After India opened up to the world, in terms of trade, technology transfer, and the IT revolution, following the adoption of the liberalisation-privatisation-globalisation mantra since the early 1990s, it has always occupied a place of pride among the comity of nations for being the largest democracy of the world, one of the fastest-growing economies and a nation with one of the highest English speaking educated professionals. However, more than its technical brilliance and economic prowess, it was the reputation of a country with an open, multi-cultural, plural and tolerant society that attracted global admiration. Since 2014, after the spectacular victory of the BJP at the hustings and the rise of Narendra Modi as the undisputed leader of India, things have changed slowly but surely for India’s standing in the international arena.
The spate of Mob lynchings, forced conversions into the Hindu faith, the Babri Masjid verdict and attempts to interfere in the Muslim Personal Law all drew some kind of negative international media attention but the recent anti-CAA protests have dented India’s image as never before. Note the following headlines in some of the top newspapers of the world – “As India violence gets worse, police are accused of abusing Muslims” (New York Times, January 3). “As repression in India gets worse, notable figures remain silent” (Washington Post, January 4). ‘We are not safe’: India’s Muslims tell of the wave of police brutality” (The Guardian, January 3).
Intolerant India
In its latest edition, world-renowned magazine The Economist wrote an article titled “Narendra Modi stokes divisions in the world’s biggest democracy”. Terming the CAA as the government’s “most ambitious step yet in a decades-long project of incitement”, it comments – “The plan to compile a register of genuine Indians as part of a hunt for foreign interlopers affects all 1.3bn people in the country. It could drag on for years, inflaming passions over and over again, as the list is compiled, challenged and revised…. By undermining the secular principles of the constitution, Mr Modi’s latest initiatives threaten to do damage to India’s democracy that could last for decades.”
The raging protests against the CAA are also highlighted in the article saying – “Students, secularists, even the largely fawning media have begun to speak out against Narendra Modi, the prime minister, for his apparent determination to transform India from a tolerant, multi-religious place into a chauvinist Hindu state.”
The anxiety and the mitigation
As the anti-CAA protests raged all over the country, the government seemed clearly rattled and forgot to brief the international community on the new law. Speaking to the media on the condition of anonymity, the ambassadors and diplomats of over sixteen countries expressed concern over the CAA and its effect on the Muslim community.
The first noticeable impact of the protests was the cancellation of visits by the Bangladeshi Foreign and Home ministers and the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. When a German student and a Norwegian tourist were essentially deported for taking part in the protests, it added to the growing criticism that the world’s largest democracy was losing its sheen. Bangladesh and Malaysia have criticised the CAA, while the USA, the UK, France and Australia have issued travel advisories.
There were immediate steps taken by the government of India to undertake a damage control exercise and foreign ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar, addressed the media saying: “We did reach out to countries across the globe on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the NRC….We did write to our missions and posts. We did tell them to share our perspectives on CAA and NRC with the host governments. There are three to four points that we asked them to share. The first that this is a matter internal to India. We also asked them to convey that the Act just provides expedited consideration for Indian citizenship to persecuted minorities already in India from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh. We also conveyed to them that it does not affect the existing avenues that are available to other communities to seek citizenship. It does not seek to strip anybody of Indian citizenship of any faith.”
Anti-CAA protests now global phenomena
One of the many unique aspects of the anti-CAA-NRC protests is that they are being carried out across the globe by the Indian student community as well as the Indian diaspora. Almost every important city in the US, Canada and Europe has seen students and civil society led by concerned Indians demonstrating against what they feel is an attack on the idea of India and its secular character.
Naturally, it has created unprecedented awareness among the people occupying the highest echelons of power. So we saw leaders like Satya Nadella (Microsoft), Raghuram Rajan (ex RBI Governor), US financier and philanthropist George Soros, Abhijeet Banerjee (Nobel Laureate), Amartya Sen (another Nobel Laureate) and Fareed Zakaria (CNN) expressing grave concern over the CAA-NRC. However, the most stinging for our international image has been the recent draft by 154 European lawmakers slamming the CAA. The lawmakers drafted a formal five-page resolution to be tabled during the plenary session of the European Parliament starting in Brussels next week.
According to authentic media reports – “The proposed resolution not only describes the CAA as “discriminatory and dangerously divisive” but also a violation of India’s “international obligations” under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and other Human Rights treaties to which New Delhi is a signatory.”
Adding to India’s woes
India is currently experiencing an unprecedented economic slowdown and even stagflation. The IMF has lowered their growth expectation numbers for India at a time when India is badly in need of investment and a revival of market sentiment. The protests against the CAA-NRC both domestic and abroad have not helped India’s cause in terms of attracting foreign capital and increasing bilateral trade. The brutal suppression of protestors in BJP-ruled states and the country’s capital have created a negative impression about the Indian state’s commitment to democracy and liberal values.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Sadhguru asserted – “It is our business as a nation to see that we don’t project images of civil unrest. Because without a tremendous amount of foreign investment, we will not be able to achieve what we want to achieve in the country…as Indians, it is our business to show that it is a safe place to invest.”
The ironic part about Sadhguru’s admission is that his advice was directed towards the protestors to stop protesting and not to the government, which is actually responsible for the economic slowdown as well as the ill-timed, illogical and unjust law. We earnestly wish, hope and pray that the government avoids embodying the popular Indian adage – ““Vinaash Kaale Vipareet Buddhi” (“As (one’s) doom approaches, (the person’s) intellect works against (his/her) best interest”).