WASHINGTON, March 19, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – The State Department revoked on Friday, March 18, a visa to an Indian official accused of complicity in the massacre of Muslim civilians, a decision applauded by American Muslims and a human rights coalition.

The US embassy in India said that the tourist/business visa of Chief Minister of the state of Gujarat Narendra Modi has been revoked under a law banning foreign officials deemed responsible for severe violation of religious freedom, reported Reuters.

Section 604 of the International Religious Freedom Act makes any foreign official who has engaged in “particularly severe violations of religious freedom” inadmissible to the US.

Human rights groups say about 2,500 people, most of them Muslims, were hacked, burned or beaten to death in Gujarat in early 2002 after 59 Hindu pilgrims and activists died on a train in a fire some blamed on a Muslim mob.

An official investigation has recently exonerated Muslims, saying the fire was an “accident”.

The Supreme Court slammed Modi and his government, run then by the country's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, for turning a blind eye to the carnage.

Several senior Gujarat officials have told human rights groups that they received clear orders from Modi not to intervene and put an end to the carnage.

In 2003, Human Rights Watch further slammed the Indian government for its role in the massacre.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the largest Muslim advocacy group in the States, applauded the decision.

The decision was also lauded by the Coalition Against Genocide (CAG), a spectrum of organizations and individuals in the US and Canada that have come together in response to the Gujarat genocide to demand accountability and justice

The visa move “reflects the strength of the transnational alliance between South Asian organizations and human rights groups in the US,” CAG said in a press release on its Web site.

Modi was scheduled to be the keynote speaker at the annual convention of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA), to be held later this month in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

In recent weeks, CAIR, the Indian Muslim Council-USA and CAG joined forces to block Modi's entry to the US and called on the credit card giant American Express to withdraw its sponsorship from the Florida convention.

The CAG action against Modi that began February 24th 2005, has received strong support from international organizations such as Human Rights Watch (HRW), Institute on Religion and Public Policy (IRPP) and Amnesty International (AI).

The campaign included letters to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Congress, MSNBC host Chris Matthews, American Express and the California State University, who were all to sponsor the visit.

The first success came when Matthews withdrew from the AAHOA convention, according to the CAG.

The State Department’s decision has sparked a storm of protest in India, raising the prospect of a diplomatic spat.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, from the Congress party, told parliament's upper house on Saturday, March 19, that his government had pressed Washington to reconsider.

“Our government has very clearly pointed out our deep concern and regret over the US decision,” he said.

“We have observed that this uncalled for decision (can) be traced to a lack of sensitivity and due courtesy to an elected authority.”