By Our Correspondent
NEW DELHI – The red carpet rolled out for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the United States of America during his state visit, which started on June 21, has ignored his poor track record on human rights, religious freedom, democratic structure and his majoritarian agenda to establish Hindu supremacy as well as his silence on the continuing violence against minority communities. The White House’s uncritical embrace of Modi is set to undermine democratic values of the U.S. as well.
U.S. President Joe Biden will host a state dinner for Modi during the visit, while paying little attention to the call of the 75 lawmakers who have asked him to raise these issues of concern with Modi. At least three legislators have also announced that they will boycott Modi’s address at the joint session of the U.S. Congress, saying it was shameful that Modi was being given a platform in the country.
While the U.S. administration is giving prominence to Modi’s visit apparently to send across a message to China whose rise as the Asian giant is troublesome for the world’s superpower, his criticism by the U.S. lawmakers and civil rights groups has brought embarrassment to India. The BJP’s history of anti-democratic acts, violence against Muslims, discrimination against Dalits and attacks on the freedom of press have shown India in poor light during the Prime Minister’s visit.
The people in the high echelons of power in the U.S. seem to have forgotten the ban imposed on Modi’s entry into the country in 2005 under a law on religious freedom for his role in anti-Muslim violence in Gujarat in 2002. The restrictions imposed by the State Department continued till 2014, when Modi became the Prime Minister. As the Gujarat Chief Minister, Modi presided over the most heinous crimes against Muslims, and some of his party leaders after BJP came to power at the Centre, continue to give open calls for genocide of Muslims and Christians.
Immediately after his arrival in the U.S., Modi headed to the United Nations headquarters and led a crowd of diplomats and policymakers from several countries as well as members of the Indian American community in the performance of yoga to mark the International Yoga Day. It was a well-crafted public relations exercise in which Modi was depicted as an ascetic with the postures for inner spiritual peace laid down in the ancient Hindu religion.
The Coalition for Reclaiming Indian Democracy, a coalition of civil rights and interfaith organisations representing Indian American Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Dalits, and allies, held a press conference titled “Beyond the Hype: Highlighting Prime Minister Modi’s Authoritarianism and Human Rights Violations” at National Press Club in Washington, D.C., to express strong opposition to Modi’s state visit to the U.S. and his address at the joint session of the Congress.
The victims of the Indian government’s persecution and human rights experts called on the Biden administration to hold Modi accountable for his association with violent Hindu extremist ideologues and his regime’s attacks on democracy. “The U.S. government cannot just look away, and neither can the international community. At some point, these conditions in India will impact economics and security as well, especially since the conditions are deteriorating,” said Nadine Maenza, president of the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Secretariat.
Activists addressing the press conference said India was closer than ever to outright genocide and this would be the last opportunity to publicly hold Modi accountable for his government’s inaction over the instances of hatred, marginalisation and violence against minorities. A passionate plea was made to the U.S. citizens to help stop Modi’s full-scale assault on democracy, the impending genocide of Muslims and the violent silencing of critics of the BJP government both within India and in the foreign countries.
The Indian American Muslim Council (AIMC) and Hindus for Human Rights-USA have joined hands to remind U.S. President Biden of his sacred duty to publicly reprimand Modi for his dubious track record and his dangerous plans to bring India under a single-party authoritarian rule as a Hindu Rashtra. As a pro-democracy and a pro-pluralism movement, the Hindus for Human Rights-USA has declared that it stands for an inclusive India that protects human rights, free speech and free press and defends the secular Constitution.
The two organisations, along with Polis Project, a research and journalism non-profit body, organised a fund-raising event, “Howdy Democracy” in New York, a day before Modi’s visit officially started, to highlights the growing concern about India, the world’s largest democracy, moving steadily towards autocracy. It was an evening of live performances and video appearances from top comedians and musicians, as well as powerful speakers who have suffered first-hand the impact of repressive laws and the erosion of human rights in India.
There is a consensus in the U.S. during Modi’s visit that the U.S. should not bargain away human rights for political expediency. The Narendra Modi government will not last forever in India, but his legacy will damage and may even break Indian democracy and render vulnerable the rule of law globally. President Biden, by his complete silence, is not only emboldening Modi’s quest to dismantle democracy, but he is also seriously hurting the credibility of watch-dog agencies like the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), which has recommended to designate India as a “country of particular concern”.
