Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been invited by President
Biden to a formal State Dinner tonight following a speech to a joint session of Congress. While this would have passed
as just another routine state visit, it has enraged many Americans because
Modi is not just another head of state.
The far-right Modi is commonly referred to as the Butcher of Gujarat. According to
a BBC documentary released in January 2023, a British government
investigative team concluded that he was directly responsible for a
pogrom that killed over 2,000 people, mostly Muslims, in 2002. Modi at the time was the Chief Minister of Gujarat, India and because of his
role in this violence, he was banned from entering the United States
for ten years.
Modi and his followers adopt tactics reminiscent of the Nazi playbook
in their efforts to transform India into a Hindu majoritarian nation.
A recent report by Chicago-based human rights organization Justice For
All analyzed twelve points of comparison between German Nazis under
Hitler, and India’s BJP-RSS regime under Modi. The United State
Holocaust Memorial Museum ranks India eighth in its Early Warning
Project which means it is the eighth-most likely, of all countries in
the world, to witness mass killings soon, but does also mention that
killings are ongoing. Genocide Watch has warned that India has reached
Stage 8 of the 10-stage Genocide Model.
Ever since Modi came to power, India which once took pride as the
world’s largest democracy, has witnessed a sharp decline in its
democratic ideals. In its Democracy report 2023 , the Swedish
institution V-Dem listed India as "one of the worst autocracies in
the last ten years." Freedom House has rated India as ’ Partly Free’
in its annual study of political rights and civil liberties
worldwide. In 2023 Reporters Without Borders placed India among the
worst countries in terms of media freedom, ranking it 161 out of 180
countries.
In its 2023 report the United States Commission on International
Religious Freedom recommended India as a Country of Particular Concern
for the 4th consecutive year. The State Department's own reports have
also documented various atrocities aimed at Christians and Muslims in
the country.
In 2023 alone, Prime Minister Modi and his allies expelled the
leader of India’s largest opposition party, shut down the internet in
Punjab and Manipur, burnt more than 249 churches, unleashed communal
violence killing more than 100 people, and issued dozens of open calls
for genocide of Muslims and Christians.
Inviting Modi as the Prime Minister of India is one thing, but
showering excessive praise on him and celebrating his visit with pomp
does not befit the US which has always taken pride in being an
upholder of democratic values, human rights, and religious freedom.
President Biden should hold Modi accountable for the human and
religious rights abuses happening against Indian minorities which include Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, and Dalits. Welcoming a murderer
and facilitator of mass killings with open arms does not befit Biden who promised an emphasis on human rights during his
campaign. The United States cannot be complicit in the crimes of a Nazi-inspired fascist.
