ISLAMABAD – For the past two decades India has been enthusiastically fetedin Washington, with politicians across the spectrum eager to nurture analliance between the world’s two largest democracies.
But as Prime Minister Narendra Modi pushes forward his Hindu nationalistagenda, India has suddenly found itself in an unusual position — facingreprimands from the United States.
Few observers expect a serious deterioration of relations, and India’sforeign and defense ministers are due in Washington on Wednesday forwide-ranging talks that could further boost the countries’ militaryrelationship.
Still, Washington’s long reverential tone toward India, including mutedreactions on human rights issues, has shifted after Modi revoked autonomyto Muslim-majority Kashmir and parliament passed a citizenship law thatopponents say discriminates against Muslims.
After the citizenship law’s approval, a State Department spokesperson said:”The United States urges India to protect the rights of its religiousminorities in keeping with India’s constitution and democratic values.”
Sam Brownback, the US envoy on religious freedom, voiced respect forIndia’s institutions. However he said the United States was “concerned”with the citizenship bill, and called on India to “abide by itsconstitutional commitments.”
Criticism has been more strongly worded from outside the administration.
A resolution proposed by Representative Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat born inIndia, urges New Delhi to free people rounded up in Kashmir since autonomywas terminated in August, to lift remaining restrictions on communicationsand to allow human rights observers and foreign journalists to enter.
It also implicitly criticizes India’s rival Pakistan, acknowledging thechallenges from “state-sponsored cross-border terrorism.”
– Call for sanctions –
In the most outspoken criticism, the US Commission on InternationalReligious Freedom called for sanctions to be considered against HomeMinister Amit Shah — a stalwart of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party –over the citizenship bill.
The Commission, which advises the US government but does not set policy,called the bill “a dangerous turn in the wrong direction.”
The citizenship bill has set off deadly protests. Critics, includingopposition figures, say Modi is excluding the country’s 200 million Muslimsfrom a definition of what it means to be Indian.
The Modi government denies that is the intention, saying that the lawfast-tracks citizenship for religious minorities from Pakistan, Bangladeshand Afghanistan and does not include Muslims because they do not need suchprotection in India.
India’s foreign ministry denounced the criticism by the US religiousfreedom commission, saying that anyone regardless of faith can still seekcitizenship through regular channels.
It is “regrettable that the body has chosen to be guided only by itsprejudices and biases on a matter on which it clearly has littleknowledge,” foreign ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar said in a statement.
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India has contacted all members of the House Foreign Affairs Committeeabout Kashmir, telling them that the reforms will stimulate the economy,officials said.
– Impact in question –
Since president Bill Clinton’s landmark 2000 visit to India, the twocountries estranged in the Cold War have been steadily building relations,with New Delhi becoming one of the biggest buyers of US weapons.
The dialogue Wednesday is likely to look for ways to boost economic andstrategic cooperation in the face of a rising China.
Michael Kugelman, a South Asia expert at the Woodrow Wilson InternationalCenter for Scholars, noted that the toughest criticism of India has comefrom institutions with little responsibility for managing US-Indiarelations.
He said that many lawmakers were responding to constituents, includingPakistani-Americans.
But while doubting the overall relationship was in trouble, Kugelman saidthe misgivings were sincere.
“I do think that Washington, like most other Western capitals, holds Indiato a particularly high standard,” Kugelman said.
“I think there is some genuine surprise and disappointment that the world’slargest democracy appears to be undercutting its longstanding andfundamental traditions of secularism, democracy and pluralism,” he said.
President Donald Trump has sent mixed messages. He stunned India in Julywhen he told Pakistan he was ready to mediate on Kashmir, on which NewDelhi has refused outside involvement.
But Trump two months later joined Modi at a joint rally in Houston, wherethe two bonded by vowing together to fight “radical Islamic terrorism.”
A congressional aide said that Trump — both through his words and his ownhardline approach against immigration — had muddled what would have been aunified message, allowing India to cast concerns on its record as comingjust from Democrats.
The aide said there was “totally bipartisan” concern on India’s direction– but acknowledged that US criticism was unlikely to sway Modi.
“Domestic politics are going to rule the day,” he said. -APP/AFP
