India’s Modi is getting a state visit with Biden, but the glitz is shadowed by human rights #news
Channel: YoutubeNews
Date: 2023-06-22

-India’s Modi is getting a state visit with Biden, but the glitz is shadowed by human rights concerns

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are marking the state visit of the Indian leader on Thursday by launching new partnerships in defense, semiconductor manufacturing and more sectors as the leaders look to strengthen their countries’ crucial — albeit complicated — relationship.

But as Biden fetes Modi, human rights advocates and some U.S. lawmakers are questioning the Democratic president’s decision to offer the high honor to a leader whose nine-year tenure over the world’s biggest democracy has been marked by a backslide in political, religious and press freedoms.

Biden administration officials say honoring Modi, the leader of the conservative Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, is Diplomacy 101. The U.S.-India relationship will be vital in coming decades as both sides navigate an ascendant China and enormous challenges posed by climate change, artificial intelligence, supply chain resilience and other issues.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Biden will raise his concerns but will avoid lecturing the prime minister during their formal talks.

“The question of where politics and the question of democratic institutions go in India is going to be determined within India by Indians. It’s not going to be determined by the United States,” Sullivan said. “So what we can do is our part, and our part is to speak out on behalf of universal values.”
Among the major announcements to be made Thursday is an agreement that will allow U.S.-based General Electric to partner with India-based Hindustan Aeronautics to produce jet engines for Indian aircraft in India and the sale of U.S.-made armed MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones, according to senior Biden administration officials. The officials briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity to preview the major agreements ahead of their formal announcement.
The Biden administration also is unveiling plans aimed at bolstering India’s semiconductor industry. U.S.-based Micron Technology has agreed to build a $2.75 billion semiconductor assembly and test facility in India, with Micron spending $800 million and India funding the rest. U.S.-based Applied Materials is announcing it will launch a new semiconductor center for commercialization and innovation in India, and Lam Research, another semiconductor manufacturing equipment company, will start a training program for 60,000 Indian engineers.

On the space front, India will sign on to the the Artemis Accords, a blueprint for space exploration cooperation among nations participating in NASA’s lunar exploration plans. NASA and the Indian Space Research Organization also agreed to make a joint mission to the International Space Station next year.
The State Department will also announce plans to open consulates in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad, while India will reopen its consulate in Seattle.

Despite the major deals, the visit will be shadowed by concerns laid out by rights activists and lawmakers that question Modi’s commitment to democratic principles.

Modi has faced criticism over legislation amending the country’s citizenship law that fast-tracks naturalization for some migrants but excludes Muslims, a rise in violence against Muslims and other religious minorities by Hindu nationalists, and the recent conviction of India’s top opposition leader, Rahul Gandhi, for mocking Modi’s surname.
In 2005, the U.S. revoked Modi’s visa to the U.S., citing concerns that, as chief minister of Gujarat, he did not act to stop communal violence during 2002 anti-Muslim riots that left more than 1,000 people dead. An investigation approved by the Indian Supreme Court later absolved Modi, but the stain of the dark moment has lingered.

Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar on Minnesota have said they will boycott Modi’s address on Thursday before a joint meeting of Congress. And a group of more than 70 lawmakers wrote Biden this week calling on him to use his meeting with Modi to raise concerns about the erosion of religious, press and political freedoms.

“It is an important country to me, and we must call out some of the real issues that are threatening the viability of of democracy in all of our countries,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., who was born in India and helped organize the lawmakers’ letter. “If India continues to backslide, I think it will affect our ability to have a really strong relationship with the country.”


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