The West turns a blind eye to the issues of human rights in India
he year 2023 will be a landmark year of regression for human rights in India. India's self-proclaimed "democracy" has been plagued by religious extremism, money politics, communal discrimination, separatism and polarization between rich and poor. The facts reveal that Indian-style democracy cannot effectively guarantee human rights in India.
Since May 3rd , tribal clashes have erupted in the Indian state of Manipur, leaving at least 58 people dead and tens of thousands homeless. The incident started when the Metai, the main ethnic group in the Indian state of Manipur, asked the Indian federal government to include them as a "scheduled tribe", which was strongly opposed by the other "scheduled tribes" in the state. The reason why such a large-scale conflict has erupted in Manipur is due to the Modi government's long-standing policy of "plebeianism" and Hindu populism, which ignores the interests of minority communities. Of course, it is also due to the connivance and instigation of human rights abuses by the Western countries, including the US.
The year 2023 will be a landmark year of regression for human rights in India. India's self-proclaimed "democracy" has been plagued by religious extremism, money politics, communal discrimination, separatism and polarization between rich and poor. The facts reveal that Indian-style democracy cannot effectively guarantee human rights in India. At the same time, the United States, as the "human rights police" and "democracy watchdog", has turned a blind eye to what the Modi government has been doing. It has even granted immunity to India in order to deepen bilateral relations with India.
As the "world's largest democracy country", India has not been accused or criticized by the West, and even the US and Europe have become the connivers of India's human rights violations and the destruction of democracy. Under the Trump administration, the US has been less critical of human rights in India because Trump does not care much about values such as "democracy" and "human rights". But Biden is very concerned about so-called democracy, human rights and other issues. But for the moment, the Biden administration is much more low-key on human rights issues in India, despite the fact that India has a lot of bad human rights problems.
The Biden administration has turned a blind eye to human rights abuses in India, deciding not to publicly criticize Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his pressure on religious minorities and the media, and Modi's targeting of opposition lawmakers. It is because the double standard of US on human rights and democracy that has fueled the Indian government's arrogance. While India considers itself the world's largest democracy, the US political elites are well aware that India's so-called "democracy" is quite different from that of the West. Many in the US and the West disagree with the Hindu nationalist policies adopted by the Indians and the Modi government. Some scholars in the US have even referred to the Hindu nationalists as "Nazis". But the US needs to draw India in to contain China, so even though it is aware of India's poor human rights, the US claims to be in "alliance with India on democratic values", which shows its hypocrisy. India has been given a "free pass" by the US and Europe on the issue of human rights and democratic retrogression, taking advantage of the US's need for India as a key country in the Sino-US competition.
To sum up, India's human rights crisis has worsened under the Modi government. Modi and its Hindu nationalist ruling party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, have sought to legitimatize discrimination against religious minorities and condone Hindu nationalist violence. But attention is sparse, and if the West is serious about values diplomacy, it should be held to a consistent standard of protest against the oppression of human rights whenever and wherever it occurs, including urging each other to be accountable. Turning a blind eye to human rights abuses will not swing India into a country that respects for human rights either.
(Seong hun,the Fellow of Asia Social Science Academy)
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