The Criminal as Victim

I was appalled to hear Prabhu Chawlu saying on NDTV that it was wrong to deny Modi the visa for something which was IMAGINARY.
The interviewer too questioned the move since Gujarat happened three years ago!
When the media itself is on his side, is it any wonder that politicians of all parties, the honorable PM included, are parotting the same line?
They are just being politically right and do not wish to incur the wrath of the opposition.

Nice, hard-hitting article, right where needed! (Although I am sure that there are some senior sages at Chowk shaking their heads and saying “we have seen harder”.)

In general, the U.S. does not like to get involved in what may be considered internal affairs of another country (especially a country which is not considered an “adversary” and where no direct U.S. national interests are involved on a short or long-term basis). High profile cases like Modi present the exceptions. Modi probably thought that a U.S. visa is just another perk of his office. It is not, and this case was one “fly in the soup” that the U.S. appears to have chosen not to swallow (and that decision is always made on a “case by case” basis, after considering ALL aspects of what may come out of such a decision). The Indian government should stop making itself look foolish and get on with life - I would be extremely surprised if the U.S. reverses this one (it was definitely NOT done in an arbitrary manner or made at a “low level” and the person at the top, my very own dear George W. Bush is not highly famous for changing his mind on issues after he takes a position).

[Let us also ask a few questions about the diaspora Indians. They complain about racism, about discrimination in their adopted countries. Yet, they are duplicitous enough to lionise someone who has treated citizens of his own country with utter disdain.]
I sometimes do think that many in expatriate Indian communities are so used to remaining within their own cocoons that they lose touch with the reality outside those. (Hopefully, it is changing as the newer generation takes over.) On an individual basis, I am sure many of these hoteliers are probably very nice people, but when they invited Modi, WHAT WERE THEY THINKING? A little jolt of reality check (in form of this visa denial) seems to have helped, because I read that they had “withdrawn” that invitation. (Although, one can never discount the possibility that potential loss of business as well as potential close-up scrutiny of some of their allegedly unsavory business practices that would inevitably result from the spot light of bad press may have played a part. We will probably never know.)

[That is the reason that country cannot dictate terms regarding our internal policy as it does with others. We hold our own against WTO, we decide what multinationals we want, and we refuse aid. This is our self-esteem.]
Not a shred of doubt about it – these are the issues that REALLY count!

[On the other hand, is he aware that there are several Gujaratis who will be travelling this summer with Indian chefs ready to cook their dhoklas and khandvis for them?]
I did not understand that one, but will read the interacts for it to clarify itself.

[Hello? Even if we were to ignore his hypocritical swipe at the US move being against democracy, human rights and natural justice, one wonders how by denying him a visa that country has insulted “the Indian Constitution and the five crore people of Gujarat.”]

Because Modi is constitutionally elected by an overwhelming majority of the 5 crore people of Gujarat. Any snub to him is a rejection of the Indian Constitution and a constitutionally-elected CM.

[Does Mr. Modi know of the number of visa applications that are rejected? Has he waited in a queue at the consulate and had papers thrown at him only because of a certain name or religion? Will he now be able to identify with such a predicament?]

I fail to see a point here. Is Modi being held responsible here for the US rejecting visa requests on religious grounds?

[It is clear that mutual-massaging is the only criterion. Expats suffering from nostalgia and a renewed vigour about their religion are being slowly tutored into believing that Hinduism is at risk. Earlier, it was from the jihadis, now they will have to add the ‘imperialist West’; the message being sent out is that those who are in ‘banwaas’ will be welcomed back as and when they wish to do so. But they will be protected by India only under the gaze of a Hindu Rashtra.]

This is an out-and-out assumption. Has FV been privy to Modi`s thoughts? How ridiculous can one get?

Ws Rajiv Gandhi ever denied a visa for his role in the anti-Sikh riots in Delhi {``When a big tree falls, the earth shakes``)?

Will Jagdish Tytler be denied a visa?

Kill the Sikhs! Kill the Sikhs! Kill the Sikhs!

Farzana, please be reasonable. Regardless of what Modi did, no one loses the citizenship they are born with. I can understand why you might feel that the US did the right thing. However, I think a nation ruled by George W Bush is not in a position to throw stones at anybody; he has been responsible for many more deaths than Modi could ever hope to achieve. What about all the South American dictators and their henchmen who used to routinely enter the country? And let`s not even talk about the fact that Sharon is a welcome guest, or is he entirely innocent too?(Some would argue, and they make sense too, that he is).

``Does Mr. Modi know of the number of visa applications that are rejected? ``

It was a diplomatic visa that was rejected for reasons of religious freedom. For every Wahabi and Zionist nut case that the state department welcomes, this is just a message to the Gov`t of India and the NRIs about their lack of political consequence. That this person is Modi is inconsequential.

The point is an elected representative of the GOI was refused a diplomatic visa.

I am still awaiting a Chowk article on the refusal of the ``United, Progressive, Secular`` government at the Center to release the report on the Delhi anti-Sikh riots.

Can we expect an article from:

a) Dost-Mittar
b) Harish Nambiar
c) Farzana Versey
d) Amrita Rajan
e) Sadhna
f) Or any of the hand-wringing self-hating Hindus who regularly post on Chowk?

FV,

US rejecting Modi a visa is similar to India rejecting a visa to Condi Rice because we think she is culpable in starting a war with Iraq using false pretexts thereby committing a crime against humanity

ok ok... I stretched it a bit far. But it is in the same legue. It is indeed a shame for India.

More thoughts later..

- Avkrishna

Has he waited in a queue at the consulate and had papers thrown at him only because of a certain name or religion?


You`re talking about people`s visa being rejected because their last name is Patel ...right?

