Appeasing The Butcher of Gujarat
While the rest of the world treats Hitler admirer Narendra Modi as a demagogue involved in mass murder, Canada appeases him.
At the end of September 2009, Stockwell Day travelled to Ahmedabad to open the Canadian trade office for Gujarat, where he shared a stage with Narendra Modi ( http://deshgujarat.com/2009/09/25/canada-opens-new-trade-office-in-ahmedabad/). Canada already has trade offices in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kolkata, and given India’s growing status as an economic powerhouse, it’s not surprising that businesses here would be interested in an increased presence there. What is disturbing, is the Harper governments choice of the Modi governed Gujarat. While the US treats Modi as a major violator of human rights, and denies him entry, Canadian politicians have no qualms travelling to Gujarat and enhancing our relationships with the man known as the Butcher of Gujarat.
Background on the Gujarat Riots On 27 February 2002, 59 passengers, including many women and children, died in a fire in a compartment of the Sabarmati Express near Godhra station in Gujarat. At that time, Gujarat government officials described it as a “planned attack” by local Muslims on Hindu pilgrims returning by train from Ayodhya. In the following days and weeks, Hindu mobs targeted members of the Muslim minority in the state.
Between February 28 and March 2, 2002, under Narendra Modi’s leadership, Hindu nationalists perpetrated mass murder of Muslims in the state. In 16 of Gujarat’s 24 districts, 2,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed, 200,000 were internally displaced. Over 100,000 homes, thousands of hotels and establishments – specifically targeted for being owned by Muslims – were damaged or destroyed. Relief camps were attacked at night.
People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR), a leading human rights organisation, alleged that the Gujarat riots were not an outcome of the Godhra incident as the “planning” had begun much earlier and charged the state government with complicity in the violence. http://www1.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/articleshow?art_id=11812188
According to a PUDR report, “Planning for attacks against the minority community had begun much before February 27 .There had been a steady build-up of meetings, distribution of leaflets etc over the last two years, all propagating hatred and myths about the minority community,” it added.
Calls to rape Muslim girls and women were contained in pamphlets produced by the VHP and RSS and distributed in Ahmedabad months before the violence started. A VHP leaflet called Jihad (holy war), signed by VHP state general secretary Chinubhai Patel, calls on Hindus: “”We will cut them and their blood will flow like rivers. We will kill Muslims the way they destroyed Babri mosque”". It goes on to spell out the sexual nature of their communal hatred” http://discardedlies.com/entry/?2401
In April 2002, retired supreme court justices V. R. Krishna Iyer and P. B. Sawant headed a citizen’s panel to investigate the riot. Their report includes testimony of the then Gujarat Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) minister Haren Pandya (since murdered), who testified about an evening meeting convened by Narendra Modi the evening of the Godhra train burning. At this meeting, officials were instructed not to obstruct the Hindu rage following the incident. The report also highlighted a second meeting, held in Lunawada village of Panchmahal district, attended by state ministers Ashok Bhatt, and Prabhatsinh Chauhan, and other BJP and RSS leaders, where “detailed plans were made on the use of kerosene and petrol for arson and other methods of killing.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Gujarat_violence
In a 2007 expose, the newspaper Tehelka released hidden camera footage of several members of the BJP, VHP and the Bajrang Dal admitting their role in the riots. Among those featured in the tapes was the special counsel representing the Gujarat government before the Nanavati-Shah Commission, Arvind Pandya, who resigned from his post after they were made public.
The US Denies Modi a Visa
In 2005, As Narendra Modi was preparing to travel to the US to speak at conference, the US Department of State revoked Mr Modi’s ‘tourist/business’ visa under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), a law that makes “any government official who was responsible for or directly carried out at any time, particularly severe violations of religious freedom, ineligible for a visa”.
The Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) had invited Modi as chief guest for their annual convention in Florida in March 2005. The Coalition Against Genocide (http://www.coalitionagainstgenocide.org/) CAG called on Chris Matthews, host of Hardball on MSNBC, to decline the invitation to speak at the AAHOA Convention, and American Express to rescind its sponsorship of AAHOA. On March 8, Chris Matthews withdrew from the AAHOA event.
On March 15, 2005, House Resolution 156 was introduced in the United States Congress by Congressperson John Conyers, ranking Democrat (Michigan), House Judiciary Committee, and Dean, Congressional Black Caucus, and Congressperson Pitts, member, India Caucus and the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, “condemning the conduct of Chief Minister Narendra Modi for his actions to incite religious persecution and urging the United States to condemn all violations of religious freedom in India.” On March 18, Modi was denied a diplomatic visa under Section 214(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by the US embassy in New Delhi, as this was not a diplomatic visit, and his tourist and business visa was revoked under INA Section 212(a)(2)(G), “as an official responsible for carrying out severe violations of religious freedom,” under Section 3 of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.
Following this, AAHOA has withdrawn Modi’s invitation, and American Express has cancelled $150,000 in sponsorship money. http://www.countercurrents.org/guj-angana220305.htm In 2008, amid reports that Modi would be attending the World Gujarati Congress in New Jersey, the US once again reiterated that if Modi was to apply for a visa, he would be rejected for the same reason.
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recalled that Modi was “previously denied entrance to the United States due to his role in riots that overtook the Indian state of Gujarat from February to May 2002 in which reportedly as many as 2,000 Muslims were killed, thousands raped, and over 200,000 displaced.”
