By Sardar Khan Niazi
During the Indian Prime Minister’s three-day visit to the United States, Indian and non-Indian rights groups in the United States have held protests over Modi’s rule being marred by human rights violations, suppression of dissent, and persecution of religious minorities, particularly Muslims and Christians.
Protestors say they are protesting not because they hate Hindus, but because they hate fascism, the nationalism that is taking place in Modi’s India, and since it is a religious nationalism, we believe it is making India more of a theocracy.
The protests against the Indian PM, be it during his current visit or during past foreign visits, have remained a subject of controversy. While Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra played down the protests by highlighting the so-called positive interests that India has with the US, the organizers of various demonstrations, both Indian and foreign, expressed discontent.
Counter-narratives of foreign institutions trying to meddle in India’s internal matters are common whenever the PM’s foreign visits receive a critical response. However, almost half of the protesters are from India, and most of them are Hindus.
The protestors say that we are Indian. We are Hindu. We are the PM’s vote bank but we cannot bear to see the brutal treatment of minority groups in India. If we were treated in the US how Muslims are treated in India, we would run back home without a thought. It is intolerable.
During Modi’s visit, a similar sentiment was expressed in an open letter to Biden that was written by an organization called Hindus for Human Rights, which urged him to push back against the Indian government’s escalating attacks on human rights and democracy.
In a letter to Biden, Human Rights Watch’s Asia Division director Elaine Pearson urged the White House to raise concerns, both publicly and privately, about human rights in India during Modi’s visit.
She said in the letter shared with the media that we strongly urge you to use your meetings with Prime Minister Modi to urge Modi to move his government and his party in a different direction.
There is a lot of anger, especially in Washington and New York, since they are the places where the Biden administration is courting Modi. A number of Americans from prominent circles, who used to attend Modi’s events, have stopped associating themselves with the Indian PM.
This is proof that America is opening its eyes to the reality of who Narendra Modi is and the organizations he represents. When you can be thrown in jail for sedition for speaking out against the BJP, as Americans it is our concern when the US conducts any type of business with such a government and its representatives, say protestors.
Washington hopes for closer ties with the world’s largest democracy, which it sees as a counterweight to China, but rights advocates worry that geopolitics will overshadow human rights issues. The United States has said its human rights concerns related to India include the Indian government’s targeting of religious minorities, dissidents, and journalists.
The protesting groups prepared flyers that said Modi Not Welcome. While President and First Lady hosted the Indian PM, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders hit out at the visit and said that PM Modi’s government has cracked down on the press and civil society, jailed political opponents and pushed an aggressive Hindu nationalism that leaves little space for India’s religious minorities.
The US knows who Narendra Modi is still it desperately wants a relationship with India. It wants to emerge from the Cold War mentality and really wants this relationship to work. However, it has to be on terms that they can live with. India’s democracy torn apart by Modi is not worth living with.
