Skip to main content

US House Resolution supporting visa denial to Narendra Modi may never be taken up, says NYT

By Our Representative
A former campaigner for denying visa to Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, who worked with the Amnesty International and in the United States Congress, has said the recent bipartisan Congressional resolution (click HERE) introduced in the House of Representatives calling on the US government to continue the policy of denying him visa may not go through. In a New York Times (NYT) article, Zahir Janmohamed says,  House Resolution 417, which urges the United States government to continue to deny Modi a visa, with 28 co-sponsors, majority of whom are Democrats, “is not expected to pass, partly because India is not seen as a priority in American foreign policy at the moment.”
Janmohamed, who is introduced as “from the United States and living in Ahmedabad”, writes in the India Ink column of the top US daily’s American edition, “When I conducted research in Washington this summer, many House and Senate aides said they had no idea who Modi was. Those who did know told me they would make up their minds about Mr. Modi when next year’s elections in India are decided.” He adds, “Despite his rising profile in India, there is still little interest in Modi in Washington. This may be a harder pill for Modi to swallow: It is not that he is hated or loved in Washington; he is just not mentioned much.”
At the same time, the analyst, who claims to have access to inside information about the policy which the US government may apply on Modi if he comes to power, believes that there will be an uneasy relationship with him. Referring to a meeting with a person who was appointed to a senior position by President Barrack Obama, Janmahomed quotes the official as telling him, “I know it is a cliché, but our talking point on India has always been, ‘India and the US are both democracies that share the same values’. You cannot really apply that statement to Modi. If Modi becomes prime minister, I guess we will have to come up with something new to say.”
Headlined “U.S. Evangelicals, Indian Expats Teamed Up to Push Through Modi Visa Ban”, the article says, among the chief campaigners for denying Modi visa was also the person who sponsored the International Religious Freedom Act, Frank Wolf, a Republican from Virginia, in March 1998. The clause that proved “fateful” was Section 604: “Any alien who, while serving as a foreign official, was responsible or directly carried out, at any time during the preceding 24-month period, particularly severe violations of religious freedom, as defined in Section 3 of the International Religious Freedom Act 1998 and the spouse and children, if any, are inadmissible.”
While Wolf remains in the forefront to oppose visa to Modi, the ex-campaigner believes that the mood in the US towards Modi is changing. And for this, Janmohamed quotes Joseph Grieboski, the founder of the Institute on Religion and Public Policy in Virginia. Grieboski tells him, “When the US denied  Modi a visa in 2005, it was like the US denying a visa to the governor of Iowa — no offense to Gujarat… The US did not see it as a big deal. And back then, it seemed clear to everyone in this town that Modi was involved in the riots. Now the picture is fuzzier, and many are intrigued by Modi.”
Things have changed so much that a Indian-born retired health professional based in Berkeley, California,Raju Rajagopal,  who was among the top persons who campaigned to deny Modi a visa and was part of a group which came to Gujarat following the 2002 riots along with Indian-born Washington-based evangelical Christian named John Prabhudoss and two Republican Congressmen, is now frustrated that his efforts are not succeeding. “Despite the success in denying Modi a US visa, disillusionment quickly set in for  Rajagopal. “The frustrating thing was that the visa denial was probably the only thing really dealt a blow to Modi,” Rajagopal is quoted as saying. “I just wish it had been brought about by a large, secular coalition. I am not so sure that is true. The thing that made a difference was the right-wing evangelical support.”
No doubt, the American government’s stance on Modi remains the same, as seen in the statement two days after Modi was selected on Sept. 13, 2013 as the official prime ministerial candidate to represent the BJP. “There’s no change in our longstanding visa policy,” said Marie Harf, a State Department spokeswoman.  “He is welcome to apply for a visa and await a review like any other applicant.” Yet, the fact is, insists Janmohamed, “These days, religious freedom is no longer a foreign policy priority in Washington, and the strong evangelical Christian opposition to Modi has faded.”
“While Republicans led the opposition to Modi’s visa in 2005, there are now Republicans among Modi’s strongest supporters. When the Tea Party candidate Joe Walsh campaigned in Illinois for Congress, he promised he would push the United States to grant Modi a visa. (He lost to his Democratic challenger, Tammy Duckworth.)”, Janmohamed says, adding, “In March, three Republicans members of Congress visited Modi in Gujarat, including Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington state. The trip for  Rodgers and her husband cost $15,000 and was paid for by the co-founder of the National Indian American Public Policy Institute, Shalli Kumar, a supporter of Modi based in Chicago.”

Comments

TRENDING

Reducing emission? India among top nations whose coal as energy source going up

By NS Venkataraman*  The State of the Global Climate report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) confirmed that the year 2023 was the warmest year on record, with the global temperature of 1.4 degree celsius above pre-industrial 1850-1900 base line.

