While penning these lines, the long awaited and perhaps much hyped state visit of the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the United States was still on with a large section of the national and international media as also political analysts touting it as an unprecedented event in the bilateral relations of the two great democracies of the world – one as the oldest, developed, most powerful nation as also the only accredited superpower of the world; the other as the largest, developing and fastest growing economy as also the emerging superpower in the twenty-first century. What is even more remarkable is that despite many teething issues and fundamental differences on mutual and international issues, the two countries are willing to forge greater social, economic and military cooperation to move ahead in the current century. Of course, the credit cannot be unilaterally accorded the to any one leader or country because this need has been gradually realized by both the countries.

Simultaneously, a powerful international ecosystem and toolkit has also been simultaneously and restlessly working with its vicious and malicious agenda of sabotaging this growing and new found bonhomie between the two country with the chief motive of toppling the Modi Government in India or at least minimizing its chance in the ensuing parliamentary elections for the Lok Sabha (lower house) due early next year in 2024. The author, in his previous piece “Is Indian Democracy & Secularism Really Threatened?” had analyzed and explained how, in a similar mission, an important & PM designate (unofficially) leader of the main opposition political party had visited the US just about a fortnight back as part of same toolkit associating with the same eco system, some even having the radical and jihadi links. Concurrently with Narendra Modi’s visit, this powerful toolkit has tirelessly worked to sabotage the visit and its outcome, strangely enough even the former President Barack Obama too preferred to join same bandwagon with his controversial statement on the eve.

Salient Features of Ecosystem and Toolkit against India

Although anti-India propaganda and toolkit by certain influential NGO, organizations and individuals in several Western countries and two neighbours in the east and west acting like sworn enemies are not a new phenomenon, but it has gained momentum and new dimensions of overt and covert operations and subversive activities with the emergence of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as political masters in the country since May 2014. Both have reasons to be unhappy with each-other: The underlying objective of the aforesaid forces is to bring down the Modi Government by hook or crook with a view to stalling a more friendly left-centric and/or left parties in power to continue their activities unhindered, while the latter has put a stop, or at least curtailed to a certain extent their undesired activities, by banning and/or taking punitive action for violations under FERA/FEMA, or breaking such other federal laws/rules.

Needless to mention, a large number of these NGOs and organizations registered as civil rights groups for some noble cause; instead, indulge in activities such as religious conversion by receiving funds and other support from the Islamic countries and missionaries abroad, plus a variety of other opaque and suspicious activities in the name of human rights, environment, freedom of expression, transparency, and so on, so often prejudice to the country’s national interests. As the foreign governments are bound with certain political and diplomatic protocols, naturally they cannot directly indulge in action which may be prejudice to the bilateral relations, hence countries such as US, UK and European Union nations tacitly support such organizations in the name of upholding democratic and secular values, human rights, and so on. To put it bluntly, the way India has shown revival in recent years and is emerging as an economic and military giant in the global context, many nations of the developed West and adversaries like China and Pakistan are constantly targeting India for their own strategic reasons.

On the home front, the opposition political parties and leaders, the most of which are dynastic in nature, are simply unable to match the shine and competence of Mr Narendra Modi. Consequently, they are not even averse to working in league with foreign organizations and governments to seek intervention and assistance for the change of regime at home. It is for the same reason and underlying objective that the leaders of the Congress have time and again sought such intervention in the name of down-sliding democracy, secularism, freedom of expression, intolerance, and so on. The current status is that the opposition parties in India oppose lock, stock and barrel every decision and action of the Modi Government irrespective of its merit. Some more recent illustrations are legislations for discontinuing the retrograde practice of triple talaq among Muslims, removal of (temporary) Article 370 of the Constitution to resolve more than seven decades old Kashmir problem, Citizen Amendment Act to grant citizenship to the persecuted communities from the neighbouring Islamic countries, Farm Laws, New Parliament, Army reforms, and so on.

