Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has come a long way. From being wanted for his role in the 2002 Gujerat violence in which 790 Muslims were killed and thus being unable to enter the USA, he is now on a state visit, complete with an address to Congress. However, the visit was clearly not of a regional peacemaker, but of a regional sub-hegemon, someone who would act as the USA’s local catspaw in its struggle against China. Not for nothing is India increasing its military cooperation with the USA, including its participation in the QUAD, where Japan and Australia have joined with the USA and India in an alliance against China.
It is noticeable that Mr Modi is both trying to avoid any criticism of India’s own distinctly patchy human rights record, and trying to get the USA to help it act against Pakistan. While Mr Modi ended away questions about his government’s own record ersecution of all non-Hindu religious minorities, whether Muslims, Christians or Sikhs. Specifically, he batted away any queries about the abolition of Kashmir’s special status and its bifurcation into two union territories. While the Kashmir issue is a matter of concern, Modi struck closer home when he spoke about the Financial Action Task Force increasing its restrictions. India had tried to exploit the FATF list system by trying its best not just to keep Pakistan on its grey list, but have it downgraded to its black list. It was only by the greatest and most coordinated of efforts that Pakistan was able to get off the grey list. India’s move is merely aimed to portray Pakistan as a hive of terrorism.
Pakistan has to observe the Indian moves carefully. Increasingly, India is throwing its weight around because it has been anointed by the USA as the regional hegemon, and is increasingly using international fora for venting its hatred against Pakistan. The fault is really of the world community, especially the Western powers, the USA the foremost, which have all allowed India to engage in the most arrant bad behaviour without even the mildest of criticism, only because they think India is a very large market. They should realize that it is only by following the principles to truth and justice that anything lasting will be achieved.
