No doubt Prime Minister Justin Trudeau MUST give more details behind Canada’s allegations that the government of India was involved in the assassination of Sikh Khalistan leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Canadians … and the rest of the world … have a right to see the evidence … not just hear Trudeau’s rhetoric on the blockbuster accusation.
But totally apart from this highly divisive Canada-India issue (which Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is trying very hard, for some reason, to magnify into a full fledged crisis), the entire Free World should be very concerned about how democracy in general and democratic rights in particular have been steadily deteriorating in India under Modi.
“The government selectively and viciously cracked down on religious minorities, and explicit advocacy of hatred by political leaders and public officials towards them was commonplace and went unpunished,” Amnesty International has reported.
“Punitive demolitions of Muslim family homes and businesses were carried out with impunity….Repressive laws including counterterrorism legislation were used rampantly to silence dissent. Authorities intimidated human rights defenders using digital technologies, including unlawful surveillance. “
Read the full Amnesty report on India here: https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/asia-and-the-pacific/south-asia/india/report-india/.
Some democracy!!
Not only have many political Opposition leaders in India been arrested with impunity under Modhi’s regime, but so have hundreds of ordinary opposition party members.
What a farce Parliamentary governance in India has become under Modi!
In fact, when those critical of the government have dared to hold protests, even elected politicians and government officials have openly made threats to destroy their homes and/or business.
Just imagine that happening in Canada, the UK, France …or even the highly polarized Excited States of America … elected officials and/or government bureaucrats openly threatening violence against their critics! Those elected and/or appointed government officials would soon be gone; but not in India, under Modi.
And, not surprisingly, freedom of speech by/in the Indian media has also been corrupted, bought out or intimidated.
Here’s how the US State Department describes life today in India … an American ally:
“Significant human rights issues included credible reports of: unlawful and arbitrary killings, including extrajudicial killings by the government or its agents; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by police and prison officials; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention; political prisoners or detainees; arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy; restrictions on freedom of expression and media, including violence or threats of violence, unjustified arrests or prosecutions of journalists, and enforcement of or threat to enforce criminal libel laws to limit expression; restrictions on internet freedom; interference with the freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association; restrictions on freedom of movement and on the right to leave the country; refoulement of refugees; serious government corruption; harassment of domestic and international human rights organizations; lack of investigation of and accountability for gender-based violence, including domestic and intimate partner violence, sexual violence, workplace violence, child, early, and forced marriage, femicide, and other forms of such violence; crimes involving violence or threats of violence targeting members of national/racial/ethnic and minority groups based on religious affiliation, social status or sexual orientation; crimes involving violence or threats of violence targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex persons; and existence of forced and compulsory labor.”
Disgraceful!
Read the whole report here: https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/india.
And just weeks ago, the International Federation of Journalists released a report on how increased government surveillance and new restrictive laws have undermined freedom of information, and impacted press freedom in India.
Readers of this Blog may recall that, earlier this year, I sounded the alarm about India’s duplicitous, greedy move to take advantage of democratic nations’ sanctions against Russia and INCREASE its trade with that country … to hell with its invasion of Ukraine, a fellow democratic state, and ignoring Russia’s murderous bombing of innocent Ukrainian civilians … including women, children, elderly in hospitals, schools, apartment blocks. http://harveyoberfeld.ca/blog/canada-west-must-hit-china-india-other-nations-funding-russias-war/.
And yet, the supposedly democratic country of India, under Modi, has never condemned Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and, instead has increasingly aligned itself with the autocratic dictatorships like Russia, China, Venezuela, Iran, Belarus, Cuba etc.
“In just five months of 2022, bilateral trade between Russia and India reached a record growth of $18.229 billion. For comparison, last year this figure amounted to $13.124 billion, and the year before that – $8.141 billion,” Wikipedia found.
India, under Modi, has demonstrated over and over again it has no principles, ethics or integrity … a state just mired in selfishness and greed, milking Western democracies for BILLIONS in foreign aid, while cozying up at the same time to dictators, human rights abusers and even murderers, if it will benefit India’s bottom line.
The Free World … not just Canada … must wake up and realize: India under Modi s NOT a democracy; not a respecter of human rights and not an ally!
And now, it is also accused by Canada of even violating international law and also the UN Charter by hiring to sending agents into this country to carry out an assassination.
The world deserves to see the EVIDENCE that back’s Canada’s charges … and, if substantiated, the entire free world, not just Canada, must stop pussyfooting around with India … and make it pay for this … and all its other transgressions against democracy.
Harv Oberfeld