Lockdown 'total failure' of science more than of politics: Open letter on 4th anniversary

Counterview Desk  In an open letter to fellow academicians, scientists and medical practitioners in India, marking the fourth anniversary of India's lockdown (25 March 2024), the Managing Committee* of the Universal Health Organisation (UHO) has insisted on the need to "repair two years of immense damage to science".

Insider plot to kill Deendayal Upadhyay? What RSS pracharak Balraj Madhok said

By Shamsul Islam*  Balraj Madhok's died on May 2, 2016 ending an era of old guards of Hindutva politics. A senior RSS pracharak till his death was paid handsome tributes by the RSS leaders including PM Modi, himself a senior pracharak, for being a "stalwart leader of Jan Sangh. Balraj Madhok ji's ideological commitment was strong and clarity of thought immense. He was selflessly devoted to the nation and society. I had the good fortune of interacting with Balraj Madhok ji on many occasions". The RSS also issued a formal condolence message signed by the Supremo Mohan Bhagwat on behalf of all swayamsevaks, referring to his contribution of commitment to nation and society. He was a leading RSS pracharak on whom his organization relied for initiating prominent Hindutva projects. But today nobody in the RSS-BJP top hierarchy remembers/talks about Madhok as he was an insider chronicler of the immense degeneration which was spreading as an epidemic in the high echelons of th

Magnetic, stunning, Protima Bedi 'exposed' malice of sexual repression in society

By Harsh Thakor*  Protima Bedi was born to a baniya businessman and a Bengali mother as Protima Gupta in Delhi in 1949. Her father was a small-time trader, who was thrown out of his family for marrying a dark Bengali women. The theme of her early life was to rebel against traditional bondage. It was extraordinary how Protima underwent a metamorphosis from a conventional convent-educated girl into a freak. On October 12th was her 75th birthday; earlier this year, on August 18th it was her 25th death anniversary.

Savarkar 'criminally betrayed' Netaji and his INA by siding with the British rulers

By Shamsul Islam* RSS-BJP rulers of India have been trying to show off as great fans of Netaji. But Indians must know what role ideological parents of today's RSS/BJP played against Netaji and Indian National Army (INA). The Hindu Mahasabha and RSS which always had prominent lawyers on their rolls made no attempt to defend the INA accused at Red Fort trials.

'Wrong direction': Paris NGO regrets MNC ArcelorMittal still using coal-based steel

By Rajiv Shah  A new report by Paris-based non-governmental research and campaigning organization, Reclaim Finance, has blamed the MNC ArcelorMittal – formed in 2006 following the takeover and merger of the western European steel maker Arcelor (Spain, France, and Luxembourg) by Indian-owned Mittal Steel – for using use “climate destructive” metallurgical coal for its projects in India.

'Flawed' argument: Gandhi had minimal role, naval mutinies alone led to Independence

Counterview Desk Reacting to a Counterview  story , "Rewiring history? Bose, not Gandhi, was real Father of Nation: British PM Attlee 'cited'" (January 26, 2016), an avid reader has forwarded  reaction  in the form of a  link , which carries the article "Did Atlee say Gandhi had minimal role in Independence? #FactCheck", published in the site satyagrahis.in. The satyagraha.in article seeks to debunk the view, reported in the Counterview story, taken by retired army officer GD Bakshi in his book, “Bose: An Indian Samurai”, which claims that Gandhiji had a minimal role to play in India's freedom struggle, and that it was Netaji who played the crucial role. We reproduce the satyagraha.in article here. Text: Nowadays it is said by many MK Gandhi critics that Clement Atlee made a statement in which he said Gandhi has ‘minimal’ role in India's independence and gave credit to naval mutinies and with this statement, they concluded the whole freedom struggle.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah*   The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Attack on foreign students: Gujarat varsity's reputation, ranking at stake, say academics

Counterview Desk  Expressing anguish over the attack on international students in Gujarat University hostels, a letter claimed to have been signed by 122 current and former academics has asked the Gujarat Vice Chancellor, Dr Neerja Gupta, to provide emotional support to the attacked students and to ensure their physical safety.  

As double engine takes backseat in Odisha, BJP is pitted against 'firmly rooted' BJD

By Sudhansu R Das  BJP has got 25 years to build its party base in Odisha. After 25 years, it felt helpless and insecure to fight elections on its own strength. The party was almost crazy to have an alliance with the ruling BJD in Odisha.  Looking for alliance at the time of election shows that the party has not groomed its grassroots level workers into potential leaders.  The state BJP leaders woke up and convinced the Central leaders that they are capable of going solo; the alliance was stillborn. The question is can BJP defeat BJD which is firmly rooted in Odisha after launching piles of populist programs in the state.