Chief Minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi is now in need of a US visa again. Indian Americans are divided over whether he should get one or not [PTI].
“V” for visa, Modi seems to be saying
img: via BBC
The invite was extended to him by the Association of Indian Americans in North America (AIANA) and is being opposed by the Coalition Against Genocide (CAG), an Indian American group formed in the wake of the Gujarat riots of 2002. To visit the US, Modi would need a B1/B2 tourist visa. His previous application for a visa was denied in 2005 by the US Department of State, when he was invited to speak at a Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) conference [TOI]. The reason for the denial was “for restricting religious freedom”.
However, the US policy on visits by tyrannical rulers with spotty human rights records is vague. Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was one of those leaders with spotty human rights records allowed to visit the US and give speeches. [WaPo]
Keeping that in mind, how does one reconcile this issue? On a personal level and as a tax paying resident of the US, I’m opposed to any sort of visa issuance for Narendra Modi. But, like Ahmadinejad, Modi is a democratically elected leader, probably elected under freer and fairer circumstances than the Iranian President, if I may say. Granted that he is not a resident of the US, but between the two tyrants, can the US really justify denying one democratically elected leader while allowing another? On the other hand, if the US lets him visit, wouldn’t it be a slap in the face of the victims of the Gujarat riots i.e. citizens of a democracy?
So many thorny questions, whoever said governing a free society was an easy task. So what do ye, our uber readers think? Thoughts? Opinions?
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