'Bad optics': Congressional briefing on Biden govt decision to sell India reaper drones

By Rajiv Shah

A Congressional Briefing on Capitol Hill, Washington DC, has taken strong exception to the Biden administration's decision to sell India reaper drones. Speaking on the occasion at the briefing, titled "US Arms Sales to India: The role of the US Congress," Human Rights Watch Asia advocacy director John Sifton criticized “bad optics” of the Biden administration’s intent to sell the Indian government 31 armed MQ-9 reaper drones with accompanying munitions.

Sifton said, this is happening at time when drones are being "used to assassinate civilians in targeted strikes", that too "just months after the US uncovered a plot by the Indian government to to assassinate a Sikh American living in New York."

“The particularly bad optics of selling this particular weapons platform… [is that it] is best known for targeted killings, which some would call assassinations,” asserted Sifton. “That the US negotiated and prepared a proposal at the same period law enforcement and intelligence agencies were briefing them on an assassination by an agent of the Indian government on US soil suggests a disconnect that we find very concerning on the optics.”

“These things have impacts on people's behavior back in India, including the Prime Minister himself,” he added. “Whether the Biden administration likes it or not, the message sent is we don't really care that much about the fact that India's human rights situation is deteriorating.”

Speaking at the briefing, Carolyn Nash, Asia advocacy director at Amnesty International USA, pointed out that the proposed arms deal must also be considered in the light of the Modi government’s engagement in transnational repression, "including its recent attempt to assassinate a Sikh American living in New York."

“That case did not happen in a vacuum,” said Nash. “It emerged from domestic issues; from the misuse of laws, particularly purported counterterrorism and financial laws; from long histories of ethnic and religious violence and targeting; and from abuse of surveillance systems that allowed for this to happen.”

“Think about [violence in India] as if you're talking about the Jim Crow south,” said Ria Chakrabarty, policy director at the diaspora group Hindus for Human Rights. “The communal violence, the misuse of state and local authorities… There's [an] active participation of local and state actors that also goes up to the federal level.”

“All of this violence, all of these attacks on human rights are about fundamentally reforming India from a secular republic to a Hindu nation,” Chakrabarty added. “The BJP’s election message is that Modi… has delivered this Hindu state to the world stage. And this arms deal is a good encapsulation of how he has done that.”

“President Clinton [once] referred to the India-Pakistan border as the most dangerous place on earth, because that is the only place where there are three nuclear armed states who have previously fought one another are now bordering one another,” said Ari Tolany, Director at the Security Assistance Monitor for International Policy. “With that concern introduced, we see a stronger imperative needed for Congress to keep eyes on [arms sales to India].”

The briefing was co-organized by Hindus for Human Rights, Indian American Muslim Council, Dalit Solidarity Forum, New York State Council of Churches, World Without Genocide, Justice for All, Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations of North America, India Civil Watch International, Center for Pluralism, International Commission for Dalit Rights, American Muslim Institution, International Society for Peace and Justice, North American Manipur Tribal Association, Association of Indian Muslims of America, Periyar Ambedkar Thoughts Circle Australia, and Alliance Against Islamophobia.

Comments

'Tax the top': Nationwide protests demand action as 1% control 40% of India’s wealth

By A Representative Civil rights groups across the country observed the martyrdom day of Bhagat Singh on March 23, as people from diverse backgrounds united to raise their voices against growing economic inequality. The mobilisations marked the launch of a nationwide campaign against inequality, running from March 23 to April 14 (Ambedkar Jayanti), under the banner of the “Tax The Top” campaign.

Fair prices, fresh produce: Vegetable market opens in Rajasthan tribal village

By Vikas Meshram* On 18 March 2026, the tribal village of Sajjangarh in southern Rajasthan witnessed the grand and dignified inauguration of a new vegetable market (mandi). Established through the tireless joint efforts of the Krushi Avam Adivasi Swaraj Sangathan (Bhilkuaan) and Vaagdhara, under the active leadership of the Gram Panchayat of Sajjangarh, the market is being hailed as a cornerstone for local self-governance, self-reliance, and a sustainable rural economy.

