The global hegemony of the US rests precariously on the discourse, or rather the rhetoric of human rights. It’s a tricky and delicate balancing act that could fall apart at any time. The US lectures more than half of the world on democracy, human rights, and freedom of expression. It interferes in the internal affairs of other countries on the pretext of protecting human rights and democracy, wages war against hapless nations routinely summons other countries on what kind of lesser democracies they are, and sanctions those who refuse to play by the US rulebook of “democracy”.
Yet, ironically enough, none of the high and mighty “principles” of the US regarding democracy and human rights apply to its own case. The country coolly turns other nations into battlegrounds when it suits its purpose, and yet, lectures other countries who have taken similar measures to protect their own interests. It lectures democracy and human rights to Bharat when the government of Bharat takes action to curb anarchic protests spiraling into violence but doesn’t think twice before controlling protests on its own land with an iron fist.
The double standards are most glaring in the case of the ongoing pro-Palestine protests in the US university campuses. Let us issue this disclaimer in the beginning itself that we do not support such anarchic protests by any means. Hindupost had recently published a piece exposing the radical terror groups’ nexus of these protests. But we do want to highlight the double standards of the US when it comes to dealing with protests in other countries and protests on its own soil.
The US police have cracked down on the pro-Palestine protestors in various universities rather aggressively. According to the latest report by The Guardian, at least 2,000 people have been arrested for participating in pro-Palestinian protests on US campuses. The report also says that student protestors, faculty, along with others have sustained severe injuries as police raided multiple encampment protests across the US overnight.
The footage of the US police operations at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) campus was broadcast by several Bharatiya news channels as well. The US riot police equipped with heavy riot gear could be seen storming into the campus and calling out on the protestors to clear the encampment area.
An officer also reportedly fired a gun inside Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall and the incident is said to be currently under review by the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg. There are many media reports on the US riot police’s violent crackdown on the pro-Palestine protests in US universities. This is again not to support the protests which were themselves descending into violence and anarchy, but rather to prove the larger point that what would be the response of the US if such was the police response to a protest happening in any other country.
For any kind of protest happening in another country, it’s always the hapless and innocent protestors vs the ruthless state. That’s how the US framed anti-CAA protests and farmers’ protests in Bharat. The western media was rife with biased and judgmental reports insinuating that the Bharatiya state was brutally cracking down on innocent protestors and that all democracy was at stake. Multiple US departments didn’t refrain from issuing all sorts of statements on the Bharatiya government’s supposed mishandling of these protests, literally threatening Bharat.
Yet, when the US does a much worse crackdown on university students protesting in its own country, the western media avoids the kind of judgmental language and tone that it routinely uses for protests happening in Bharat and elsewhere. Most western media reports give you factual accounts of the police crackdown on pro-Palestine protests, but that’s about it. There is no condemnation of the action of the state, no indignation at the “erosion of human rights” in the US, and no commentaries declaring the “death of democracy” in the US.
Seems like such condemnation is exclusively reserved for Bharat and other developing countries to keep them in their place. For protests in the west, the standards are different. It’s not the first time that the west is majorly cracking down on protests happening on its soil and the media is not making a big deal out of it. Farmers’ protests across Europe were curbed similarly, yet how many reports did you see condemning the western governments’ crackdown on farmers protests in their own countries? Yet, when Bharat was in the midst of farmers’ protests, the whole world knew about these. Such was the anti-Bharat narrative built around these protests that people having no clue about Bharatiya politics probably thought our government was acting like a criminal in its supposed brutal crackdown on farmers’ protests.
The good thing though is Bharat’s foreign policy has changed for the good. We are more aggressive and assertive, and don’t mind gently but firmly showing the mirror to the west so that it can check out its own hypocrisy. The Ministry of External Affairs recently took a jibe at the US government’s crackdown on the pro-Palestine protests in US university campuses. It didn’t name the US directly, but the reference is quite clear. “Democracies should display understanding in regard to other democracies. After all, we are all judged by what we do at home and not what we say abroad”, stated the MEA.
This is a fine example of how Bharat has started turning the tables by moving a step ahead of being defensive and responding to the west’s criticism. It shows that we don’t shy away from setting our own agenda and pinpointing the hypocrisy and double standards of the west prime facie. It’s a huge paradigm shift in Bharat’s foreign policy.
Bharat also recently rejected the US State Department’s Human Rights Report (HRR) which accused the country of human rights abuses. Amidst a spate of allegations, the report accused the Bharatiya government of “significant” abuses in Manipur. It also mentioned the alleged attacks on journalists, minorities, and dissenting voices across the country.
Bharat rejected the report categorically and called it “deeply biased”. “This report is deeply biased and reflects a poor understanding of India. We attach no value to it and urge you to do the same”, stated the MEA.
Yet another report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) accused Bharat of messing up with the religious freedom of its citizens. It said that it “continues to have ongoing concerns” about Bharat where it has “seen backsliding”. It urged the US State Department to declare Bharat a “Country of Particular Concern” in the context of religious freedom. Bharat dismissed the report saying that the organization was indulging in propaganda and trying to interfere in Bharat’s general elections.
“The USCIRF is known as a biased organization with a political agenda. They continue to publish their propaganda on India masquerading as part of an annual report. We really have no expectation that the USCIRF will even seek to understand India’s diverse, pluralistic and democratic ethos. Their efforts to interfere in the largest electoral exercise of the world will never succeed”, stated the MEA.
Notice how Bharat’s criticism of the hypocrisy and double standards of the west has gotten sharper and more aggressive. The language is no longer apologetic; it doesn’t shy away from the no-words-minced direct approach in calling out the biases of western countries.
This new Bharat is what the west seems to be uncomfortable with. We are slowly but firmly changing the narrative by being proactive in showing the mirror to the west instead of merely being reactive.
