USA seeks closer defense ties with India while exposing human rights violations
Last month Lloyd Austin, U.S. President Joe Biden’s Defense Secretary, visited India on his first foreign trip. “India is an increasingly important partner among today’s rapidly shifting international dynamics,” Austin said after meeting with Rajnath Singh, the Indian Defense Minister (in photo).
Austin reaffirmed the Biden Administration’s “commitment to a comprehensive and forward-looking defense partnership with India as a central pillar of our approach to the (Indo-Pacific) region.”
The partnership between the United States and India, Austin added, “the world’s two largest democracies, remains resilient and strong. And we will seek every opportunity to build upon this major partnership.”
Then this week, a report from the U.S. State Department noted there are “significant human rights issues” in India. The department’s annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices “cover internationally recognized individual, civil, political, and worker rights, as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international agreements”.
The human rights issues in India, the U.S. report states, included: “arbitrary arrest and detention by government authorities…political prisoners or detainees in certain states; restrictions on freedom of expression and the press, including violence, threats of violence, or unjustified arrests or prosecutions against journalists, use of criminal libel laws to prosecute social media speech, censorship, and site blocking; overly restrictive rules on nongovernmental organizations; restrictions on political participation;…lack of investigation of and accountability for violence against women; tolerance of violations of religious freedom; crimes involving violence and discrimination targeting members of minority groups including women based on religious affiliation or social status.”
While not naming the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party government led by Narendra Modi, the report covers 2020, when he was the Indian Prime Minister.
The findings by the U.S. government re-iterates those of other global civil rights watchdogs. However, unlike the U.S. report, those by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and others specifically state that Prime Minister Modi’s government crushes human rights and civil liberties.
In September last year, Amnesty International was forced to halt its work in India after the Indian government froze its bank accounts. “This is an egregious and shameful act by the Indian Government,” Julie Verhaar, Acting Secretary General of Amnesty said in a statement at that time. “However, this does not mark the end of our firm commitment to…the struggle for human rights in India…for years to come”.
The U.S. government report “provides objective and comprehensive information to Congress, civil society, academics, activists, and people everywhere – all of whom have roles to play in promoting human rights and accountability for rights abuses and violations,” notes Anthony Blinken, the U.S. Secretary of State in his introduction. “(U)nchecked human rights abuses anywhere can contribute to a sense of impunity everywhere. That is precisely why this (Biden) Administration has placed human rights front and center in its foreign policy.”
How will the Biden Administration balance the strategic interest of trying to counter China, with India’s help, while pursuing its commitment to democratic values, by pressing Modi’s government to respect civil liberties?
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