[Reader-list] does Modi's non-entry into US mean anything?

[radhikarajen at vsnl.net]

Fathima, 

 what about the saudi riyals and petro dollars that have flown to defend the accused into the "secular " trust and NGO of the Theesta and high payments to high profile "criminal" lawyers?

  Regards.

----- Original Message -----
From: "S.Fatima" <sadiafwahidi at yahoo.co.in>
Date: Wednesday, July 9, 2008 10:11 pm
Subject: Re: [Reader-list] does Modi's non-entry into US mean anything?
To: Rashmi Sawhney <rashmi.sawhney at gmail.com>
Cc: reader-list at sarai.net

> Dear Rashmi
> I know my analogy was stupid, but I was mostly reacting to the 
> report which I quoted about the US State department revoking his 
> visa earlier under the Immigration and Nationality Act, "which 
> prohibits foreign officials who are responsible for or directly 
> carried out, at any time, particularly severe violations of 
> religious freedom from obtaining U.S. visas". Now, why doesn't 
> such a law apply in India, why can't we punish him under similar 
> accusations here. I am sure the US govt is acting in this manner 
> only on the basis of the information provided to it by the Indian 
> state.
> This is what I can't fathom: we in India continue to accept Modi, 
> vote him to power, allow him to do all that business of shining 
> Gujarat, but we have a problem if he goes to the US (as you say 
> even the people outside the US will be agitated if he enters US). 
> So, why aren't we doing something about him while he shines in 
> Gujarat. Why doesn't the US bomb Gujarat to 'smoke him' out, the 
> way it does to the others it doesn't like.
> 
> I have my doubts if his non-entry is going to affect the business 
> and trade of the Gujaratis. On the other hand, the rallying for 
> his non-entry by the so-called peace activists only leads to 
> further divide between the NRI saffronites and the secularists. 
> The saffronites will get further motivated to work against the 
> cause of peace. More hate-dollars will pump into India.
> 
> SF
> 
> 
> --- On Wed, 9/7/08, Rashmi Sawhney <rashmi.sawhney at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> > From: Rashmi Sawhney <rashmi.sawhney at gmail.com>
> > Subject: Re: [Reader-list] does Modi's non-entry into US mean 
> anything?> To: sadiafwahidi at yahoo.co.in
> > Cc: reader-list at sarai.net
> > Date: Wednesday, 9 July, 2008, 8:54 PM
> > Dear Fatima,
> > 
> > Your analogy, I must agree with you, may probably be wrong,
> > but is certainly
> > naive and unproductive. A second denial of entry into the
> > US may be seen
> > from within Modi camps as being detrimental to his efforts
> > of furthering the
> > lie about a vibrant Gujarat. There are enough numbers of
> > religious
> > fundamentalists in the Western world who support Modi's
> > Hindutva ideology,
> > who may probably not take to the visa refusal kindly. Had
> > the US granted
> > Modi entry so many anti Modi individuals and organisations
> > around the world,
> > including in India, would be agitaged about this too.
> > 
> > It is not a question of whether the activists in the US and
> > NRIs want
> > to demonstrate that their sympathy for Gujarat's
> > Muslims is more than
> > activists in India - I think that is a reductive approach
> > that defeats the
> > purpose of a collective anti-Modi struggle. If you want to
> > campaign against
> > the USA's discriminatory and hypocritic policies, there
> > are many other
> > widely available issues that you could pick on - issues
> > that affect common
> > people without any clout or power.
> > 
> > Most countries have their own 'germ-infested foods'
> > that are rapidly
> > destroying any social fabrics composed of difference -
> > perhaps one could
> > consider the option of deputing germs-infested foods from
> > different
> > societies to other parts of the world to see if they
> > survive under hostile
> > and foreign conditions. Or, if your approach to solving the
> > problem of
> > Gujarat is to 'export' the germ-infested food,
> > please consider throwing it
> > in the sea.
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > On Wed, Jul 9, 2008 at 3:30 PM, S.Fatima
> > <sadiafwahidi at yahoo.co.in> wrote:
> > 
> > > Please see the report/appeal below, about another
> > effort to stop the
> > > Gujarat CM Narendra Modi from entering the US. While
> > withholding all my
> > > angst against what he allowed to happen in Gujarat in
