Daily Times

Sir: The article “US Congressman campaigns for US visa for Modi” (April 2012, Rediff.com) has some glaring factual inaccuracies, both related to the Indian American Muslim Council as well as the US visa ban on Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

As Congressman Joe Walsh has noted in his letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Modi was forbidden entry to visit the US under Section 212 (a) (2) (g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. This section of the law makes foreign government officials ineligible for a visa should the State Department deem them complicit in severe violations of religious freedom. In his letter, the Congressman argued, “It should be noted that when reading this section of law further, it specifically states that these violations cannot have occurred 24-months prior to application for a visa.”

It is unfortunate that a sitting member of the US Congress should attempt to make a case based on ignorance of the law, which was amended in September 2009, specifically to remove the 24-month restriction. Congressman Walsh should refer to the US Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual Volume 9 at http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/86956.pdf.

In making the case that religious violations under Modi occurred a long time ago, Rep Walsh’s letter is also a tacit acknowledgement of the fact that those violations did indeed occur. Contrary however, to Congressman Walsh’s uninformed and presumptive defence of Modi, the religious violations did not end after the Gujarat carnage of 2002. They continue to this day, in the form of extra-judicial killings, lack of due process in law enforcement and economic discrimination against minorities. Perhaps the respected Congressman would find it educational to read news reports of people displaced during the carnage of 2002, of which 16,000 are still living in refugee camps lacking basic amenities.

The article also quotes Tarun Surti, a ‘community activist’, who referred to the candlelight vigils organised by the Indian American Muslim Council and alleged, “IAMC has been involved in propagating such false information about India, and we need to bring out the truth about the democracy in Gujarat and in India.” Mr. Surti also bemoaned the fact that Hindus had not organised a prayer for the victims of Godhra.

The candlelight vigils organised by IAMC were categorically about commemorating all the victims of the Gujarat carnage including those who died in the fire at Godhra, as was evident in IAMC’s press releases as well as the report issued after the vigils. It is unfortunate that Mr Surti sees human rights violations and the killing of innocent people through his own sectarian lenses, while being oblivious to the humanity of people who do not share his religion. IAMC has always been in the forefront against this form of narrow, bigoted thinking that seeks to divide people along sectarian lines. Mr Surti’s reference to “places where Islamic terrorists have attacked”, is a red herring aimed at exploiting the suffering of people in order to advance an obscurantist agenda.

While Mr Modi is busy spending the state’s tax dollars in hiring PR firms like APCO to give himself an image makeover, the minorities in Gujarat continue to bear the brunt of his hateful ideology. On January 26, 2012, Hindutva fanatics that share Modi’s ideology desecrated a heritage cemetery belonging to Christians. Not surprisingly, the Gujarat Chapter of the All-India Christian Council called for Modi’s resignation for failing to protect Christians.

The campaign for a US visa for Modi is antithetical to the ideas of justice and human rights and against the conservative principles of religious freedom Congressman Walsh stands for. Allowing Narendra Modi to gain the veneer of respectability he craves by granting him a US visa is an affront to the rule of law, and tantamount to rubbing salt into the wounds of multitudes who continue to suffer under his misrule.

SHAHEEN KHATEEB

President IMCA (USA)

Via e-mail