Here is pretty well-written article. The whole saga of the Modi visadenial is not just about Modi it seems. Its bigger than Modi andprobably bigger than the BJP. About the BJP "Many Americans see it as the Ku Klux Klan—overtlyracist and overtly supremacist," -Bruce Robertson, professor,international relations, Johns Hopkins University --Ram__________ Magazine| May 09, 2005 BJP-Watch In The Line Of God's Periscope If the Christian right and liberal advocacy groups have their way, notjust Modi but other parivar members too might have to say goodbye toAmerica SEEMA SIROHI It shouldn't come as a surprise if more US visas are denied to moreBJP leaders in the future. The unofficial "BJP watch" in America is inoverdrive, emboldened and elated by the surprisingly successfulcampaign against Narendra Modi, targeted for his crimes of commissionand omission in Gujarat. The denial of a visa to Modi was only thefirst step in a campaign being contemplated to put the spotlight onother Sangh parivar eminences and systematically defrock them. Workingwith legal precedent in US law, Indian Christian and Muslim groups aswell as Left-leaning, secular academics are determined to increase theheat on the parivar elite, isolating and impugning them and ultimatelydiscrediting the BJP and its cousins. The campaign is in the planning stages but the fervour to 'punish'those seen as responsible for a series of crimes, from the BabriMasjid demolition to the murder of Graham Staines and sons to theGujarat pogrom, is evident. The church and other groups are determinedto have a loud voice in changing US policy towards the BJP by usingthe influence of both the right-wing and liberal advocacy groups,influential Congressmen and their hot button issues, the bedrock ofChristian conservatism in America and the heightened role of religionin a White House ruled by a president who owes his re-election to theevangelists. In the coming weeks, church groups and the CoalitionAgainst Genocide comprising NGOs and academics will decide on astrategy to tell the "real" story of the saffronites. Ideas includegetting top Hindutva leaders declared persona non grata, a goal manyconsider overstated but which could make for tough politics were theBJP to return to power. The antennae of mainstream Christian groups such as the US Conferenceof Catholic Bishops with a following of 63 million, the SouthernBaptist Convention with 16 million members and the National Council ofChurches, an organisation of 36 churches, are up and listening.Statements from Indian politicians are closely analysed. Vastly fundedand supported by a plethora of Christian websites and newsorganisations like the Christian Broadcasting Network and ChristianToday, they know every time a missionary is attacked. Americanevangelists, who have given Christian activism a bad name, track casesof persecution. Congressman Joseph Pitts, a conservative Republican who mountedpressure on the State Department in the Modi case, told Outlookbluntly, "A number of the BJP's policies are terrible andanti-democratic." He has visited Gujarat, witnessed the aftermath,heard horrifying testimonies from survivors and walked through EhsaanJaffri's burnt-down house. He said the US government was looking veryseriously at human rights violations in India. "We'll continue tomonitor the situation. I'd like to make it clear that the US Congressand the US Department of State did not bring the atrocities linkedwith Narendra Modi to light out of the blue. All this attention is dueto the fact that we are listening to the people of India who aredeeply disturbed by and directly affected by the actions of Modi andhis cohorts." To explain the American ire, which has taken some time to rise,analysts point to the country's deeply religious roots. Says BruceRobertson, professor, international relations, Johns HopkinsUniversity, "In America, we are particularly sensitive to howChristians are treated. We are a very conservative country but withall its faults, religious freedom is the touchstone of all ourfreedoms. The organised church and the broader community are keepingan eye on the situation. Attention levels were raised after theburning of the Australian priest and his sons," he said. "Had it happened in the US, federal marshals would be all over andindictments would follow.In India, rapes of nuns and the so-calledreconversions of Christians should be cracked down upon, not winkedat," said Robertson, who was raised in India where his father was amissionary. He says he speaks as someone who's seen both sides. Hecondemns some of the tactics evangelists use but says "under nocircumstance do they justify rape and murder". Gujarat only confirmedthe Christian right's worst fears. The BJP and its wider philosophywere seen as a reversal from India's pluralistic ideals. "Theorganised church sees the BJP as a renegade community within the Hindutradition. Many Americans see it as the Ku Klux Klan—overtly racistand overtly supremacist," Robertson said. The failure of the BJP leadership to punish Modi fuelled a widercampaign in the US to isolate those seen as perpetrators of crimesagainst minorities. John Prabhudoss, leader of the Federation ofIndian American Christian Organisations of North America (FIOCONA),says while the first Bush administration was "wrongly advised" on theBJP, the climate has now changed. A Madurai-born Christian who workedon Capitol Hill to highlight Modi's record, Prabhudoss says, "We haveput the issue in the forefront. Unless the BJP changes its philosophy,it will be in trouble. We'll force the US administration to recognisethat this philosophy is detrimental to developing Indo-US relations." The Congressional Working Group on Religious Freedom, a coalition of70 ngos and religious leaders from different faiths launched under theleadership of prominent ultra-conservative Senator Rick Santorum andthe House majority whip Congressman Roy Blunt, is a key watchdoggroup. Meeting bi-weekly with a "core group" of Capitol Hill staffers,it was important in influencing the Modi decision. Senator Santorum'soffice told Outlook that he was a strong supporter of religiousfreedom, both in this and other countries. "Every individual shouldhave the right to believe whatever he or she chooses (including thefreedom to convert) without the fear of persecution from thegovernment." Benjamin Marsh, a resident fellow at the Institute on Religion andPublic Policy and Washington director of the Dalit Freedom Network,tracks anti-conversion bills in India and keeps the US Congressinformed. "The issue is not a political party but the ideals ofHindutva which profess that India is a Hindu country, not a vast,pluralistic land where other religions can co-exist," Marsh says. Theanti-conversion laws are overly broad and cover activities protectedby international law such as the ability to share one's religion andprovide relief, he adds. Conversions are a "freedom of religion"issue. "In our mind, it's expression. Conversion is a respectedactivity. If you can't choose your religion, what freedom do youhave?" he asks. Marsh says Hindu leaders should fight conversions "not on politicalbut cultural grounds" via religious campaigns and by inviting othersinto the conversation. "The Christians combated eastern religions notthrough laws but by re-evangelisation of society," he said, referringto the '60s when Hindu godmen were making inroads into Americansociety. The BJP may find the advice gratuitous but if the campaignagainst it gathers strength, Modi wouldn't be the end of the chapter. _______________________________________________ Assam mailing list [email protected] http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/mailman/listinfo/assam
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