Study links sanctions to 500,000 deaths annually leading to rise in global backlash

By Bharat Dogra International opinion is increasingly turning against the expanding burden of sanctions imposed on a growing number of countries. These measures are contributing to humanitarian crises, intensifying domestic discord, and heightening international tensions, thereby increasing the risks of conflicts and wars.

Ex-IAS Atanu Chakraborty and a tale of two different Gujarat vision documents

By Rajiv Shah The likely appointment of Atanu Chakraborty as HDFC Bank chairman interested me for several reasons, but above all because I have interacted with him closely during my more than 14 year stint in Gandhinagar for the “Times of India”. One of the few decent Gujarat cadre bureaucrats, Chakraborty, belonging to the 1985 IAS batch, at least till I covered Sachivalaya was surely above controversies. He loved to remain faceless, never desired publicity, was professional to the core, and never indulged in loose talk. When he neared retirement, which happened in April 2020, first there were rumours in Sachivalaya that he would be appointed SEBI chairman, and then there was talk he would be chairman (or was it CEO?) of Gujarat International Finance Tec (GIFT) City (a dream project of Narendra Modi as Gujarat chief minister, which as Prime Minister Modi wants to promote, come what may). But, for some strange reasons, and I don’t know why, none of this happened, despite the fact...

Witnessing Iran beyond propaganda: Truth, war, and the path beyond western paradigm

By Naile Manjarrés On June 23, 2025—marked as the 2nd of Tir, 1404, on the Persian calendar—a ceasefire between Iran and Israel was announced. This "night of the decree" shifted the trajectory of global affairs; although the world may appear unchanged on the surface, we have yet to fully grasp its impact.

Environmental expert urges policy overhaul as forest and water resources face critical decline

By A Representative On the occasion of World Forest Day and World Water Day , observed on March 21 and 22, environmental voices from the Western Ghats have issued a stark warning to the Union government, calling for an urgent paradigm shift in how India manages its interconnected natural resources. In a formal communication addressed to Union Minister for Jal Shakti , Sri C R Patil , and Union Minister for Forest, Environment and Climate Change , Sri Bhupendra Yadav , policy analyst Shankar Sharma has highlighted a growing disconnect between sectoral policies and the holistic reality of resource governance.

Gujarat cadre to HDFC: When bureaucratic style hits corporate walls

By Rajiv Shah I was a little amused by the abrupt March 17, 2026 resignation of Atanu Chakraborty —a Gujarat cadre IAS officer of the 1985 batch who retired from the government in 2020—as chairman of HDFC Bank . Much of what may have led to his decision to quit this ostensibly high post—actually a non-executive, part-time role—is by now well known. I followed most of it online with considerable interest, partly because I had interacted with him umpteen times during my stint as The Times of India correspondent in Gandhinagar from 1997 to 2012.

Weaponised bravery, institutionalised cowardice as the engine of authoritarianism

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak* The insidious politics of crony capitalism is accelerating at an unprecedented pace, aided by the reckless expansion of artificial intelligence and other technologies designed not to liberate but to dominate, domesticate, and dehumanise societies. Alongside this, an illiberal politics of cowardice is emerging—serving as an accomplice to dehumanisation amid growing imperialist wars and conflicts across the world. Death in distant lands no longer stirs conscience. The push-button culture of digital screens has transformed social media into a disconnected, individualised, Hobbesian space, where the puritan pursuit of self-interest is elevated as the essence of human existence.

Moon missions and manholes: Development's drumbeat drowns out deaths in sewers

By Vikas Meshram* We proudly narrate the story of our nation’s progress. On every platform, we speak of the success of Chandrayaan , Digital India , and our rapidly growing economy. But behind this radiant picture lies a darkness—the world of sanitation workers who descend into sewers, risking their lives. This darkness is not confined to the drains alone; it runs deep within the conscience of our society.

Search This Blog