While the opposition parties in the country oppose government and they have right also to do on merit, but the trend for the last few years indicate that the anti-India forces operating in the foreign country indulge in disinformation campaign against India and its government through malicious toolkits and such actions that could defame, embarrass and cause maximum harm, while the opposition parties in India make a common cause with them in furtherance of selfish political interests. Apart from many known NGOs, the Islamic and Khalistani organizations mostly active in the countries like the US, UK, Canada, etc., some of them with known radical and terrorist links in the Indian sub-continent or elsewhere take active part in anti-India campaign. Even more disturbing factor and cause of concern is the association of some Indian opposition parties and politicians with such elements operating from the foreign soil. For instance, the recent visits of the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the month of May-June 2023 to UK and USA invited controversies for the similar reason. The author is listing here only a few more significant toolkit points concerning Mr Modi’s US visit.

(1) Days ahead of Prime Minister Modi’s State Visit, the Gandhi scion visited three major cities of the US viz. San Francisco, Washington and New York, and associated self with organizations and individuals better known for anti-India, anti-Hindu and anti-Modi activities, while addressing / meeting the Indian-American Diaspora, so-called think-tank community, academicians, lawmakers and the media. The central talking points of his dialogue during various meetings and interactions included that the democratic values have seriously eroded during the Modi regime in India; secularism is compromised with minorities, particularly Muslims, being discriminated and persecuted; dalits and tribals are deprived of their rights, freedom of expression of the lawmakers as well as common people is suppressed; and intolerance is on the rise everywhere.

(2) As expected with anti-India anti-Modi toolkit active for the weeks before the Indian leader’s state visit, some 16 so-called civil rights organizations wrote an open letter to the US President Joe Biden urging him not to host the State Dinner for the Indian prime minister or to raise certain issues specified by them during interaction. The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), whose links have been traced to Islamic terrorist organizations in South Asia, coordinated a letter to the US President on 7 June 2023 on behalf of sixteen other organizations (all signed), requesting him to rescind the invitation of State Dinner extended to Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi because, according to them, India is facing a sharp democratic backsliding. To support their claim, they cited Financial Times report on 2-years sentence to Rahul Gandhi by a Gujarat court in a defamation case, reports related to the Indian government initiatives on CAA and NRC as well as a so-called report by United States Commission on International Religious Freedom of 2020.

(3) Similarly, 75 US Congressmen i.e. eighteen Senators and fifty-seven Members of the House of Representatives wrote a letter to President Biden expressing somewhat similar concern about back-sliding of democracy and minorities human rights just two days before the scheduled address of Prime Minister Modi to the joint US Congress meeting. This initiative was led by the Senator Chris Van Hollen and Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, both from the Democratic Party, who are well known India baiters and Modi critic for the last many years on a variety of issues including Kashmir, human rights, CAA and NRC, and so on. Citing reports of the US State Department and some civil society organizations, the signatories asked US President to raise specific issues with Mr Modi, which inter alia included the alleged shrinking of the political space, the rise of religious intolerance, the targeting of civil society organizations and journalists, and growing restrictions on press freedoms and internet access in India. These signatories claimed that of late there has been tightening of political rights and expression…worrisome increase of religious intolerance towards minorities and religiously motivated violence by private and state actors in India under the present regime. One Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib from Michigan even announced boycott of Modi’s address accusing him as a leader with a “long history of human rights abuses, anti-democratic actions, targeting Muslims & religious minorities, and censoring journalists.”

