India, Oct. 17 -- US Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal was among six lawmakers who wrote to secretary of state Marco Rubio on Friday, ahead of his visit to India, raising concerns over a "pattern of repression, wrongful detention, and excessive use of force by security forces during student protests". They urged him to "press the Indian government to initiate thorough, transparent, and independent investigations".

This comes after New Delhi's rejection of Jayapal's earlier remarks on the revision of India's electoral rolls. The ministry of external affairs (MEA) had called her comments unwarranted and said they amounted to interference in the "electoral practices of a fellow democracy".

Apart from concerns over detentions, the lawmakers als...