Dozens of US lawmakers have written a letter to President Joe Biden to raise human rights issues with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Washington this week.

The letter bears signatures of seventy five Senators and members of the House of Representatives.

It reads that 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.

The letter specifically points out that State Department's 2022 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in India documents the tightening of political rights and expression.

Similarly, the State Department's 2022 Report on International Religious Freedom in India details the worrisome increase of religious intolerance toward minorities and religiously motived violence by both private and state actors.

Further, the letter reads, that the annual assessments compiled by Reporters Without Borders show that India has fallen significantly in the rankings for press freedom. And according to Access Now, India ranks first in terms of the most Internet shutdowns for the fifth year in a row.

The letter recognizes that the US President has once again made respect for human rights, press freedom, religious freedom and pluralism core tenets of American foreign policy.

The letter stressed that in order to advance these values with credibility on the world stage, we must apply them equally to friend and foe alike.