(4) While the three-day state visit was still on with crucial engagements including Mr Modi’s address to a joint session of the US Congress, the signing of several crucial deals and the state dinner at the White House, the former US President Barack Obama gave an interview to the CNN wherein he inter alia stated, "If the president meets with Prime Minister Modi, then the protection of the Muslim minority in a majority Hindu India - that's something worth mentioning. If I had a conversation with Prime Minister Modi, who I know well, part of my argument would be that if you do not protect the rights of ethnic minorities in India, then there is a strong possibility that India at some point starts pulling apart…" While the CNN correspondent Ms Christiane Amanpour made a reference to the “threat to democracy” from the so-called “illiberal democrats” in the obvious context of India’s leader, Mr Obama added that it was complicated to deal with allies who may not have run "ideally democratic governments" but with whom relations had to be maintained for a number of reasons. He further added that it was "appropriate" for the US president, whenever opportune, to challenge "trends that are troubling" either in public or private.

(5) Apparently no such issues were officially discussed in formal meetings about the allegation or questions raised in two letters of the organizations and US lawmakers, and private talks if any were not revealed. However, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) correspondent Sabrina Siddiqui, a woman of Pakistani origin, was allowed to ask Mr Modi, “India has long prided itself as the world’s largest democracy, but there are many human rights groups who say that your government has discriminated against religious minorities and sought to silence its critics. As you stand here in the East Room of the White House, where so many world leaders have made commitments to protecting democracy, what steps are you and your government willing to take to improve the rights of Muslims and other minorities in your country and to uphold free speech?”

Analyzing Anti-India Ecosystem & Toolkit

In this section, the author proposes to have a brief yet impartial assessment and evaluation of people and organizations engaged in anti-India and anti-Modi campaign in US just before and during the much awaited state visit of the Indian prime minister. It is pretty clear that there are forces in India as well as US, which do not want the two countries to come close for the usual healthy business and unhindered bilateral cooperation, at least till the Modi Government is in power. In his previous essay “Is Indian Democracy & Secularism Really Threatened”, the author has already analysed and discussed issues thus raised concluding that there is nothing wrong or unusual with the Indian democracy, secularism and freedom of speech. In the ensuing paragraphs, the author would examine the nature of such people and organizations, their possible nexus and true motive behind their tireless misinformation campaign with malicious agenda against India and its present ruling government.

(1) The Congress Party and Gandhi Scion

The Congress is the oldest political party in India headed by same dynastic political family since 1947, which has directly or indirectly ruled the country for about six decades after independence. The ironical part is that the country was communally divided on the premise that Hindus and Muslims are two separate nations (quams) that cannot coexist together but after partition a significant Muslim population stayed back in India (instead of going to Pakistan) under a political agreement. Although census data after 2011 is not available but according to apptoximate estimates, the population of Muslims in India has grown up from 30 million in 1947 to 210 million in 2022 (some Muslim leaders claim it at 250 million). Thus by no means Muslims are a minority in India; it’s so illustrated only in relative term when compared to Hindu population. In fact, minorities in true sense are Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Jews, and for them the Congress and its leaders have seldom ever cared; sans Christians, which are about 2.3% of the total population (2011 Census), constitute the majority population in several north-eastern states owing to a large scale conversion of the tribal population. Thus Muslims constitute a sizeable electorate in the country and the Congress (now some other regional parties too) has traditionally projected itself as the messiah and champion of their cause to garner their votes and in this endeavour the party has continuously followed an appeasement policy towards Muslims, even to the extent of supporting many retrograde social practices and radical elements in the community.

The parliamentary elections for the 18th Lok Sabha are due in India early next year. Occasionally, due to family or political compulsions, loyal candidate outside the family have been chosen as the party president or prime minister in the Congress government but overall control always rested with the Nehru-Gandhi family. For instance, currently Mallikarjun Kharge, an octogenarian Congress leader, is the party president but de facto leadership rests with the heir apparent Rahul Gandhi, who neither has a party post nor is a member of parliament. The Congress also has its presence among the Indian Diaspora as the Indian Overseas Congress (IOC) abroad in the countries like the US and UK with its leaders loyal to only Nehru-Gandhi family. So naturally, the Gandhi scion has a lot of stake for the party and he is leaving no stone unturned to create a favourable atmosphere for the Congress Party in India and abroad with elections due in the next few months. He earlier carried out an elaborate ‘Bharat Jodo” yatra within the country and now he is visiting foreign countries like the UK and US with significant NRI presence. But to achieve their political ends, the party and Gandhi scion has picked up wrong narratives as hitherto fore. Earlier, he did this in 2018 with the parliamentary election due in 2019 and is doing again now with election in 2024 with the usual fictitious and baseless narratives about the democracy and secularism being under grave danger, the freedom of expression and speech stifled, and rising intolerance and attacks against the minorities (Muslims), dalits and tribals.