Oh wait...it`s FV...so she`s prolly playing the muslim victim card...


Let us also ask a few questions about the diaspora Indians.


Let`s talk about muslims....Would muslims support Arafat being given a visa to come to India?.... Even when they know he is a terrorist?
Would muslims oppose visas for the heads of the MMA, knowing they are supporters of terrorism in Kashmir....

FV..The doors to saudi arabia are wide open...feel free to leave whenever you want..oh, leave your IDP behind....won`t do you much good to carry that around in saudi arabia....

Indians need to be very wary of people like FV-ji. We must understand who FV-ji represents and who she speaks for.

Recently , about 5 terrorists belonging to the Lashkar-e-Toiba were caught red-handed by the police. Heavily armed with RDX , AK-47 and advanced communication systems ,they had planned to conduct suicide attacks on the Indian Military Academy and major software companies in Bangalore. The interesting part is , 3 of the 5 were born and bred in India. Indian muslims from Bihar and UP. Police are still searching for the mastermind behind this - also an Indian muslim.

A few months back , when a female Lashkar-e-Toiba agent called Ishrat Jehan (an `Indian` muslim from Mumbra ,Mumbai , mind you) was shot down by the police , the whole of Mumbra town - [referred to as Mini Pakistan for the locals there are famous for bursting crackers after every Pakistani victory over India in cricket] - came to a standstill. Ishrat was hailed as a martyr for the sake of Islam. And then there was this case in Hyderabad where the entire muslim community rioted when a maulvi called Naseeruddin was arrested for his links with the ISI of Pakistan...there are many such incidents which prove that Indian muslims...atleast a significant section of Indian muslims...are hand in glove with the enemies of India.

I dont know how India will deal with this threat. Around 160 million muslims live in India. Most of them are doctrinated by their religion and their mullahs to despise India. Even if just 1-2% of them are actively involved in anti-national activities...they make up for a huge number.....We are talking about 2 million active or potential Pakistani agents/soldiers in India. FV-ji may or may not be one of them , but she certainly sympathises with the cause.

...... it is refreshing to see the knee-jerk reaction of the horrible hindoos who are rushing to defend one of their own regardless of the fact that the man is a major embarassment .......... just goes to show that it is not just the muslims who are quick to defend their murderers and thieves ............ there is something sick about the herd mentality .............

Hi Farzana . . . so does his mean that all criminals, alleged and/or proved, need to be restrained from travel?

I think the big ticket here is that the US Government has the right to refuse entry to anybody just as we have the right to refuse entry to anybody in India, too. The rest is all so much noise.

And I would not rush into anything being a ``tragedy of democracy`` so rapidly. Take a look at the tragedies of non-democracy around us, lately, and thank our stars.

And as far as ``particularly severe violations of religious freedoms`` are concerned, hmmmmm . . .

Ref harimau #7

[I am still awaiting a Chowk article on the refusal of the ``United, Progressive, Secular`` government at the Center to release the report on the Delhi anti-Sikh riots.]

Hey, I just thought of a title.

How does ``The Criminals as Cabinet Ministers`` sound?

re: Farzana V

Of all the windmills in the all world, why did you have tilt at this one? lol

I would not put too much stock into this episode. This whole drama has an Orwellian twist and tomorrow, for reasons only known to itself, the United States will welcome Modi to the Oval Office. I have my own reasons for suspecting the reasons, why Modi was denied a visa and it has nothing to do with the Gujrat riots.

I fear that Modi was denied a diplomatic visa, and India was diplomatically snubbed in the process, because India rejected ``United States` concerns`` over the planned the gas-oil pipeline from Iran, via Pakistan, to India. This sort of treatment is meted out to nations, whom the United States considers as friends, because in the parlance of the United States` diplomacy, ``friendship`` means that a nation should subordinate its sovereignity to the interests of the United States` geo-economic and geo-political concerns.

What happened was nothing more than the United States seeking to impose its extra-territorality on India and being rebuffed in the process. The denial of the visa was a quid pro quo for India`s independence of action in chosing to go ahead with the gas from Iran against the American objections.

Ciao

If we go by American standards or what FV suggests half of Indians from all civilized countries deserve to be deported. Every other of them has his hands redened with the blood of innocent Muslims from Kashmir to Ras Kumari.

Dear Farzana:

I just wrote a response and it disappeared into cyberspace while posting. So, let me try to reconstruct.

First of all, it should come as no surprise that I support the US ban. In fact, they should have revoked his visa soon after the Gujarat mayhem; it would have been a more effective statement and there would have been much less hue and cry in India back then. I also think that it is a right act by a wrong government; I would have much rather preferred to see this slap from some European government.

But I disagree with the reasoning given for the ban - violation of religious freedom. As far as I know, Muslims are free to go to mosques and practice their religion in Gujarat. It would have been more appropriate to deny him on the same basis as Milosevic is being tried, namely, abuse of human rights. And if lack of relgious freedom is to be made a basis, then not only Saudis but the leaders of any Islamic state which bases its laws on sharia, including blasphemy laws, should be denied entry to the US.

The US is a sovereing state and has every right to deny entry to anyone it wants. But the Indian government, in my opinion, took the right step by protesting against the US decision. In a federal state, it is the only tenable position to take when the chief of a constituent state is insulted. I also think that it is a politically prudent act. The BJP leaders may fume and foam but they have now been denied the opportunity to wrap themselves in the national flag, make it their issue and turn Modi into a martyr.

``If we did not believe in farcical democracy, we should even consider revoking Narendra Modi’s citizenship of India.``

This is a dangerous statement. There is no provision for revoking the citizenship of a person born in the country. Try him, hang him or lynch him. He is yours.