In India, the protests genuinely seem to be motivated by the citizenship and immigration laws – or rather, a misunderstanding thereof. That did not stop the issue from being quickly weaponized, both by Indian politicians and neighboring countries that have conflicts with New Delhi. However, and somewhat crucially, the one player who has so far refrained from getting involved is Washington.
Oh sure, the US Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has condemned “religious violence” in India and called for PM Narendra Modi to “stop use of force on those exercising right to express concern” about the new laws – but the State Department has so far not followed the lead of its attack dog. In fact, by keeping Pakistan on the “naughty” list of countries concerning religious freedom, Foggy Bottom managed to get India and Pakistan to actually agree on something: condemning the US for meddling in their internal affairs.
Yet such meddling can’t hold a candle to the “Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy” Act which the US Congress adopted – and President Donald Trump signed – at the beginning of December. If the Indian laws are truly as awful as the mainstream media says, don’t they warrant something similar?
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