Although you may have already seen it in the comments on the sidebar, this is an important enough issue that I’m elevating it to a full post. A spokesman at the US Embassy in New Delhi announced that Chief Minister Modi has had his Visa DENIED [see previous posts 1,2]. This is a huge victory for grass roots activism (props to CAG) and I hope it will serve as a great example of Hindu/Muslim unity within the U.S. From Rediff:
The US has denied visa to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to visit the country, apparently because of Gujarat riots.
Modi has been denied diplomatic visa and his tourist/business visa already granted has also been revoked as per the US Immigration and Nationality Act, a spokesman of the US Embassy in New Delhi said.
The CM was to pay a five-day visit to the US from March 20.
Modi is expected to address a press conference at 1400 IST to give his reactions.
“We can confirm that Chief Minister of Gujarat state Narendra Modi applied for, but was denied, the diplomatic visa under Section 214 (b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act because he was not coming for the purpose that qualified for a diplomatic visa,” the spokesman said.
“His tourist/business visa was revoked under Section 212 (a) (2) (g) of the Act, which makes any government official who was responsible for, or directly carried out, at any time, particularly severe violations of religious freedom, ineligible for visa,” he added.
Assuming that the U.S. Embassy in India was working under orders from the Bush Administration, this means that Bush and the State Department are officially recognizing Modi as someone who committed a “violation of religious freedom,” thus acknowledging the validity of the State Department’s own assessment. If Karen Hughes is as on the ball as we expect her to be, then she better “use” this.
The other issue here that everyone seems to be overlooking is the predicament of the AAHOA. Indian Americans own an obscenely disproportionate number of hotels in this country in relation to the percentage of our population. There is SO MUCH untapped political muscle (or “capital”) there that was completely wasted on misguided efforts to bring over Modi. Now the AAHOA have been made to looks like fools.
In my opinion the last few weeks have also highlighted a generational difference between first and second generation Indians Americans. Most of the hotel owners are Hindu Indian immigrants whereas (I’m willing to bet) most of the people protesting Modi and working to thwart his entrance were Muslims, as well as the sons and daughters of those Hindu Indian immigrants, who were born (or at least raised) in America. For the most part, our parents that emigrated from India are politically apathetic at best and complacent at worst. I bet you (or maybe I just hope) that there were quite a few dinner conversations over the past few weeks between young Indian Americans, and their hotel owning parents who didn’t see what the big deal was. Whether I am correct in my assumptions or not, it was still great seeing Hindus and Muslims in America work together in order to thwart Modi.
Note: DarkDaysAhead has more on this latest news.
For the record, I’d like to state that I am a first generation Indian American (if I may even call myself that after 2 years here…do you need a greencard to qualify?) and in my group of FOB friends, barring a small but vocal minority EVERYONE thinks modi is an A*hole of the first order.
So while previous generations of 1st generation IAs might have been complacent towards politics and freedom of religion, the new generation isn’t.
This is great news. People have to know that they are being watched by the world and their actions will always be noticed and acted upon.
God Bless the USA
From Rediff via Sulekha
Did this letter stop Modi?
March 18, 2005
A spokesman of the US embassy in New Delhi said Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has been denied a diplomatic visa and his tourist/business visa already granted had been revoked as per the US Immigration and Nationality Act.
Following is the text of a letter United States Congressman from Pennsylvania Joe Pitts and 21 other US Congressmen sent Secretary of State Dr Condoleezza Rice requesting that Modi be denied permission to enter the US ‘due to numerous reports of his involvement in horrific human rights violations in India.’
Published verbatim.
March 7, 2005
The Honorable Dr Condoleezza Rice Secretary of State US Department of State 2201 C Street, NW Washington, DC 20520
Dear Secretary Rice:
We are writing to raise our deep concern about the upcoming visit of Mr Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of the state of Gujarat, India. As you may know, Mr Modi has been invited to be the chief guest at the annual conference of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association to be held in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida from March 24-26, 2005. We respectfully request that the US government deny Mr Modi entry to the United States due to numerous reports of his involvement in horrific human rights violations in India.
As you may know, Mr Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat during the 2002 riots in which over 2,000 Indian Muslims and non-Hindus lost their lives. Since that time, reports suggest that over 100,000 people remain displaced and are unable to return to their homes or communities. Numerous inquiries by Indian officials and non-government organisations have determined that the state government in Gujarat, led by Chief Minister Modi, provided leadership and material support for the rape and murder of over 2,000 people, including women and young children, and the destruction of homes, businesses and resources primarily belonging to Indian Muslims. Mr Modi made public statements and directed official actions seemingly calculated at justifying his orders to increase attacks on and kill religious minorities while ordering the police not to interfere.
After an extensive investigation of the violence in Gujarat, Human Rights Watch stated that the “attacks against Muslims (and other religious minorities) in Gujarat have been actively supported by state (BJP) government officials and by the police.”
In addition, The Citizens Tribunal in India, led by retired Supreme Court Justice V R Krishna Iyer, concluded that the state government of Gujarat under the leadership of Chief Minister Narendra Modi was responsible for the violence perpetrated against religious minorities in Gujarat in 2002. Furthermore, the US Department of State reported that in “Gujarat, there continued to be credible evidence of prejudice in favor of Hindus and an unwritten policy of impunity against the perpetrators of the 2002 religious violence.”
Chief Minister Narendra Modi and his government have obstructed attempts to bring the perpetrators of the 2002 violence to justice. Mr Modi and his administration closed the files on over 2,000 police cases where the non-Hindu victims filed reports of rapes, killings and destruction of their property. The Gujarat state administration claimed there was no evidence to prosecute those cases. However, most of the people named in cases against the police are associated with Mr Modi’s political party.
In a recent unprecedented order, the Supreme Court of India ordered the reopening of all those cases to be tried in a neighbouring state by a special bench of judges. The Supreme Court of India called Mr Modi a “modern day Nero” and warned him not to meddle with the proceeding of the trials.
Furthermore, the US State Department has discussed in one of its reports the role of Chief Minister Narendra Modi and his government in promoting attitudes of racial supremacy, racial hatred and the legacy of Nazism through his government’s support of school textbooks in which Nazism is condoned.
For example, in a high school social studies textbook, the “charismatic personality” of “Hitler the Supremo” and the “achievements” of Nazism are described at length. The textbook does not even acknowledge Nazi extermination policies or concentration camps except for a passing reference to “a policy of opposition towards the Jewish people and [advocacy for] the supremacy of the German race.”
In addition to his reported culpability in the Gujarat riots and his promotion of racist ideology, there are widespread reports of Mr Modi’s leadership of the harassment of Christian religious and educational organizations over a number of years. Further, on a daily basis Chief Minister Modi and his government actively harass Christian leaders and Christian religious organizations who are involved in the relief and rehabilitation work of the victims of violence by extremist Hindus.
Even further, Mr Modi ordered a census, ruled illegal by the Gujarat High Court, of the Christian community — the same action he took prior to the orchestrated attacks on Muslims in 2002. Even Indian Hindus who oppose Modi’s violent tactics against the religious minorities are harassed and intimidated by state authorities. And, under his leadership, the state of Gujarat passed an anti-conversion law in strong violation of the Indian Constitution and international human rights norms to which India is a party.
We are deeply concerned that a visit to the United States by Chief Minister Modi is in violation of the International Religious Freedom Act and will provide tacit approval of his reprehensible statements, policies and actions that violate the core of the fundamental human rights upon which our nation is founded. We respectfully request your leadership in publicly condemning his actions and policies by denying Chief Minister Narendra Modi the right to enter our country.
Thank you for your attention to this serious matter. We look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely, Congressman Joe Pitts
Now that truly is a b*tchslap.
I am glad the US State Department did the right thing. Shout out to all Indian Americans and others who worked very hard to bring this about. I think that Modi’s fate was sealed by his support for the Nazis more than anything else.
Ajju, You stated “barring a small but vocal minority EVERYONE thinks modi is an A*hole of the first order” Hmmm I just surfed some Indian websites ( not Indian American) and most of the people posting comments are pretty pissed about Modi being denied a visa. I do understand that this is not a scientific survey of what people are thinking, but it sure is a good indication.
Al Mujahid
Take a tour around a random sample of Muslim websites and you would get the impression that every Muslim in the world is a frothing at the mouth anti-semitic psycho. Do the same about Sikhs and see the Khalistani grubs mangling words and truth and you can say the same thing. Try it.