Following his recent US visit in June 2023, many detractors as well as independent and rational-thinkers have blamed the Gandhi scion for associating himself and taking assistance in US from the groups, organizations and individuals known for their anti-India stand with some even directly linked to India’s sworn enemy Pakistan having terrorist linkages thereby well known “threats” to the Indian sovereignty. The Disinfo Lab, an organization associated with information-warfare and psychological-warfare, claimed in a series of tweets that meeting of Rahul Gandhi with non-resident Indians at the Javits Centre in New York was organized by individuals associated with the Pakistan Jamaat-e-Islami and Muslim Brotherhood-linked fronts, funded and propagated by the Pakistan ISI. According to them, one of his key organizers viz. Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) is a radical Islamic organization. Not only this, the Gandhi scion was also seen with Tanzeem Ansari of MCNZ, Minhaj Khan of IAMC, Sunita Vishwanath with George Soros links, and members from a host of other Islamic groups; all of them better known for their anti-India and anti-Hindu stand and activities. It has been generally perceived and opined widely on the social media too that the Leftists, antinational elements, award wapsi & liberal ecosystem are engaged in launching Rahul Gandhi from USA.

(2) Anti-India Anti-Modi Organizations in USA

As mentioned in the context of Rahul Gandhi visit to US, the so-called civil rights organization IAMC (Indian American Muslim Council) had played significant role in collaboration with many mosques and Islamic organizations such as Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), Muslim Community of New Jersey (MCNJ), Islamic Society of Central Jersey (ISCJ), and Muslim Centre of Greater Princeton (MCGP). The same IAMC coordinated with another 16 so-called civil rights organizations releasing an open letter urging President Biden to rescind his invitation to the Indian Prime Minister Modi for a state dinner in view of India’s sharp democratic backsliding and human rights violations against social, cultural and religious minorities, political opponents, journalists, etc. Other organizations endorsing IAMC initiative included Hindus for Human Rights, Dalit Solidarity Inc., World Without Genocide, International Defenders Council, International Society for Peace and Justice, Genocide Watch, Jubilee Campaign, Asian Children’s Education Fellowship, Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Misión Vida para las Naciones, Church in the Republic of Uruguay, Global Christian Relief, American Sikh Council, Human Rights and Grassroots Development Society, and International Commission for Dalit Rights.

While giving a call for rescinding state dinner invitation in the opening paragraph, the letter coordinated by the IAMC reads as under in the second paragraph:

Modi is a champion of Hindutva, a radical Nazi-inspired ideology that seeks to turn India from a secular democracy into a Hindu ethno-state. The invitation to Modi as a state guest signals that the US is supportive of India’s crackdown on fundamental democratic rights and emboldens the Modi administration to intensify its anti-democratic agenda.

Then the letter files allegations against Modi administration of mass jailing critics and opponents; enforcing anti-minority laws; seizing a monopoly over the media; compromising the judiciary; and providing impunity to Hindu mobs that attack and kill Muslims and Christians, with the RSS repeatedly giving a call for the genocide of 250 million Indian Muslims. The letter also stated that the Modi Administration has legislated the anti-Muslim Citizenship Amendment Act, a law that aims to strip 250 million Muslims of their citizenship en masse besides implementing the National Register for Citizens (NRC) that is illegally stripping Muslims of their citizenships and confining them in detention camps. Then to justify these allegations, the IAMC Inc. has made an ambiguous reference to the US agencies like the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), US-based Genocide Watch, etc.

