In a sharp response to United States (US) Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s comments about “concerning” human rights abuses in India, Indian Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar asserted that New Delhi is also looking into the rising incidents of human rights abuses in the US, referring specifically to hate crimes against the Indian community.
During a joint media briefing following the India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue in Washington on Monday, Blinken noted that the Biden administration is “monitoring some recent concerning developments in India, including a rise in human rights abuses by some government, police, and prison officials,” though he did not offer further detail.
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While replying to a question about Blinken’s comments in a press conference, Jaishankar clarified that the issue of human rights was not discussed at the ‘2+2’meeting, which was largely focussed on “political-military affairs.” He further remarked that while countries are “entitled” to have their opinions about India but added that India, too, is “equally entitled” to have views on such opinions and “the interests, […] the lobbies, and the vote banks” that influence such comments, asserting that New Delhi would not be “reticent about speaking out” about these issues during such discussions.
“I would tell you that we also take our views on other people’s human rights situation, including that of the United States. So, we take up human rights issues when they arise in this country, especially when they pertain to our community. And in fact, we had a case yesterday…that’s really where we stand on that,” he asserted.
India too has concerns about human rights in US : @DrSJaishankar
— Kapil Mishra (@KapilMishra_IND) April 14, 2022
Finally someone has told US a plain simple truth in a plain simple language
This is New India
We are so proud to have you as our foreign minister @DrSJaishankar ji pic.twitter.com/fzhvpzRu4P
Jaishankar was referring to an attack on two Sikh men, aged 76 and 64, who were robbed in New York City on Tuesday. According to the New York Police Department, the incident is being looked into as a hate crime and one suspect has already been arrested. The incident took place just nine days after a similar attack on a 70-year-old Sikh man in the same neighbourhood. Similarly, in January, a Sikh taxi driver was assaulted, with the attacker asking “turbaned people” to “go back to [their] country.”
@MEAIndia @IndianDiplomacy @NYCMayor @EdMermelstein @IndianEmbassyUS pic.twitter.com/Ws5NhHl0uV
— India in New York (@IndiainNewYork) April 12, 2022
According to New York State Assembly member Jenifer Rajkumar, hate crimes against the Indian community in the US have been rising; she claimed that there has been a 200% rise in violence against “the Sikh community in recent years.”
Meanwhile, the US also published a report titled “2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: India,” which highlights “credible reports” of human rights issues, including unlawful and arbitrary killings and government harassment of domestic and international human rights organisations. Furthermore, the report points out that while the government had made some efforts to address these issues, the impunity for official misconduct continues to tarnish “all levels of government.” It also expressed concern about the lack of enforcement of prosecutions, poor training of police officers, and the “overburdened and under-resourced” judicial systems, all of which contribute to the “low number of convictions.”
Similarly, last week, Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar called on US President Joe Biden to criticise Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi’s administration over its human rights record. She urged the Biden administration to be wary of supporting “brutal dictators in the name of having a common enemy,” hinting at the growing cooperation between the countries in an attempt to counter China. In particular, Omar raised concern about the silence on the growing Islamophobia in India, cautioning that the situation could spiral “out of control” like the Rohingya crisis.
US releases its annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. On India mentions the Hathras case. Notes "steps to restore normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir" by gradually lifting "some security and communications restrictions" pic.twitter.com/25MiriGR2b
— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) March 31, 2021
Additionally, in its 2020 Report on International Religious Freedom, the US expressed concern about violence and discrimination against religious minorities in India. In April last year, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom’s (USCIRF) 2021 report said that conditions for religious freedoms in India “continued their negative trajectory” in 2020. The document blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party government for promoting Hindu nationalist policies that have resulted in “systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.”