For all of you who thinks it is Modi who has been b*tch slapped think again. Modi has not been convicted of any legal wrong doing by the indian constitution, so what the US has done is basically a slap to india and an insult to its constitution. For the record I think Modi is an asshole too, but that’s besides the point, this sets a bad precedent, the US is playing into another country’s internal politics and that is not good. For that matter what right do the leaders of bangladesh or pakistan have to visit the US then?? These are two countries that have virtually wiped all of their minorities out. As we speak Pakistan is indulging in a brutal suppression of their baloch minorities. Just my opinion on the hypocrisy being shown
I completely agree with Ajju. The group of academics who wrote in to the state department were nearly all first generation Indians. My experience with first generation Indians in academia is that they are almost exclusively opposed to according Modi anything other than jail time.
Secular leftism is alive and well in India and among Indians in the US.
Punjabi Boy, Whats your point ? That people who post online comments do not represent their communities ? No is one is asserting that they do.
I watched Modi’s press conference live on TV. He looked dull, and was talking about the US double standards — “the US allows entry of many genociders, why single out me?” seemed to be the key point! He also said that the US Govt was under pressure from “terrorist sponsored” groups to deny him entry.
Al Mujahid
Dont act like sophist. You know what my point was.
While I applaud the State Department for denying Modi his visa, I only wish the Indian government had the same backbone and not invite Musharaff to India. Is cricket so important that several hundred dead Indian soldiers from Kargil and countless victims of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism are easily forgotten?
KXB,
your logic is ridiculous. The Indian-Pakistan peace process should not be held hostage to people with little brusied egos.
Its serious business and encompasses the dreams of billions of people. Peace in South Asia right now is not in the hands of ijiots like you, and thats why its going somewhere.
Take the petty little tit for tat with no releavence to anything else, and CRY TO MOMMY. Do not ruin the future of billions of other people who have other things to worry about then if you feel put down.
sincerely.
BURN modi BURN! A-holes like these don’t deserve to be in the government. To bad they get elected because of the intense corruption in Indian politics.
Personally I feel Modi and the likes do not deserve any position in Government or any public place. Saying that I also think Musharraf also does not deserve to be invited to India. Its like giving milk to snake. All you get out of it is venom. Just pull the fangs of this ugly snake out.
Good. I’m glad his visa was denied.
Yes, hypocrisy abounds but doing the right thing is more important than mere consistency. We let Gerry Adams into the country and Musharraf, but that doesn’t mean we should let Modi come in.
Raju, may I respectfully say that you are being a bit hard on KXB? The goverment of Pakistan (or at least elements of the military, which on many occasions amounts to the same thing) is responsible for arming and training fighters who cross the LOC and are responsible for the death of innocents. I don’t think the death of innocents amounts to ‘bruised little egos.’ I understand that in order for diplomacy to succeed, India has to deal with people that have blood on their hands: I just don’t see why it is wrong to point out that they, er, have said blood on their hands.
Quote ” Is cricket so important that several hundred dead Indian soldiers from Kargil and countless victims of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism are easily forgotten? “
I should add a hindi quote “Sau chuhe mar ke Billi chali haj ko”
Its one thing to be saddened by loss of life but its another to be using the deaths of people as pawns. how in the world does Kargil fit into this news item?
Raju,
Peace process held hostage to bruised egos? Is this the impression you got when talking to thousand of Pandit families living in squalor in Jammu refugee camps? Or the widow of the young man stabbed to death on the Indian Airlines flight that was hijacked?
The biggest mistake you make is confusing a cricket match with a peace process. See if you can follow me here – sports have never settled differences between countries. Did Nazi Germany roll over and die when Jesse Owens showed them that “Aryan Supermen” were no match for him? Did the US beating the USSR in Olympic hockey in 1980 make the Soviets open their eyes to their corrupt system?
So, you’ll have to forgive me if I believe it highly unlikely that Musharaff will attend the match and think, “Gosh, looks at those cricket stars. Makes me want to go back to Pakistan, and start arresting all those terrorist chiefs that I have not bothered to arrest for six years.”
KXB your choice of examples shows your bias. There is a lot of human suffering in South Asia and there are more than a few examples.
