I recently went to the U.S. determined to tell a story that neither President Joe Biden nor his guest, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, wanted you to hear.
Five years ago, my father Sanjiv Bhatt, was framed and imprisoned for life by the Modi administration. A decorated Indian Police Service officer, he is the sole surviving witness to Modi's role in orchestrating the genocide against Muslims in 2002 in Gujarat. The blatantly vitiated trial in 2018 was the culmination of a 20 year campaign of intimidation, persecution, and abuse led by Modi and his allies, designed to silence the last remaining witness to his central role in the 2002 riots. Our family's lives have been forever altered by the consequences of speaking truth to this fascist power.
2002 marked a dark phase in India's history, with Modi's involvement unquestionable. A recently declassified report, commissioned by the U.K. Foreign Secretary, concluded that "Their [the Hindu mobs'] systematic campaign of violence has all the hallmarks of ethnic cleansing. ... Narendra Modi is directly responsible." My father's testimony and evidence challenged the government's handling of the riots and revealed uncomfortable truths about the state's complicity in the violence.
Yet, recently, Modi stepped off a plane and into Biden's embrace, his ban from entering the U.S. for this very crime forgotten. Modi and Biden's administration would like you to think that such problems are a thing of the past. This is far from the truth.
My father's case is emblematic of a much wider and deeper crisis that the world needs to wake up to. All over India, the media is being muzzled and dissent silenced as Modi cements his authority by whipping up the same Hindu nationalist fever that had such tragic consequences in Gujarat 20 years ago. Many NGOs have been shut down in five years, Modi's opposition leader faces spurious defamation charges, and the country now ranks 161st on the World Press Freedom Index. The BBC film about the Gurajat pogrom, featuring my father's and other stories, has recently been banned in India and the corporation's offices raided. The British government has been notably silent on the matter.
I am not naïve. We all know how this works—mutual interests trump values in foreign policy and trade discussions. But the current policy of appeasement and denial makes no sense from a political or economic standpoint. As the U.S. and its allies seek new partnerships to substitute those with China and Russia, getting into bed with a country itself sliding toward autocracy doesn't seem smart. In fact, it looks like making the same mistake again and getting played in the process.
Biden knows promoting global democracy is key to U.S. foreign policy. Among the many statements he has made, Biden's reflection on America's role in the world stands out: "We must start with diplomacy rooted in America's most cherished democratic values: defending freedom, championing opportunity, upholding universal rights, respecting the rule of law, and treating every person with dignity."
I agree. So what on Earth is going on with India, on those terms? It is simply not possible to stand by those words and ignore Modi's blatant disregard for them.
Giving Modi a global stage as the protector of the "Mother of Democracy'' while locking up anyone who gets in his way at home directly undermines Biden's point. And it actively destabilizes a country the U.S. is making a long-term bet on in the process.
As I write this, my father remains incarcerated. For the last five years, my family has been running from pillar to post to fight for justice for my father. However, a fair day in court is not a luxury afforded to the honest and upright in Modi's India.
If this reality is allowed to continue unchecked, it will only embolden India's leadership as it builds up to hosting the G20 under the banner of "healing, harmony, and hope." As new stories of worsening repression emerge, letting this hypocrisy go unchecked looks more shortsighted every day.
My father and many others like him have made huge sacrifices in the name of democracy and justice in India. As he ends his fifth year in jail this month, these founding principles are under greater threat than ever before. It is morally unacceptable for the U.S. and others to look the other way. But it is also deeply unwise on self-interested terms. I made this point strongly recently while in Washington, D.C., fighting for justice and democracy outside of the White House, while Modi was being honored inside by Biden. For my father's sake and everybody else's, we cannot be silent.
Dr. Aakashi Bhatt is a surgeon and a clincal researcher at the University of Oxford. Her father, Sanjiv Bhatt, was the senior intelligence officer in Gujarat, India, at the time of the massacre by Hindu mobs of hundreds of Muslims in 2002. His testimony in court demonstrated Narendra Modi's key role, as head of the state's government, in inciting and enabling this pogrom. Sanjiv has been punished for this with a life sentence of which has now served five years.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
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