If the author has to summarize his response based on facts and human rationale, he would simply say that there can’t be a greater pack of lies than the ibid letter. However, the factual position of various allegations is as follows:

(a) Islamists and fundamentalists in India cite Hindutva as threat for Muslims and the Congress, some other political parties and left-liberals support them for own selfish interests. The issue was twice examined by the Supreme Court of India in 1995 and 2016 by the 3-judge and 7-judge benches respectively. Disposing of a number of appeals which arose from the litigations in the Bombay High Court, the position effectively clarified in a historic judgment in December 1995. The same position was upheld in October 2016 by the 7-judges bench of the apex court:

"Ordinarily, Hindutva is understood as a way of life or a state of mind and is not to be equated with or understood as religious Hindu fundamentalism. It is a fallacy and an error of law to proceed on the assumption that the use of words Hindutva or Hinduism per se depicts an attitude hostile to all persons practicing any religion other than the Hindu religion.”

The problem per se is not with Hindutva but with the mindset of people of the aforesaid eco system who accept the court verdict if it is in their favour but reject it saying the judiciary is compromised if the verdict goes against. Just for the record sake, it was the Congress Government in power at Central in 1995 but the party and its ecosystem worldwide do not accept the Supreme Court verdict.

(b) The allegation of converting the secular democracy into a Hindu ethno-state is based on absolute falsehood. The Congress, Left and some other political parties have constantly followed an appeasement policy towards Muslims for own vested interests by endorsing their medieval mindset and retrograde practices like polygamy, triple talaq, halala, etc. under Sharia based personal laws (many Islamic countries don’t endorse such practices now), which has instead hindered the progress and welfare of the community despite massive government subsidies/assistance. Prime Minister Modi led NDA government follows an ideology of equal treatment of all communities for inclusive development with special focus only to certain specific underprivileged class irrespective of their caste or creed.

(c ) Allegations about mass jailing of critics and opponents, enforcing anti-minority laws, seizing a monopoly over the media, or compromising the judiciary are nothing but merely a figment of imagination. There have been a few isolated cases of crimes against the individuals belonging to the Muslim and/or Christian communities which are being used by the Congress, other opposition and left-liberals for targeting the Modi Government in India and abroad time and again. More recently, even an accidental killing of a dreaded mafia and gangster Atiq Ahmad under the custody by shooters of a rival gang has been publicized as vendetta politics of the government and ruling party against the Muslims. On the contrary, a large number of heinous crimes committed by the criminals, radical and jihadi elements in the community against the Hindus, Sikhs and women on recurring basis are simply ignored by the same ecosystem.

(d) The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) is among the most disciplined and patriotic organizations in India. They do talk about restoring and propagating many good features of the ancient Sanatana culture of India, gear up to assist nation and communities during natural calamities, but they have never given any call for the genocide of Muslims as alleged.

(e) Contrary to allegation that CAA 2019 has been enacted to strip 250 million Indian Muslims of their citizenship, the subject law is not at all applicable to the Indian Muslims. It has been notified by the Modi Government to grant Indian citizenship to the families of a large number of persecuted Hindu, Sikh, Christian and all other communities, subject to meeting essential conditions, from the three neighbouring Islamic countries of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, which are currently living in shady condition in transit camps, temporary shelters, etc. without sustainable means of employment and earning. This is without prejudice to normal citizenship and immigration rules under which, as per record, the same government had granted Indian citizenship to about 550 Muslims during its five years of reign before 2019.