Anything that brings South Asia closer and not further away from a legitimate peace process is a good idea.
And yeah, you know what, those cricket matches probably are doing good, because they’ve allowed people from both countries to visit each other.
MD if he was talking about Kargil for the sake of Kargil, or the people who died there, I’d never call it a case of bruised egos
Jorg Haider had been denied a visa earlier. Now, Narendra and Jorg can sit down and reminisce fondly of nazi greatness and genocide glory.
KXB, The problem with Musharraf is not what we did in Kargil. The problem is what he may or may not be doing now. ‘Blood on hands’ gets you nowhere. Ariel Sharon is now making peace with PLO. Tony Blair made peace with the IRA. Soon USA will be dealing with Hizbullah. I however do agree with you, that if Musharraf is continuing to support the terrorists in Kashmir, one could argue that watching a cricket game is not going to solve anything.
I’m especially proud to be an American today.
Another thing I wanted to point out. A few people, although excited about what happened today, were wondering why it hadn’t happened SOONER. Keep in mind that the Sec. of State Rice was just in India. Even if she had gotten the request from the two congressman (because congressmen are the only people that matter) to deny Modi’s Visa it would not have been in her interests to do so while she was discussing other matters of state. It would have distracted from her agenda in the Indian Press. It’s all about timing.
Here is another ironic twist I’d like to point out from this article:
The problem with that is that the Prime Minister’s own daughter works for the ACLU in the U.S. I’d love to sit in on that father/daughter chat. 🙂
Its good to watch them squirm.
I think USA denying visa to modi and the way they have done it is wrong.check out my response here http://jackofall.blogspot.com/2005/03/b-slapping-modi.html
KXB, your logic is indeed ridiculous.how come you are asking the indian govt to deny the visa for musharaff and don’t say anything about the US double standard on granting visa for musharaff and not for modi.
I’m especially proud to be an American today.
Ugh. I was just trying to stay out of the fray for once, but you drew me in, Manish.
I already wrote about how I feel conflicted about this, but to sum up: I did feel that, although that this was a slap in the face to Modi as well as to Indians in general, particularly given the human rights record of the United State (how many faces complicit in slavery or genocide do we have on our money?). I’m not going to say this wasn’t a good thing, but I’m also not particularly proud to be an American as a result.
It takes no nuance to take a stand against an accomplice to mass murder. It’s not Dubya I’m pleased with here, it’s the State Dep’t. And frankly, the censure should be coming from India, not the U.S.; it’s a national shame India hasn’t carried out its own garbage in either Gujarat or the Sikh riots.
By the way, the congressman’s complaint that Modi is preventing conversion to Christianity is hilarious– it’s a side issue relative to the scale of the murderous riots, and he was playing to the evangelicals in the administration.
This was not a slap to India. As the heading of this post says, it was a slap to Modi as an individual. A well-deserved one.
But keep in mind what this means for Indian politics. Modi is damaged goods, internationally speaking. So while he may still have some pull within Gujarat, his value on a larger political stage in India is diminished.
In the case of Musharaff being invited to the U.S., that is indeed a bitter pill to swallow. I can understanding having to invite him, but calling him a voice for moderation in the Muslim world is a bit much.
Now, how does that square with my earlier post about Musharaff? Well, if he wants to come to negotiate Kashmir, that’s one thing – then you have to talk to him. But India did not have to invite him to watch cricket.
I think it was a slap to India as well, for not taking out their own garbage, as Manish says.
The difference between Modi and Musharraf is that Musharraf represents a country that India would like to have peace with. At some point, some government is going to have to overlook past mistakes of people on the other side (as also someone is Pakistan is going to have to put aside India’s mistakes) and come to the table to discuss stuff.
Also understand that emotions are big in diplomacy. In the end inviting Musharraf (and Pakistani citizens) to the match helps improve our image on the other side of the border and strengthen friendship, in some form. This friendship is necessary because people on both sides of the border will have to digest some not so delicious compromises if long term peace is to be achieved.
” complaint that Modi is preventing conversion to Christianity is hilarious– it’s a side issue relative to the scale of the murderous riots, and he was playing to the evangelicals in the administration.”
