BBC tax-knocks, Dhankhar’s words, Soros lecture: Modi Govt caught between the foreign hand and the foreign handshake

We know from past experience the limitations of using the “foreign hand” argument that Indira Gandhi so regularly invoked. You can trash the foreign hand and then also reach out to shake it. But that handshake will always feel unsure.

It’s not known what that has yielded but sending tax investigators to a global news organization isn’t a routine knock on the door. Experts say that physical surveys aren’t quite needed in cases like these unless there’s a history of non-compliance. (PTI)

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In a year when foreign policy and India’s place in the changing world are expected to drive the BJP story and its poll narrative, a few events this week show the tightrope walk the BJP is doing – hopeful and confident it doesn’t trip.

One was the Income Tax “survey” on BBC‘s Delhi and Mumbai offices for alleged non-compliance with transfer pricing norms. It’s not known what that has yielded but sending tax investigators to a global news organization isn’t a routine knock on the door. Experts say that physical surveys aren’t quite needed in cases like these unless there’s a history of non-compliance.

Also in Political Pulse | ‘Undemocratic, dictatorial’: Oppn lashes out at Centre over I-T survey on BBC premises

The second was the announcement of the biggest deal in aviation history, with Tata-owned Air India set to buy 470 Boeing and Airbus aircraft from the US and France —Prime Minister Modi spoke to both US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron signalling unambiguously that India is a market the world cannot ignore. And while it buys cheap oil from Vladimir Putin’s Russia, it can buy planes from Putin’s bitter rivals.

This BJP government’s moves tend to be deliberate, calculated steps keeping in mind the political fallout. Obviously, it came to the conclusion that the political-reputation risks of the BBC raids aren’t much to lose sleep over, particularly in electoral terms in 2023 and 2024.

These were obviously meant to message other international media groups that the long arm of the state is long — and willing to knock on their door.

Then came Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar’s remarks on what he called “doctored narratives” by the Western media to run down a rising India and the need to counter that. A signed editorial in an RSS-linked journal has alleged that the higher judiciary is being used as a tool by anti-India forces.

Must Read | V-P Jagdeep Dhankhar: Doctored narratives seek to run India down, need bold counter

Days later, came George Soros’s remarks at the Munich conference putting a question mark on democracy, Modi style, prompting a rebuff from Union Minister Smriti Irani that he was out to “demonise” Indian democracy, that he wanted a pliable government and she pledged to call out those who are funded by him.

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Usually, when political opponents are targeted by Government agencies, the BJP keeps an arm’s length saying the law is taking its course. This time, however, the party made it a point to underline that the BBC was biased and “corrupt”, and those criticising Modi and India do so because they do not like to see it growing as a power.

Yet, there is a sense of confusion within. A retired government servant, all along an ardent admirer of Narendra Modi, remarked that “the government has overreacted”. Yes, he said, the timing of the BBC documentary on the 2002 violence in Gujarat, was “curious”— coming as it did 21 years after the event, with little new information, and when the Supreme Court had cleared the PM. But even if the documentary and tax-knock aren’t linked, the action is seen as retaliation by the government, he said, and it “doesn’t look good.”

In Premium | The Express View on I-T ‘Survey’ of BBC offices: The Daylight Knock

But the fact is that foreign governments haven’t responded. Western democracies, guided by their self-interest, compare India with China and may find the democratic backsliding par for the strategic course. For Biden to underline that the Boeing deal with Air India will assure a million jobs across 44 states in the US is a testament to the power of the Indian market.

That said, the BBC raids may affect Modi’s image as the leader of the “mother of democracy”, different from Xi’s China or Putin’s Russia. What points are scored by raiding a newsroom under full media glare when India is presiding over the G-20 is a question that will be hard to duck.

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Explained | The journey of BBC in India, and its run-ins with various governments

Perhaps, the ruling establishment has calculated that the BBC today is not what it was in the past — older Indians remember its role during the 1975-77 Emergency when it provided accurate information to the far corners of India when, in the words of L K Advani, most of the media “crawled” and Indira Gandhi sent the BBC packing.

Today, armed with smartphones and near-free data, the under-35s, who make up 65% of India, do not see any halo around the BBC or, for that matter, anyone media brand. Indeed, the internet has flattened the world and shrunk the very idea of the foreign correspondent, now a pale shadow of her former self.

So, powered by the 303 Lok Sabha MPs behind him, the Modi government may have chosen to assert the power of the state headed by a tough leader who cannot be pushed around.

But political calculations apart, the spat with the BBC and the response to criticism has thrown up larger questions.

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Must Read | George Soros’s remarks show ‘desire to break Indian democracy’ and have a ‘pliable’ govt: Smriti Irani

Is the ruling establishment trying to evolve its own brand of democracy with its cultural history, different from the Western model? It’s an interesting construct but whether Indian or Western, swadeshi or imported, there are universal principles which underpin democracy.

Freedom of speech and expression, the independence of the judiciary, and a system of secured checks and balances are inalienable parts of any democracy.

We know from past experience the limitations of using the “foreign hand” argument that Indira Gandhi so regularly invoked. It did not work beyond a point.

Also Read | Anti-India forces using Supreme Court as tool: RSS-linked weekly

So here is the paradox: In a globalised world with social media, a confident government wants to be seen as a world leader, assert how it is being taken seriously by the world and yet blame part of the same world for conspiring against it. You can trash the foreign hand — and then also reach out to shake it. But that handshake will always feel unsure.

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(Neerja Chowdhury, Contributing Editor, The Indian Express, has covered the last 10 Lok Sabha elections)