(f) National Register of Citizens (NRC) is not a new concept; instead it was provided by the Nehru Government under the Citizen Act 1955 but successive Congress governments never implemented it in practice. The state of Assam endlessly faced the serious problem of illegal immigrants in lakhs from the erstwhile East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), who became a grave threat to the tribal population in South Assam in due course pushing them further northwards from their original homes. The current initiative in respect of Assam to update the citizens register was taken by the Modi Government under the orders of the Supreme Court, which if implemented, may have implications for the illegal immigrants without any prejudice to religion. The Indian Muslims are in no way affected and the opposition parties, their ecosystem and Islamists have used the issues of CAA and NRC against the Modi Government in furtherance of their own selfish cause and political interests in India and abroad.

The author would not delve into the nature, organization and role of sixteen signatory organizations but just for the sake of illustration briefly touch upon the IAMC and a few others for now. Formed in the backdrop of Gujarat riots in 2002, the IAMC (Indian American Muslim Council) is self-proclaimed largest organization of Indian Muslims in America as a rights advocacy group but, in reality, it is a Jamaat-e-Islami-backed lobbyist organization. Apart from its anti-India anti-Modi role in Rahul Gandhi visit and a letter to the US President opposing his hosting in the White House, this organization has constantly opposed India and Mr Modi at various occasions including his visa ban in 2005. The DisinfoLab, an organization associated with information-warfare and psychological-warfare, has carried out a detailed study on how the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCITF) itself has become an organization of particular concern owing to infiltration of the jihadi and radical groups like Jammat-e-Islami Pakistan, ICNA, IAMC, etc., decoding their unbecoming malicious activities.

Among other signatories, the American Sikh Council (ASC) is officially an association of some 74 Sikh institutions and gurudwaras in US, which has been providing a tacit support to the separatist movement in Punjab. Of late, many people have started viewing them as a pro-Khalistan organization that regularly spews venom against India and its government. The Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR) has been promoting for long the misleading narratives about Hindus and Hindutva, and its co-founder Sunia Vishwanath is closely associated with George Soros, a multi-billionaire American and well known India-baiter and Modi-hater. The Genocide Watch, referred to earlier, has been often observed as a propaganda organization targeting India and Hindus claiming that minorities are victimized and Muslims under genocide risk in the country. The US based World Without Genocide so often indulges in anti-India misinformation with misleading and fake reports; they cited Mr Modi “a dangerous man” in November 2022. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a US-based Islamist organization allegedly has links with the dreaded Hamas, which so often writes and speaks against India and Hindus. Recently in a tweet, the CAIR cited Prime Minister Modi as one of the most dangerous and extreme anti-Muslim bigots in the world and asked followers to write to the US lawmakers to boycott him. The Jubilee Campaign is also a US-based organization which often claims and campaigns that the Christians and other minorities are persecuted in India. Thus in a nutshell, many of these so-called civil rights organizations listed as the signatories of the letter coordinated by IAMC have a prior history of anti-India, anti-Modi and/or anti-Hindu activities.

(3) US Lawmakers Unfavourably Disposed

The US Senators and Representatives of Congress had written a letter to President Biden on 20 June asking him to raise the issues like 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 in India, and so on. They particularly claimed that the religious freedom in India was showing worrisome signs with an increase of religious intolerance toward minorities and religiously motivated violence by both private and state actors, citing some dubious organizations and reports in support. A serious look at the profiles of these Congressmen, and their past actions and utterances clearly suggest that a majority of them have a prior history and are biased against India and its leadership either due to ignorance or sheer ideology. The factual position of their claims has already come out in the previous paragraphs; hence the author would only briefly talk about a few prominent senators and Congress representatives as it will be too cumbersome to go into the individual details of all and sundry.