I dont think it is hillarious. I think it is the dangerous reality of American elected leaders doing proxy religious conquest of other people thru’ their evangelical connections. See the truth comes out, this American congressman couldnt care less if poor hardworking and innocent muslims in Ahmedabad got killed. All he cares for is that evangelical conquest. Indians (or atleast those who wish to lobby for India) should be able to see thru’ their game.
Good that Modi has been brought to light. Because of him the whole ‘quam’ (of Hindutva) is being demonized.
L.K. Advani and Vajpayee had to take drastic steps to keep Modi under check. Modi does not represent Hindutva – Vajpayee does.
It takes no nuance to take a stand against an accomplice to mass murder.
Agreed. That’s why I did, in those simple terms. If you want to put it even more bluntly, you could accurately call it mass murder on the basis of religion…which some might call genocide.
But to stick to mass murder for now, by the same principle, we should probably stop paying federal taxes to the U.S. government and encourage the Indian government to deny visas to Dick Cheney, who was Reagan’s Secretary of Defense while he was arming “dictators of the right” and Donald Rumsfeld, who was Reagan’s envoy to Iraq and helped get Saddam Hussein armed.
It’s not Dubya I’m pleased with here, it’s the State Dep’t.
You think George Bush doesn’t get consulted when a high level official from a strategic competitor of the Untied States has his visa revoked? Either way, Condoleeza Rice is nothing to write home about either.
Anyway, that’s not the point; the point is something along the lines of what you said: the censure should be coming from India, not the U.S.. By which I would mean the U.S. government, and I assume you did too.
I do have trouble employing moral clarity, which, to your credit, you don’t seem to. However, I think a little nuance here helps. Like most geoplitical and social change affairs, is a lot more convuluted in the long term than it appears on the surface. My aim in protesting Modi was not just accountability for Modi, but how to move forward to reduce the power of and defanaticize Hindu politics in India. Otherwise, the other Modis will have even more power to conduct more Gujarats. Stoking anti-Americanism that the BJP and other Sangh groups can politically benefit from does nothing to help that cause.
how to move forward to reduce the power of and defanaticize Hindu politics in India
You are assuming the campaigners (CAG) dont share this goal. They do, and thats why such a strong lobby.
Evangelism sucks. I don’t like the way it’s done in a lot of tribal areas in India in a quid-pro-quo fashion. But the fact is that if the government doesnt take care of the basic amenities of those tribals, its a free market out there. Someone will. And an abstract thing like religion is often a small price to pay for food, schools and hospitals for most of these people.
First disclosure – I am NO Modi fan. And I am not from Gujarat either.
But I think that the US has crossed the line here. Although it is a country’s discretionary right to deny a visa; this particular act is in a way an insult to the Indian constitution and judicial system. And therfore I predict that the reprecussions of this will be far and beyond.
Also, some of you have made comments about this being an end to Modi’s political career. Not to disappoint you, but Indian politics doesn’t exactly work that way !
The other issue here that everyone seems to be overlooking is the predicament of the AAHOA. Indian Americans own an obscenely disproportionate number of hotels in this country in relation to the percentage of our population. There is SO MUCH untapped political muscle (or “capitalâ€Â) there that was completely wasted on misguided efforts to bring over Modi. Now the AAHOA have been made to looks like fools.
Well, this is one of those times when it’s pretty clear that just because they’re Indian, that doesn’t mean they’re okay. But hey–if someone wants to go organize (wealthy?) Gujarati hotel owners, more power to you.
In any case, what I heard is that this Modi controversy, plus some other preexisting $hit, has gotten the AAHOA leadership in trouble and we soon may have a less-fanatical hotel owners association to look forward to 🙂
VM, This is what they mean when they say “American style democracy”. God save Iraq from this “freedom and democracy”
The courts may not have indicted him, but he’s the same person who quoted Newton’s third law – ‘every action has an equal and opposite reaction’ to justify the attack on Muslims. As Chief Minister it was his duty to protect all the citizens, irrespective of his personal prejudices. Not only did he fail his duty, he condoned criminal acts while in power, and that IMHO is the real slap to our constitution.
But the fact is that if the government doesnt take care of the basic amenities of those tribals, its a free market out there.
To do that the Indian Govt. needs Money. Look at the following article from Times Of India. I dont have a link but I did saved the text.
