Rights bodies located in the west that recently downgraded India’s human rights record are nothing but ‘Hypocrites’ said India’s Foreign Minister Jaishankar in his statement. Not too long ago the same countries were themselves involved in enslaving people and in mass human rights abuse and violations, which would send the rest of the world in shock. The Bollywood movie ‘Lagan’depicts atrocities the British inflicted upon the Indian population especially farmers. There are thousands of stories of what the West has done on its own turf with regards to American-Indians and Mexican people.
However, becoming a democratic and immigrant base country America changed. The recent attack on Capitol Hill reminds us that everything is not fine with US. We need to constantly watch what we do and take corrective action before it becomes too late.
UK parliament is not different on this issue. Rather than minding its own human rights abuse, they had the audacity to bring up India’s farmer issue on their table and India’s handling of farmers’ protest. Not surprisingly, it is the PIO parliamentarians of UK, who try to support such issues for their own vote banks. Most of them were educated in India or are children of immigrants. Many of the opponents to new farm laws would never return to India and had sold their lands in exchange for greener pastures overseas. They fail to see the new Farm Laws would ultimately bring freedom and better life for the farmers.
Indian farmers especially from the state from Bihar and South India were taken to many British colonies as indentured labor. Most of the wealthy Punjab farmers, who are protesting today, do not work in their fields anymore. They primarily engage labor from Bihar to till and harvest their fields. One can witness this during sowing and harvest seasons at railway stations. In fact, these are the farmers who are going to lose along with the Artiyas (middlemen), if the new farm laws are implemented.
At the same time massive human rights abuse and atrocities are taking place around the world, especially in Myanmar, China, Africa and Russia. In comparison India’s human rights records are fairly well placed. Several new laws have been initiated in India to protect especially women and other caste related abuse. As an inspiring democracy and developing country, India is moving ahead in spite of facing numerous hurdles with issues on religion, economic disparity and caste-based politics.
Countries like Russia, China and some other Western countries want to downgrade India to shield their own shortcomings on human rights. China is paying the price for what they have done in Myanmar and to the Uyghur people. The abuses perpetrated in Tibet over 60 years ago are not forgotten by the world.
The recent meeting of the QUAD nations hopefully will put enough pressure on China to rethink their adventurism in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. ASEAN nations who for long had enjoyed good relations with China are also reinventing their policies on China.
