President Donald Trump awarded Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi the Legion of Merit this week, one of the highest U.S. military honors, in recognition of his work turning India into an emerging superpower and boosting ties between the U.S. and his administration.
Modi said he was “deeply honored,” adding he will continue to work to develop even closer ties between the two countries in the future.
Indian Ambassador to the U.S. Taranjit Singh Sandhu accepted the award on behalf of the prime minister in a ceremony led by U.S. National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien at the White House on Monday. Modi took to social media to express his gratitude.
“I am deeply honored to be awarded the Legion of Merit by [President Donald Trump],” he wrote. “It recognizes the efforts of the people of India & the US to improve bilateral ties, reflected in the bipartisan consensus in both countries about the Indo-US Strategic Partnership.”
He continued:
The 21st century presents both unprecedented challenges as well as opportunities. The India-US relationship can leverage the vast potential of our people’s unique strengths to provide global leadership for the benefit of entire humanity.
On behalf of the 1.3 billion people of India, I reiterate my government’s firm conviction and commitment to continue working with the US government, and all other stakeholders in both countries, for further strengthening India-US ties.
Trump’s decision to award Modi with the Legion of Merit comes despite his administration reportedly overseeing a rapidly rising number of violent attacks against the country’s Christian population. A recent report by Persecution Relief, an ecumenical forum in India, has indicated a significant increase in attacks over the past five years while Modi has been in power.
Many of the attackers, like Modi, are Hindu nationalists and fervent supporters of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). According to Persecution Relief founder Shibu Thomas, many Christians choose not to report many incidents “for fear of retribution from the attackers and also of police and other government officials, who are hand in glove with the attackers, mostly right-wing Hindu activists.”
The International Christian Concern (ICC) similarly reported that attacks on Christians and churches in India are on the rise.
“Much of the violence is perpetrated by radical Hindu nationalists who believe they have the tacit approval of the BJP-led government to perpetrate acts of violence against India’s religious minorities,” the ICC noted.
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