Author: Inder Sawhney
Publication: The Times of India
Date: August 16, 1999
Christian missionaries and allied groups continue to be largest recipients of foreign funds. They received Rs 15.88 crore (75.69 per cent of the total foreign funds) in April-June this year compared with Rs 11.41 crore during the corresponding period last year and Rs 12.67 crore in the first quarter.
A study of the receipt of foreign funds by religious/ non-political organizations and other groups in April-June, based on Intelligence reports gathered by the Home ministry, indicates a sharp increase to Rs 20.98 crore compared with Rs 14.02 crore during the corresponding period in 1998.
The US with donations of Rs 4.10 crore (as against Rs 2.26 crore during the same period in 1998) displaced Germany as the leading donor. In the first quarter of 1999 also, the US was the highest donor with Rs 3.31 crore.
In the second quarter of this year, Kerala received the largest amount (Rs 3.09 crore) followed by Himachal Pradesh (Rs 2.87 crore), West Bengal (Rs 2.73 crore) Maharashtra (Rs 1.69 crore), Andhra Pradesh Rs 1.3 crore and Karnataka Rs 1.2 crore. Rajasthan was the lowest, accounting for a mere Rs 4,000.
Non-political organizations were the other major recipients of foreign funds (Rs 1.38 crore) followed by Muslim organizations which got Rs 64.13 lakh compared with Rs 23.06 lakh received by them in the second quarter of 1998.
According to the study, there was a fall in the receipt of funds by non-denominational organizations, including “pseudo-religious†bodies. They received Rs 22.99 lakh in the second quarter of this year against Rs 70.99 lakh in the corresponding period last year.
Wonder why, even with so much funding, the evangelicals have not been able to covert a lot of Hindus and Muslims to Christianity?
an abstract thing like religion is often a small price to pay for food, schools and hospitals for most of these people.
Questions of culture, individual autonomy aside, why should people have to subject themselves to religious proseletyzation to eat? How about just making sure the government has enough money to provide for the peeps, rather than relying on the invisible hand in the form of missionaries (Hindu and Christian alike).
rather than relying on the invisible hand in the form of missionaries (Hindu and Christian alike)
Dude… looks like you are ABCD. There are no Hindu Missionaries. Tribals living in India are Hindus. Trying to protect them from being converted to Christianity is not proselytizying.
By denying Modi a visa, I dont feel as if the US have overstepped their boundaries for once. Its not as if the US is implementing economic sanctions towards India until Modi is arrested (now that would be overstepping boundaries).His complacency towards the riots and the non-Hindu victims is reprehensible. And if it is a slap in the face of India- then good. Maybe India needs a wake up call in this matter. I am tired of overhyped patriotism and over sensitivity towards protecting our “honor” constantly overshadowing issues of human right violations.
Two things
1) I find the concept of ‘Protecting people from religion X’ to be slightly funny. But in any case, its true that historically Hinduism has not been an a missionary religion.
Saurav,I was just pointing out things as they are. Of course having food to eat and what religion to follow should be disjoint things. “Making sure government has enough money” is not a small problem, beleive it or not – we have been trying to solve that one since there have been governments.
Sachin, Saurav was trying to be fair. And please stop using ABCD as a derogatory term – you will be surprised to find that there are american born indians who know far more about India than you. Stop generalizing.
2) I totally see the U.S. government’s hypocrisy in doing this – considering that they themselves support regimes like Saudi Arabia. But let’s take a look at their options
a) Stop supporting countries like Saudi AND not allowing Modi
b) Continuing to support Saudi and disallowing Modi
c) Continuing to support Saudi and allowing Modi
Of course a) is the ideal but surely you can see that b is better than c. Everyone should be perfect, but if they waited till they were before pointing out other people’s mistakes – we would never be able to punish anyone’s mistakes.
Now someone else, maybe the Indian government should make the US see its hypocrisy by denying a Visa to Rumsfeld for supporting Iraq. I wish that could happen.
are you kidding me? i hope that was a tongue in cheek comment.
if you really do believe that, read this. If they were doing that overseas, imagine what the VHP was doing in India. I agree that protection from proselytization is a good thing, but there are certainly Hindu missionaries. Whenever it is possible to assimilate individuals to increase an organization’s power and control, there will always be people pushing that assimilation.