> > 2002 and the fact that
> > > he shamelessly continues to be blind to the growing
> > hatred against Muslims,
> > > I wonder if the efforts by our activist friends in the
> > US to stop him from
> > > entering that soil mean anything other than a
> > hypocracy. After all, he
> > > continues to live and do what he pleases in
> > India/Gujarat, but we won't
> > > allow him in the US... Isn't that ridiculous?
> > >
> > > Are they trying to teach him a lesson, or punish him
> > through this gesture?
> > > Is his non-entry into the US going to badly affect the
> > Gujaratis' business
> > > and trade (which he is supposed to solemnize in New
> > Jersey)? Not the least,
> > > I think. So what is it then? Is it a symbolic
> > rejection of his leadership?
> > > Or do the NRI and American activist want to show that
> > they care about
> > > Gujarat's Muslims more than the activists in
> > India?
> > >
> > > Although this analogy maybe completely wrong, but I
> > can't help think this:
> > > "We won't allow a germ-infested food that is
> > killing thousands in India to
> > > enter the US"....
> > > Other thoughts are welcome.
> > >
> > > ==========
> > >
> > > USCIRF Urges Denial of U.S. Visa to Gujarat Chief
> > Minister Narendra Modi
> > > FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
> > > July 8, 2008
> > >
> > > Contact:  Judith Ingram
> > > Communications Director
> > > (202) 523-3240, ext. 127
> > >
> > > WASHINGTON - The United States Commission on
> > International Religious
> > > Freedom urges the U.S. State Department to reaffirm
> > its past decision to
> > > deny a tourist visa to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra
> > Modi, who has been
> > > invited to attend a conference in New Jersey this
> > August celebrating
> > > Gujarati culture.  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.
> > >
> > > Following Modi's invitation to attend conferences
> > in the U.S. in 2005, the
> > > Commission successfully urged the State Department to
> > revoke Modi's U.S.
> > > tourist visa.  Despite pressure from the Indian
> > government, the State
> > > Department revoked his visa under the Immigration and
> > Nationality Act (INA),
> > > which prohibits foreign government officials who are
> > "responsible for or
> > > directly carried out, at any time, particularly severe
> > violations of
> > > religious freedom" from obtaining U.S. visas.
> > This section was added to the
> > > INA by the International Religious Freedom Act of
> > 1998. The Commission once
> > > again urges the State Department to announce
> > Modi's ineligibility for a visa
> > > under the terms of the INA.
> > >
> > > "We have not seen changes that would warrant a
> > policy reversal," said
> > > Commission Chair Felice D. Gaer. "As official
> > bodies of the government of
> > > India have found, Narendra Modi is culpable for the
> > egregious and systematic
> > > human rights abuses wrought against thousands of
> > India's Muslims. Mr. Modi
> > > must demonstrate to the State Department and to the
> > American people why
> > > he-as a person found to have aided and abetted gross
> > violations of human
> > > rights, including religious freedom-should now be
> > eligible for a tourist
> > > visa.
> > >
> > > Following the riots in 2002, India's National
> > Human Rights Commission
> > > 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, 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
> > Maharashtra.  Despite
> > > this action, the lack of justice for victims remains a
> > serious concern, as
> > > there have been very few court convictions in the six
> > years since the
> > > religion-based riots. In 2007, a series of articles in
> > the Indian
> > > publication Tehelka documented police officers and
> > government officials on
> > > audio and videotape confessing that they facilitated
> > the violence, at times
> > > at the direct behest of Modi.
> > >
> > > "The inaction of Gujarat's government and
> > police force in the face of
> > > severe violence against religious minorities is an
> > inexcusable abuse of
> > > international human rights obligations," Gaer
> > said.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >      Unlimited freedom, unlimited storage. Get it now,
> > on
> > >
> > http://help.yahoo.com/l/in/yahoo/mail/yahoomail/tools/tools-08.html/
> > >
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