Modi, Modi, quite contrary

It has been said that improving its human rights image internationally is now a priority for the Bush administration. Yet the point has been made that there are several equally deserving candidates as Modi to be found across the globe, including many Americans themselves. To argue, then, that Modi was held directly responsible for the violation of religious freedom by a US commission and therefore denied a visa is sheer logical circularity and political/legal self-referentiality. To argue the exact opposite 8212; that the philosophical justification for the creation of universal laws is that in spite of cultural and evolutionary differences, the human race as a whole subscribes to certain absolute values that legitimise the existence of an overarching authority 8212; is equally fallacious in this case. The problem is that if the values being upheld are truly universal, unilateral decisions made by US gatekeepers of justice are not just unwelcome but also redundant. The inherent duality of all ideology aside, the reasons intellectuals across the political continuum have expressed concern at the US8217;s decision to deny Modi a visa has as much to do with its universalistic unilateralism as it does with its relativistic adhocery. In the absence of a coherent frame of reference, the US has comes off as both hypocritical and much less credible to the very galleries it seeks to play to.

It has been said that strengthening relations with India is a priority for the US, and the decision to deny Modi a visa should not be perceived as an insult to the country per se or to the state of Gujarat. But to castigate Modi for acts committed as a representative of the Government of India on the one hand and to take away from this identity on the other is inherently self-contradictory. Still, the greater danger is not that there is a conflict between America8217;s action and its rhetoric, but that both its word and its deed are ultimately subversive to India8217;s domestic interests. To take away from Modi8217;s identity as a representative of India8217;s administration is not only to displace India8217;s democratic framework but also to deny responsibility for the 8220;comprehensive failure to protect the constitutional rights of the people of Gujarat8221;, to deny that if evidence gathering and investigations have proved too difficult even after the identity of the guilty has been known publicly it is as much a matter of shame for India8217;s judicial machinery as it is for the people of India, and to overlook that if the Indian judicial system has dragged its feet on trying the 8220;modern-day Nero8221; 8212; despite the indictment by the NHRC 8212; it speaks of the failure of India8217;s democratic institutions to deliver on that very thing: the promise of democracy.

Regardless of the diplomatic risk with India and the international community over this decision, in the final analysis it seems the US8217;s objective was to appease a section of its own domestic audience without jeopardising the interest of its majority, thus proving 8212; unwittingly or not 8212; that Modi is a much softer target than his critics hold.

A fortunate, even if inadvertent, by-product of this decision, then, is that it has spurred renewed passion in India for the cause against Modi. But there is greater wisdom in the contention that the way to punish the guilty is to strengthen Indian democracy from the inside, and to ensure in-built mechanisms to deal with gross infractions of justice are not only improved but also respected. For this to happen in any substantive way, it is for the people of this country to assert their democratic rights, to become more vigilant and to demand answers from the administration so that pressure from the public guides the law and the future of this land 8212; just as pressure from its inside guides US decisions. Put another way, if the state turns criminal, if the Centre appears reluctant to intervene, it is for the aam junta of the world8217;s biggest democracy to stand up and demand justice and accountability.