The new US President, Joe Biden, has pledged to make human rights a central feature of American foreign policy, generating questions about whether India will be one of the countries that bear the brunt of this shift from the Donald Trump administration. Over the past few years, the Narendra Modi-led government has repeatedly faced criticism for its treatment of its minority Muslim community due to the political crisis in Kashmir and the passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in 2019. Now, once again, the international community is expressing its concern about the ongoing farmers’ protests in the country’s capital. Therefore, despite Modi’s pledge to “work closely” with the new US President, there may be some concerns in New Delhi that India, which enjoyed a sense of immunity from criticism against its domestic policies during the Trump administration, is set to receive a more profound challenge on this front. However, New Delhi remains a key strategic partner to Washington, meaning that the Biden administration’s criticisms of India’s human rights record are likely to be superficial in order to preserve India’s status as a crucial counterweight to China.
During his presidency, Trump remained entirely unconcerned about the rights violations conducted by governments across the world, unless it furthered his security and defence ambitions. In fact, during his visit to India last February, Trump did not even acknowledge the widespread violence in New Delhi that overlapped with his trip, refusing to wade in on India’s sovereign affairs and saying that he trusted PM Modi to handle the situation appropriately.
In contrast, the new administration has vowed to adopt what some would term a more invasive foreign policy approach, as evidenced by Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris during their electoral campaign. In the run-up to the election, Biden pledged to urge the Indian government to “restore rights for all the people of Kashmir.” Harris, meanwhile, took an even stronger stand on the issue, saying, “We have to remind Kashmiris that they are not alone in the world.” The Biden campaign documents also expressed their “disappointment” with the Indian government’s decision to pass the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
However, despite this initial bluster, since the duo have come into power, these issues have taken a backseat, with most foreign policy discussions on India being limited to boosting defence and security ties, specifically in the Indo-Pacific. This strongly suggests that any further human rights abuses conducted by the Indian government are likely to go unaddressed by the American side once again.
Following Biden’s election, several Indian commentators expressed concern about the Biden-led administration taking a “softer approach” on China compared to Trump, who seemingly took China to task at every turn. These concerns are a likely consequence of his Democratic predecessors’ foreign policy approach to China, which has often been criticised for being too feeble and enabling the rise of the hawkish superpower we see today. China’s vindictive trade practices, aggressive territorial manoeuvres across the Indo-Pacific, neo-colonialistic practices through the Belt and Road Initiative, and its “debt trap” diplomacy have resulted in the Asian giant emerging as the primary rival for the US and its allies’ defence and security interests, particularly in the Indo-Pacific.
Hence, for the US, strengthening India as an effective counterbalance to China is a greater priority than its commitment to human rights. In pursuance of this, earlier this month, the US government declassified a document titled “United States Strategic Framework for the Indo-Pacific”. The document unveiled the country’s long-running strategy to bolster India’s position as a strategic defence power to equalise China’s growing influence in Asia. In this context, the erstwhile National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien singled India out as a “key partner” in achieving this, with China being termed as one of the biggest threats for the US and its allies in the Indo-Pacific. With the strategic and geographic significance of India in the region, the American administration is unlikely to endanger this flourishing friendship.
Moreover, although the document was published during the Trump administration, Biden’s team has indirectly expressed its commitment to take this vision further. This week, O’Brien’s replacement, Jake Sullivan, spoke with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval, wherein the two discussed their commitment to “an open and inclusive world order”, with a focus on the Indo-Pacific. Further, they agreed to work towards the expansion of the “Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership”. On the same day, the recently appointed US Secretary of Defence, General Lloyd Austin, spoke with Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. During their telephonic conversation, the pair agreed to enhance the “multifaceted India-US defence cooperation and strategic partnership.” These preliminary high-level meetings clearly demonstrated how the Biden administration aims to strengthen the security and defence arrangements advanced by the Trump administration, wherein human rights concerns are deprioritised.
The exclusion of human rights from the Biden administration’s interactions with India cannot be described as coincidental or attributed to the fact that he has just entered office and is finding his bearings. For example, the Biden administration has already vowed to impose sanctions on Chinese officials who have been involved in human rights abuses in Tibet. Furthermore, the President has also spoken against the Chinese government’s abuses against the Uighur Muslims and its aggression in Taiwan, and has pledged to formulate his foreign policy with China around these issues. Ultimately, Biden’s commitment to human rights, like his predecessor, is informed by the US’ security and defence ambitions, not its moral compass or obligations.
Moreover, even if this silence is broken, the concerns about issues such as the human rights violations in Kashmir are likely to be brought forth through a non-combative approach, following the footsteps of the US’ allies in Europe. For instance, in 2019, responding to the passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, several lawmakers in the European Parliament expressed concern about the “dangerous shift” in the Indian government’s commitment to secularism, passing six resolutions on the matter. However, all these concerns were ultimately ignored as the bloc continued to engage with India to carve out a Free Trade Agreement. Moreover, certain powerful member-states went out of their way to express their enduring support for India; France, for instance, provided India with five crucial Rafale fighter jets when it faced a threat from China along its border. A similar superficiality is likely to be adopted by the US, wherein the concerns about India’s domestic policies will be easily forfeited when pitted against larger foreign policy concerns.
Therefore, over the next four years, even though we may see some acknowledgement of the Indian government’s human rights violations, these are unlikely to be coupled with the souring of ties, sanctions, or any other tangible steps towards pressurising the Indian side to strengthen its commitment to human rights and secularism. This tunnel vision is driven by the US’ desire to crack down on China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific in order to safeguard its security and defence ambitions in the region. What this means is that Biden is likely to follow in the footsteps of his European counterparts in taking a measured and non-confrontational approach to India’s human rights abuses in order to protect economic and security interests. Meanwhile, India will employ its tried and tested response of playing down these criticisms as misplaced and defending its decisions under the garb of “internal matters”. All things considered, it seems all but inevitable that, despite its lofty promises, the Biden administration will follow in the footsteps of its many predecessors in consciously failing to act as a caretaker of democratic values.
Biden’s Promise to Hold Human Rights Violators Accountable Will Not Affect India
With Joe Biden continuing to centre American foreign policy in Asia around countering China in the Indo-Pacific, India’s problematic domestic policies are likely to continue escaping scrutiny.
January 31, 2021
SOURCE: BCCL