“Numerous reports, including reports of official bodies of the government of India, have documented the role of Modi’s state government in the planning and execution of the violence, and the failure to hold perpetrators accountable,” it said. The USCIRF also pointed out that following the riots in 2002, India’s National Human Rights Commission had issued a report that “pointed to the role of Modi’s government in the systematic murder of Muslims and the calculated destruction of Muslim homes and businesses.”
“In 2003,” it added, “the Indian Central government found corruption and anti-Muslim bias to be so pervasive in the Gujarat judiciary that riot cases were shifted for trial to the neighboring state of Maharastra.”
The UK government has taken a similar approach, without denying Modi a visit visa. Jeff Wilson, a spokesman for the British High Commission in New Delhi told the Times of India, “We have a working policy to have no contact with the Gujarat state government. It is because of our concerns over what happened in Gujarat.” http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/UK-reads-the-riot-act-to-Narendra-Modi/articleshow/1058718.cms
Modi’s Hitler Fetish
Modi is a self-styled disciple of Adolph Hitler. He has often expressed his admiration for Hitler and even members of his own party sometimes refer to him as the Hitler of India. In Gujarat, Adolph Hitler is glorified in higher secondary school textbooks. Modi and the state of Gujarat’s growing admiration for Hitler has even spooked Israel. Former Israeli Councilor General David Zohar Zonshine has made significant efforts to rectify the matter, including holding exhibitions to educate Modi’s followers about the holocaust. But textbooks printed before Israeli protests are still being used in schools.
While a Class VIII student is taught ‘negative aspects’ of Gandhi’s non-cooperation movement, the Class X social studies textbook has chapters on ‘Hitler, the Supremo’ and ‘Internal Achievements of Nazism’. (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/In-Modis-Gujarat-Hitler-is-a-textbook-hero/articleshow/868469.cms)
Canada’s Response
The Liberals echoed US caution on Modi, and kept their distance after the Gujarat Riots. The Stephen Harper regime, on the other hand, has no such concerns (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dnZMSqTQcw&feature=youtube_gdata). This has likely to do with both the growing influence and size of the Gujarati community in Toronto, as well as the efforts of Narendra Modi admirers in Canada, such as the Canada India Foundation.
In 2008, Modi was rumoured to be coming to Toronto, but ended up addressing the Canadians Friends of Gujarat through video conference. The event was organized by the Canada India Foundation at the Pearson Convention Centre in Brampton, and attended by Ontario Minister Harinder Takhar. http://www.torontosun.com/news/columnists/ajit_jain/2008/09/24/6858851-sun.html
Several South Asian groups expressed concerns about his visit, including Radical Desis, Taraksheel Sabha and The Indo-Canadian Workers’ Association. They also accused the CIF of insulting the victims of the Gujarat riots by honouring Modi (http://www.southasianpost.com/portal2/c1ee8c441c9545af011c964ac52a00f0_Strange_Bedfellows.do.html).
The CIF, which claims to be a non-partisan, non-political organization is a known fan of Modi. Its officers went to India to meet Modi in 2008 (http://www.canadaindia.org/component/option,com_zoom/Itemid,72/catid,10/). The CIF has also been active in meeting members of the Canadian government – its website proudly highlights meetings with Harper, his ministers and Michael Ignatieff (http://www.canadaindia.org/component/option,com_zoom/Itemid,72/). While there is nothing wrong with organizations lobbying their government, surely this government, which has blackballed critics of Israel, needs to tell us why it is meeting with those who admire someone associated with mass murder.
Most disturbingly, CIF’s links to Modi may be driven by reasons other than the promotion of trade. At least one of the people involved with the CIF has a history of anti Muslim bigotry.
At the time of the Toronto event, the convener of CIF, and its National Policy Director was Naresh Raghubeer.
Raghubeer is the former Exec Director of the Canadian Coalition for Democracies and known for his racist views. His views on Islam and Muslims include – “Islam and the terrorism it promotes must be religated (sic) to the ash bin of history, much like what we had to do with National Socialism in Europe in the last century.” http://ccdwatch.blogspot.com/
Raghubeer isn’t the only CCD Exec who harbours racist views on Muslims. Others have had similar outbursts, including its President, Alastair Gordon : “Just by looking around the world, who could be blamed for concluding that Islam is a savage, barbaric, primitive, cruel, despotic religion …”
The CCD was one of the organisations lobbying for the opening of Canada’s trade office in Gujarat.
The Harper governments embracing of anti Muslim bigots is not new. Stockwell Day, the same Minister who stood with Narendra Modi also attended the screening of an anti Muslim movie called “Obsession” (http://www.mpjsask.org/files/hatefilm.pdf). This is the same movie that was distributed by the bigots at Clarion Fund during the US Presidential Elections (http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389×4119828 ).
Most recently, the Harper government has appointed Gerald Latulippe, a known anti-Muslim bigot as president of Rights and Democracy. John Baglow, a former Executive VP of PSAC, gets it right when he says “Gérard Latulippe, the incoming president of the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development, turns out to possess the appropriate anti-Muslim credentials to pass muster with the Harper government. He should fit in well. (http://network.nationalpost.com/NP/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2010/02/24/399960.aspx#ixzz0gx6UbmBh)
Unlike the US, where Modi was opposed by an organised and dedicated movement, none exists in Canada. Perhaps its time to create one. Write to Harper and your MP (Tory, Liberal, NDP all) – and ask them why Canada is appeasing someone connected to mass murder. Close our trade office in Ahmedabad. Trade with India, as with other countries, is good for Canada – open another trade office in Delhi or Mumbai. Why reward someone for sustained bigotry and genocide ?
Tags: alastair gordon, bigot, hitler, narendra modi, naresh raghubeer, stephen harper, stockwell day