The very first name in the letter is that of Chris Van Hollen, a senator from Maryland since 2017. He appears to be a sort of permanent basher of India and its present leadership, who also reportedly shared a private dinner with Rahul Gandhi earlier this month. In the past also, he had spoken and written to the US Secretary of State about human rights situation in Kashmir, rights of religious minorities, abrogation of Article 370, internet shutdown, preventive detention, CAA, and so on. The next significant name in the list is Pramila Jayapal, the Democratic Party Representative from Washington's 7th congressional district since 2017. She is known since long for her anti-India penchant and anti-Hindu bias, so much so that on the last occasion following her vicious stand against the abrogation of the Article 370, the Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar had refused to see her as part of the US delegation scheduled to meet him. Another important Senator is Bernard Sanders aka Bernie Sanders, the erstwhile Democratic Party challenger to President Biden as presidential nominee, who has criticized India on many occasions and predicted the human rights crisis unfolding after the abrogation of Article 370 and called it “unacceptable”.

Ironically, the two and many others in US have a coloured vision that allows them to constantly see human rights violations in Kashmir (comprised of Jammu, Kashmir Valley & Ladakh regions) while the Indian government endeavors to set things right there. On the contrary, they fail to appreciate or realize the plight of lakhs of Kashmiri Hindus and Sikhs (even when apprised) which were forced to abandon their homes and everything with hundreds of them massacred by the radicalized men, jihadis and terrorists (Muslims) since early 1990s. Similarly, while so much factual background knowledge and credible information is available from the government and even independent sources on different issues like Gujarat riots, the abrogation of the Article 370 on Kashmir and subsequent reforms, Citizen Amendment Act of 2019, proposed National Register of Citizens, etc., but instead of looking for and relying on factual data and information, they go by the hearsay or narratives from the suspect sources including "so-called civil rights organizations with purported agenda", perhaps an age old bias against India is also a factor with some of them. It’s obvious, ignorance can be addressed but ideological bias has no remedy.

(4) Barack Obama Fallacy

The author would personally not like to say much about Barack Obama, or better known as Barack Hussein Obama II, a Democratic Party member and 44th president of the United States for two terms from 2009 to 2017, but his fallacious and farcical statement “if you do not protect the rights of ethnic minorities in India, then there is a strong possibility that India at some point starts pulling apart…” is certainly objectionable, and highly speculative and misplaced, whether he purportedly made it or out of sheer ignorance due to lack of adequate knowledge about India and its complex ethnic diversity despite his long years as president that inter alia included an official visit to India in January 2015 on invitation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend India's 66th Republic Day celebrations as the chief guest among other fixtures. A senior White House administration official later clarified that President Biden has enormous regard for the former president but he is a private citizen and there was no coordination with the White House on his comments on India.

Mr Obama’s opportune conduct and public statement reminds this author of an Indian former Vice-President Mohammad Hamid Ansari (July 2007 – August 2017), a former career diplomat having held many coveted posts and later inducted by the Congress Party in politics. Everything was okay with him till he held office as Vice-President but on the day of relinquishing office in 2017, he made a statement that there is an atmosphere of intolerance and insecurity for Muslims in the country. Ever since he has shared multiple platforms with such organizations as the PFI (Popular Front of India, now banned), IAMC, and so on, which under the garb of “civil rights organization” actually run radical Islamic agenda, some even having links with the jihadis and terrorist outfits. In addition to many past controversies, participating in a panel discussion organized by IAMC, he inter alia said that a new and imaginary cultural nationalism is evolving in India that wants to distinguish the basis of faith, give vent to intolerance, insinuate otherness, and promote disquiet and insecurity. While talking of nationalism, people like Hamid Ansari forget or ignore the bitter reality that many Indian Muslim leaders, maulanas and commoners openly hold that for them religion is first and not the nation.

