Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit has fueled concerns from activist groups that the Biden administration is putting human rights on the back burner.
During the visit, President Biden held back from public criticism of Modi’s handling of human rights and democratic values — issues that prompted some progressive lawmakers to boycott his speech at a joint address to Congress. .
The president, instead, rolled out the red carpet for Modi with a celebratory welcome and hug, a 21-gun salute and a state dinner with distinguished guests at the White House, a charm offensive. which emphasized India’s economic and foreign policy importance to the United States.
Biden previously came under fire in July for a fistfight with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a visit to Jeddah that supporters argued effectively ignored the Saudi government’s human rights abuses.
White House officials argue that tough conversations with allies behind closed doors — including Modi — are more productive than grandstanding and public criticism.
“The prime minister and I had a good discussion about democratic values. … We are frank with each other, and – and we respect each other,” Biden said at a press conference with Modi at the White House on Thursday.
But critics say there is little pressure on governments and leaders like Modi to actually deliver reforms.
The Indian leader in particular has been criticized for failing to combat anti-Muslim hatred and cracking down on civil liberties and freedom of the press – issues that strike at the core of respect for democratic governments.
“I would argue that the administration needs to be more clear about backsliding allies, practically committing themselves to fundamental freedoms and respect for human rights as the basis of a changing world order,” he said. Tess McEnery, who previously served as Biden’s director for democracy. and human rights in the National Security Council.
During his campaign, Biden put human rights at the center of his foreign policy message and identified strengthening democracy — at home and abroad — as key to pushing back against autocratic governments like Russia and China.
But to push back against Russia and China, the US also needs allies. And that has complicated human rights efforts.
The White House sees India as an indispensable partner in its China strategy; its population of 1.4 billion people is the only market that can compete with Beijing.
India represents a necessary partner in the administration’s efforts to diversify supply chains from China for critical materials such as semiconductors and rare earth minerals that are the building blocks. of technologies.
Modi acknowledged the power India wields in his address to Congress on Thursday.
“If India’s defense and aerospace industries grow, industries in the states of Washington, Arizona, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania will grow. … If Indians fly more, an order for airplanes will generate more than one million jobs in 44 states of America,” he said. “When an American phone manufacturer invests in India, it creates an entire ecosystem of jobs and opportunities in both country.”
The loudest applause from Congress came when Modi said the US was one of India’s “most important defense partners” – a key statement given American efforts to distance New Delhi from dependence. of the Russian defense industry and will serve as a bulwark against China. growing military.
Modi’s hospitality also has political benefits for the country.
The US is home to more than an Indian-American community of more than 4.5 million people – a key voting bloc that the president hopes to hold ahead of what is likely to be a full 2024 presidential election.
“I think that President Biden is eager not to cede any, sort of, Indian-American community vote to the Republican Party,” said Daniel Markey, senior adviser on South Asia at the United States Institute of Peace ( USIP).
Republicans and Democrats in Congress are largely united in support of a strong partnership between the US and India. A bipartisan and bicameral group introduced legislation on Thursday to facilitate arms sales to India in recognition of Modi’s visit.
And while more than 70 House and Senate lawmakers raised concerns about Modi’s human rights record in a letter to Biden ahead of the visit, more than a few progressive Democratic lawmakers boycotted the prime minister’s speech.
“We are told that we must now turn a blind eye to repression because of foreign policy concerns, even though human rights should be at the center of our foreign policy,” Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) said during a policy briefing he hosted human rights activists after Modi’s speech, which he boycotted.
Among the most pressing criticisms against Modi’s rule is the criminal conviction against India’s opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, who was sentenced to two years in prison for using Modi’s surname negatively at a rally in politics in 2019.
Advocates have also warned about freedom of speech and press freedom in India following a tax raid on the BBC’s Indian offices in March, and cases of journalists being jailed.
Freedom House, a non-governmental organization that tracks democratic freedoms around the world, rated India as “partly free” in its Freedom in the World report for 2023. The group claimed that Modi’s government and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party “conducted policies of discrimination and an increase in persecution affecting the Muslim population.”
“The constitution guarantees civil liberties including freedom of expression and freedom of religion, but harassment of journalists, non-governmental organizations, and other critics of the government has increased dramatically under Modi,” they wrote in the group.
Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), co-chairman of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, argued that a balance can be achieved between calling out human rights concerns while also supporting US-Indian relations.
“Because we value our friendship with the people of India we also need to tell the truth about the ongoing human rights abuses in India, well documented by credible observers and deeply troubling,” he said. him in the policy briefing initiated by Omar.
“We are not raising these issues to malign India,” he continued. “We raise them because we know from our own experience that if human rights problems are not faced and solved, they will worsen and deepen and damage the promise of a country.”
Markey, of USIP, said the Biden administration was bracing for an explosion in its decision to keep criticism against Modi private, but added that excessive references to sharing gratitude for democratic governance were not favor
“I think they have gone further than they should have, for Indian consumption,” he said.
“They leaned on the shared-democracy issue, rather than retreating from it,” Markey added. “They give a lot of ammunition to those who suggest it’s pure hypocrisy at this point, rather than something around it.”
McEnery, who is now the executive director of the Project on Middle East Democracy, said the Biden administration should elevate the defense of democracy and human rights to an “interest” more than a value.
That means making trade and economic agreements centered on the principles of good governance, he said, or reforming arms and security relations based on human rights.
“I’ve seen it firsthand, where many good, hard-working people within every arm of the US government, including the National Security Council, have tried to make the case for democracy and human rights as a vital national interest. security,” he said. . “And I see that being shot down regularly by others across the government.”
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