Right Word | Rahul Gandhi’s US Visit: Who are Minhaz, Aslam, Tanzeem and Sunita?

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s recent visit to the United States has raised a serious concern about how compromised our politicians are. And how far they would go in quest of power.

This visit also raises another question: In the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, is there a massive anti-India toolkit under preparation? Or, has it already been prepared and launched? How anti-Indian elements are aiding the Opposition in India to mount an aggressive campaign against the Modi government and especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi? Is the Opposition unaware of the presence of such elements, or is it readily taking help from this anti-India nexus? These are serious questions and their answers would have strong implications for India’s national security. We must not forget that there are several states ruled by the Congress and what its top leadership is doing sends a signal to the leadership and its governments in the states also.

During Rahul Gandhi’s visit, names of at least four individuals have emerged as they are known to be anti-India elements and had association with the events organised for him. These four individuals are: Tanzeem Ansari, Mohamammed Aslam, Minhaj Khan and Sunita Viswanath.

Tanzeem Ansari

The June 4 events in New York are coordinated, among others, by Tanzeem Ansari, who is the Amir Outreach Committee of Muslim Community of New Jersey (MCNJ). MCNJ is led by a Pakistan-born cleric — Imaam Jawad Ahmed. The latter is also Project Director of Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA). ICNA is a radical Islamist organsiation associated closely with Pakistan’s Jamaat-e-Islami. It is known to carry forward Pakistan’s anti-India propaganda. It also has linkages with other radical and terrorist organisations. Its publications have glorified terrorists such as Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin by publishing their detailed interviews where he spewed venom against India

Mohamammed Aslam

Another coordinator of the June 4 event was Mohammed Aslam. He is a member of Muslim Center of Greater Princeton (MCGP), another close partner of ICNA. It needs to be mentioned here that anti-India fronts like Justice for All, Hindus for Human Rights, etc, operate under the ICNA/Jamaat Umbrella.

Minhaj Khan

Another self-appointed coordinator for the June 4 event, Minhaj Khan is linked to anti-India lobbying group Indian American Muslim Council(IAMC). IAMC relentlessly targets India on pretext of human rights, religious freedom and is known for sharing fake news to stir communal unrest in India.

IAMC had engaged a US lobby firm, and paid $55,000 for lobbying the United States Commission for Inter-Religious Freedom (USCIRF) against India in 2013-14.

IAMC’s executive director Rasheed Ahmed is the executive director of another Jamaat-affiliated ‘charity’ front Islamic Medical Association of North America (IMANA), which exploited India’s goodwill and raised millions of dollars during Covid in the name of helping India. It had siphoned off all the money.

In fact, organisations like IAMC, ICNA, IMANA Jamaat and Muslim Brotherhood (MB) are part of the same ecosystem which is rabidly anti-India. IMANA’s members have been part of Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) which is another front of Muslim Brotherhood.

In 2017, ISNA Canada was implicated by Canada Revenue Agency for funding the ‘charity’ wing of Hizbul Mujahideen.

Sunita Vishwanath

The Hudson Institute, a Washington-based think tank, tweeted images of Rahul Gandhi during his visit to the institute. There was an event where Rahul Gandhi had an interaction with intellectuals at Hudson Institute. During this conversation he is seen seated alongside Sunita Vishwanath. These images are now being widely discussed because of the dubious credentials of Sunita. She is the moving force behind a front mischievously named Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR).

Disinfo Lab, an organisation that monitors and investigates the information warfare on digital platforms had conducted an investigation revealing that the ‘Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR)’ had been promoting the misleading narrative of ‘Hinduism Vs Hindutva’. The same organisation was also seen endorsing the ‘Dismantling Global Hindutva’ event that was aimed at tarnishing India’s image abroad as a majoritarian country targeting its minorities.

As per Disinfo Lab, HfHR was formed in the year 2019 by two Islamist advocacy groups – Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) and the Organization for Minorities of India (OFMI). Interestingly, the three organisations had formed another outfit called the Alliance for Justice and Accountability (AJA) also. Their newly formed organisation, AJA, had been at the forefront of leading demonstrations against the visit of PM Modi to Houston on September 22, 2019.

According to Disinfo Lab, the co-founder of Hindus for Human Rights, Sunita Vishwanath, also runs an organisation named ‘Women for Afghan Women’, which is funded by George Soros’ Open Society Foundation. Soros is a billionaire who is known for funding regime changes across the world. He has been quite critical of the Modi government and his foundation is known to have funded a large number of organisations that have been causing trouble in India. All these organisations have been peddling anti-India propaganda in the garb of protecting civil rights of Indians.

These organisations have played a key role in anti-CAA agitation as well as anti-farm law agitation. They also get support from several international agencies.

In a nutshell, it is a nexus of anti-India forces within India as well as outside which has been trying to hijack the opposition for uprooting the current government. Unfortunately, the Opposition is also becoming a puppet in the hands of anti-Indian forces. It is important to understand that there is nothing wrong in the opposition targeting the ruling party on any issue. But to do that Congress and other parties don’t have to become part of the tool kit gang. As an Opposition, they shouldn’t become so desperate to come to power that they compromise the interest of the country.

The writer, an author and columnist has written several books. He tweets @ArunAnandLive. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.