One wonders if the influential people understand these realities and complexities that current Indian leadership has to account for while working for the inclusive growth of the country. Are they aware that numerous mini pockets have already emerged in various parts of India in seven decades after partition and independence where by virtue of being a majority population in the village or the city area, Muslims put strong resistance and objection to other communities, particularly Hindus, to their right to celebrate festivals, worship, or take out traditional ceremonial procession, etc. In two occasions in the recent past, the community people in the state of Tamil Nadu in certain areas had even approached the High Court to formally issue order to put ban on the worship and procession by minority Hindus citing own religious reasons. Few days back, responding to Mr Obama’s remarks on the rights of Indian Muslims, Johnnie Moore, former Commissioner of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom said that, in his view, the former President Barack Obama should spend his energy complimenting India more than criticizing India. He added that India is the most diverse country in human history; it is not a perfect country, but diversity is its strength. The author would like to add that this ethnic diversity is the product of the ancient Hindu cultural belief of the Vasudhaiva Kutumbkam (Entire world is one family) and, traditionally, India always welcomed persecuted people of different communities from all over world.

(5) Journalist’s Query on Minorities Rights

During the joint press conference, officially only two questions were allowed to the journalists with the stipulation that one question each will be taken by the respective Indian prime minister and US president. Accepting a journalist’s right to ask question, the author would not like to delve upon subsequent backlash for the purportedly asked question and reactions in favour and against Sabrina Siddiqui of the WSJ, but would certainly like to add that there are individual journalists, powerful media houses and journalists' associations in India and US, in fact everywhere; hence there was no express need for the White House administration to stand in support of the controversial journalist.  The response of the Indian Prime Minister about the alleged discrimination against religious minorities, mainly Muslims, is summarized below. The author feels the same is suffice and it doesn’t need further expansion or explanation.

Expressing surprise over some people’s thought that the minorities during his regime were being discriminated against, Mr Modi responded, “Democracy is our spirit. Democracy runs in our veins. We live democracy…our government has taken the basic principles of democracy…we have always proved that democracy can deliver. And when I say deliver, this is regardless of caste, creed, religion, gender. There is absolutely no space for discrimination. Our government runs on the fundamental principles of our Constitution and the basic foundation stone of my government has been ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas’ (i.e. together we go for everyone’s development, with everyone’s trust and efforts).”

Concluding Note

A large number of NGOs and Civil Rights Organizations have been formed with ever increasing numbers in the democratic world to work for the social and political causes as well as human rights and freedom of speech and expression. Some of them are indeed working to achieve these noble causes but the bitter truth is that a large number of these organizations have been infiltrated and even hijacked by the interested and powerful religious institutions, including some state actors promoting a particular ideology, more commonly the left one, and working to promote their overt and covert agenda. In some cases, their agenda is run even by the radical and terrorist organization through proxy with no dearth of greedy people ready to fall for the power and money. When the politicians of certain ilk, so-called liberal-intellectuals and now some journalists also associate with these groups in a symbiotic relationship to promote and work for the mutual benefit and underlying agenda, they become a deadly combination and a force to reckon with. This is what the global ecosystem and their toolkit which is adversely impacting, both nationally and internationally, the developing and democratic countries like India and many others.

The Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s visit to US to muster foreign support for the change of regime at home on the fictitious allegations over the down-sliding of democratic institutions, victimization of minorities, stifling of freedom of expression and rising intolerance as also association with many so-called civil rights groups in US with their suspect credentials, linkages traced out to the radical/terrorist groups, is indeed a serious cause of concern, which may also serve as a bad precedence for future. Among the sixteen so-called civil rights groups, many of them have been visibly engaged in anti-India, anti-Modi and anti-Hindu campaign for the last many years. Many US lawmakers who wrote against Prime Minister Modi have a prior history of anti-India and/or anti-Modi bias for their personal or ideological reasons. Former President Obama has really surprised not only truly secular Indians but even rational thinking Americans. The author would avoid speculation but among a plethora of journalists and multiple crucial subjects of bilateral importance to talk about, the WSJ journalist’s pick is indeed a thought-provoking matter. The crux of the matter and bottom-line is that the ongoing onslaught of anti-India anti-Modi ecosystem & toolkit is not likely to stop or slow down until the crucial parliamentary elections are held in 2024.