‘Against Modi, Not India’: Meet the People Behind Protests Against PM’s US Visit

The Motivation Behind Protests 

The protests against the Indian PM, be it during his current visit or during past foreign visits, have remained a subject of controversy. While Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra played down the protests by highlighting the “positive interests” that India has with the US, the organisers of various demonstrations, both Indian and foreign, express discontent.

“The best way to put it is that Americans desperately want a relationship with India. We want to emerge from the Cold War mentality and really want this relationship to work. But it has to be on terms that we can live with. India’s democracy, being torn apart by Modi, are not terms that we can live with,” said another
An Indian-American organiser handling outreach and mobilisation told The Quint

Counter-narratives of foreign institutions trying to meddle in India’s “internal matters” are fairly common whenever the PM’s foreign visits receive a critical response. However, close to half of the protesters are from India, and most of them are Hindus.

“I am Indian. I am a Hindu. I am the PM’s vote bank but I cannot bear to see the brutal treatment of minority groups in India. If I was treated in the US how Muslims are [treated] in India, I would run back home without a thought. It is intolerable,” they added.

A similar sentiment was imbibed in an open letter to Biden that was written by an organisation called Hindus for Human Rights, which urged him to “push back against the Indian government’s escalating attacks on human rights and democracy” during Modi’s visit.

The organisation’s policy director, Ria Chakrabarty, told The Quint:

“There is a lot of anger, especially in Washington and New York, since they are the places where the Biden administration is courting Modi.” She also alleged that PM Modi was using the International Yoga Day Celebrations at the UN for “om-washing” – her spin on “whitewashing.”

Chakrabarty explained that cultural Hinduism – through activities like yoga, meditation, and mindfulness – has a great deal of “soft power” in the West, with thousands of fans and adherents, and that Modi was “taking advantage of that soft power.”

“It’s really just creating cultural soft power for him to go back to India and say, ‘Look … I’m this person who has put Hinduism on the world stage,’ even though what he’s really done is put Hindu nationalism on the world stage,” she opined.
Why are Americans Protesting an Indian PM’s visit?
An American activist and protest coordinator based out of New York spoke to The Quint under the condition of anonymity and said, “What we are discovering as Americans, is that we are being sold false goods.”

“Minority persecution, clamping down on the press, high levels of hyper-nationalism and jingoism – all of these are signs of a democracy that has not come to fruition,” they added.

Organisers also expressed their discontent with the fact that the Biden administration “has only had private two-way conversations about how both of our governments can always improve,” despite questions being raised on human rights violations.

“We find it unacceptable to see such equivocation on Indian democracy from an administration that has been strident in its defence of American democracy and the rule of law,” an organiser further said.

However, those protesting against the PM find themselves facing opposition, not only from pro-Modi rallies across New York and Washington but also from within the coalition of organisers.

On a phone call with The Quint, one of the coalition’s media personnel said:

“Of course, even groups that are against PM Modi’s visit have nuances in their ideology.

Some have decided to go all out and make noise with their protests, which is the ‘old-school’ approach. Others are trying to educate and spread awareness,” they added.

During a phone call with The Quint, activist Scott Webber claimed that a number of Americans from prominent circles, who used to attend Modi’s events, have stopped associating themselves with the Indian PM.

Webber said this was proof that America was “opening its eyes to reality of who Narendra Modi is and the organisations he represents.”

“The pro-Modi efforts were nowhere near as large as the crowds who came to see him at Madison Square Garden or the ‘Howdy Modi’ event, and that is because people are now onto what Modi is up to in India.”

Webber also rejected the argument that Modi’s visit and the claims made against his government does not concern the US. “When you can be thrown in jail for sedition for speaking out against the BJP, as an American it is my concern when the US conducts any type of business with such a government and its representatives,” he said.

Moreover, a member of the coalition said, “Frankly speaking, (about groups organising pro-Modi rallies), they are largely direct immigrants, instead of second generation immigrants. It is the old mindset, the same one that perpetuate the issues that plague India.”

The Plan
Approximately 18 organisations spanning different nationalities and religious backgrounds have come together to form a diverse coalition which plans to organise a series of protests, rallies, educational teach-ins, gatherings, and talks.

Some of the participating organisations include the Indian American Muslim Council, Peace Action, Veterans for Peace, and Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition.