එයගේවන විද්යා මාර්ගෝපදේශයේ සීමාවෙන්, එය උකස් කිරීම සඳහා දත්ත වෙන් දේශක්ති සංකල්යම කර්ථීකයෙන් ඉඩ කළ යුතු යැයි දැක්වෙමින් අපක්ෂගු ප්රධානියා දැනටමත් කියවීමට ඉහළ සුදුසු දායකත්වයක් ඇත්නම් එය ශ්රී ලාංකීයේදී සැගවුණු සේවියේදීය.
With the US administration making the case of Gur Patwant Singh Pannun, a US citizen who is designated as a terrorist in India, an issue of national prestige and US President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken pursuing the case at a personal level, India has for the first time intervened at the highest level, assuring the international community that India follows the rule of law.
Prime Minister Modi is reported to have told the UK daily, "If someone gives us any information, we would definitely look into it… If a citizen of ours has done anything good or bad, we are ready to look into it."
The US has indirectly alleged India's hand in the attempt to kill an American citizen, who happens to be a protagonist of Khalistan. Though a minuscule number of Sikhs and misguided youths aided by their financiers and instigators based in the US and Canada operate from the land of Punjab, there is no such visible movement for the so-called Khalistan existing in the Indian Sikh majority state.
There is a full-fledged democratically elected State Government flourishing in the Indian State of Punjab. That Sikhism is thriving in Punjab and in the rest of India is a universally accepted reality. The US administration and the international community must realize this ground truth and must not allow their land to become fertile ground for the Khalistan movement. Any country facilitating such anti-India gangs on their soil cannot have normal relations with the Indian State.
Earlier, External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar had responded to US complaints and assured to look into the case by setting up a high-level committee, but the US side continues to browbeat the Indian government with threats of sanctions issued by the USCIRF (US Commission on International Religious Freedom). The USCIRF has alleged discriminatory policies and actions against religious minorities in India and recommended strong actions against India.
India has publicly refuted such baseless claims of attempts to eliminate a US citizen on American soil, but at the same time has declared to investigate the case at the highest level. Though there have been several incidents of purported US citizens making open terror threats against India, Indian authorities and Indian facilities have actually been a target of violent attacks and Indian public representatives threatened with dire consequences, the US administration and law and order agencies have turned a blind eye to such nefarious developments on its soil. This exposes the double standard being adopted by the US administration on the issue of the rule of law and the ugly hand of terrorism being allowed to flourish and ignored by American leaders.
The sinister campaign being orchestrated against India from US soil by Indian fugitives adopted as US citizens by the US administration, with a nefarious design to dismember the country claimed by the US administration as its closest strategic partner and dear friend, appears very intriguing.
At a time when India has assured the US administration that it is investigating the case, the use of strong-arm tactics to silence the Indian government by a US agency CIRF smacks of ill will against India among elements in the US administration. Even before the US side has completed the inquiry on the allegations against India, the US administration seems to be pronouncing judgments and issuing threats against India.
During his September G-20 summit visit to New Delhi, President Biden is reported to have himself raised the issue during his meeting with PM Narendra Modi. Surprisingly, President Biden or Secretary Blinken has not yet taken note of the open threat issued by Gurpatwant Singh Pannun to attack the Indian Parliament or Indian air carriers. As a true friend and closest strategic partner of India, the US side was expected to show seriousness against anti-India elements operating in the guise of US citizens.
If the US citizens are given a free hand to act against the unity and integrity of India, the Indian leaders are certainly not going to ignore such developments. Indian authorities must expose the US bid to malign India and allow its citizens to connive against the integrity of India.
At a time when the US administration is expected to strengthen India's hands on international fora in view of the need for the two countries to appear united and promote its four-nation Indo-Pacific alliance of QUAD, being promoted to take on the China challenge in the South China Sea, such anti-India policies by the US administration will not be helpful.
In fact, it can cast a shadow on deepening India-US strategic relations, which have been described as the defining partnership of the 21st century by the ex-US president Barack Obama. However, such attempts by the US side to humiliate the Indian government in the eyes of the international community would backfire and impact the cordial bilateral relations, which have enabled the two countries to overturn strained defense relations and become a strong defense partner.
With India emerging as a prominent market for US defense products and technology and the US as a reliable defense partner, the US side must nurture this by showing sensitivity to India's concerns relating to its integrity and sovereignty.
The US must realize that gone are the days when the US administration used to describe anti-India terrorists operating from and aided by the Pakistani State as freedom fighters. India has been taking strong exception to the US policy of arming Pakistani armed forces against India, but of late, the US administration appeared to have changed its track and befriend India, which has emerged as a strong voice in international fora on its own strength. As the fifth-largest economy and a major military power, India is certainly not going to allow any other power on earth to cast an evil eye on the well-being of the country.
***The writer is a senior journalist and strategic affairs analyst; views expressed here are his own.
Prime Minister Modi is reported to have told the UK daily, "If someone gives us any information, we would definitely look into it… If a citizen of ours has done anything good or bad, we are ready to look into it."
The US has indirectly alleged India's hand in the attempt to kill an American citizen, who happens to be a protagonist of Khalistan. Though a minuscule number of Sikhs and misguided youths aided by their financiers and instigators based in the US and Canada operate from the land of Punjab, there is no such visible movement for the so-called Khalistan existing in the Indian Sikh majority state.
There is a full-fledged democratically elected State Government flourishing in the Indian State of Punjab. That Sikhism is thriving in Punjab and in the rest of India is a universally accepted reality. The US administration and the international community must realize this ground truth and must not allow their land to become fertile ground for the Khalistan movement. Any country facilitating such anti-India gangs on their soil cannot have normal relations with the Indian State.
Earlier, External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar had responded to US complaints and assured to look into the case by setting up a high-level committee, but the US side continues to browbeat the Indian government with threats of sanctions issued by the USCIRF (US Commission on International Religious Freedom). The USCIRF has alleged discriminatory policies and actions against religious minorities in India and recommended strong actions against India.
India has publicly refuted such baseless claims of attempts to eliminate a US citizen on American soil, but at the same time has declared to investigate the case at the highest level. Though there have been several incidents of purported US citizens making open terror threats against India, Indian authorities and Indian facilities have actually been a target of violent attacks and Indian public representatives threatened with dire consequences, the US administration and law and order agencies have turned a blind eye to such nefarious developments on its soil. This exposes the double standard being adopted by the US administration on the issue of the rule of law and the ugly hand of terrorism being allowed to flourish and ignored by American leaders.
The sinister campaign being orchestrated against India from US soil by Indian fugitives adopted as US citizens by the US administration, with a nefarious design to dismember the country claimed by the US administration as its closest strategic partner and dear friend, appears very intriguing.
At a time when India has assured the US administration that it is investigating the case, the use of strong-arm tactics to silence the Indian government by a US agency CIRF smacks of ill will against India among elements in the US administration. Even before the US side has completed the inquiry on the allegations against India, the US administration seems to be pronouncing judgments and issuing threats against India.
During his September G-20 summit visit to New Delhi, President Biden is reported to have himself raised the issue during his meeting with PM Narendra Modi. Surprisingly, President Biden or Secretary Blinken has not yet taken note of the open threat issued by Gurpatwant Singh Pannun to attack the Indian Parliament or Indian air carriers. As a true friend and closest strategic partner of India, the US side was expected to show seriousness against anti-India elements operating in the guise of US citizens.
If the US citizens are given a free hand to act against the unity and integrity of India, the Indian leaders are certainly not going to ignore such developments. Indian authorities must expose the US bid to malign India and allow its citizens to connive against the integrity of India.
At a time when the US administration is expected to strengthen India's hands on international fora in view of the need for the two countries to appear united and promote its four-nation Indo-Pacific alliance of QUAD, being promoted to take on the China challenge in the South China Sea, such anti-India policies by the US administration will not be helpful.
In fact, it can cast a shadow on deepening India-US strategic relations, which have been described as the defining partnership of the 21st century by the ex-US president Barack Obama. However, such attempts by the US side to humiliate the Indian government in the eyes of the international community would backfire and impact the cordial bilateral relations, which have enabled the two countries to overturn strained defense relations and become a strong defense partner.
With India emerging as a prominent market for US defense products and technology and the US as a reliable defense partner, the US side must nurture this by showing sensitivity to India's concerns relating to its integrity and sovereignty.
The US must realize that gone are the days when the US administration used to describe anti-India terrorists operating from and aided by the Pakistani State as freedom fighters. India has been taking strong exception to the US policy of arming Pakistani armed forces against India, but of late, the US administration appeared to have changed its track and befriend India, which has emerged as a strong voice in international fora on its own strength. As the fifth-largest economy and a major military power, India is certainly not going to allow any other power on earth to cast an evil eye on the well-being of the country.
***The writer is a senior journalist and strategic affairs analyst; views expressed here are his own.
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