Sikhs for Justice, told AFP they filed the suit after Kerry failed to respond to a written request last month for the State Department to blacklist RSS.

The group came under fire last month after 200 Christians were converted en masse in Modi`s home state, fanning concern at the right-wing government`s perceived pro-Hindu tilt.

Kerry held talks with Modi in India this month, hailing him as a "visionary" poised to transform the Indian economy.

India is a secular country under the constitution and religious freedom is considered a fundamental right.

But critics say Hindu hardline groups have become emboldened since the BJP was elected, promoting a Hindu-dominant agenda.

Sikhs for Justice is a small non-profit group that Pannun said was backed by "most" of the estimated 500,000 Sikhs who live in the United States.

AFP