Why Modi is Silent on Deportation

As Delhi was voting for the assembly and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was taking a ceremonial dip in Prayagraj, around the same time, 104 Indians were repatriated to India on a US Air Force plane. According to the deportees, they were sent here with their hands in handcuffs and feet in shackles. Even for meals, their hands were not freed. When they needed to use the restroom, they were pushed into the plane’s only toilet with the door opened. Among them were men, women, and children. Fortunately, the children were not tied with handcuffs and shackles. India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, however, defended US action, somewhat shamelessly, by citing standard procedure followed in case of deportation. But Indians deserve dignity, not handcuffs.

Their fault was that they crossed the seven seas to America in search of employment and a respectable life. Little did they know that the agencies that showed them a beautiful dream and extracted millions of rupees from them would escape, while they would be caught in America for staying there illegally?

Since Trump assumed office, there has been a relentless crackdown on those living illegally. He had promised to do so and intensified the actions upon taking office. Just as India is troubled by infiltrators like the Rohingyas, America is troubled by those who have entered illegally instead of coming through proper visa channels. According to 2022 data, more than ten million people were living unauthorised in the US. This number must have increased. The highest numbers are from Mexico, followed by El Salvador and India. This means that in terms of infiltration, India stands third in the world’s largest economy. Recent reports indicate that more than 20,000 Indian infiltrators have either been caught or are awaiting final decisions on deportation. Reports suggest that India has agreed to take back 18,000 of these individuals.

Last year, during Biden’s term, more than 275,000 infiltrators were arrested, including 6,402 Indians. Surprisingly, fewer than 500 Pakistanis were arrested for infiltration. In Trump’s new term, the crackdown on infiltrators has not only intensified but is being carried out with much fanfare, unlike before when it was done quietly. Even raids are being conducted in gurdwaras and temples to apprehend them, which goes against their principles. It is evident that Trump wants to demonstrate that he is fulfilling his electoral promise. However, this has subjected the infiltrators to inhumane conditions. Previously, no batch of infiltrators had been sent bound in handcuffs and shackles, nor was a military plane used to deport them. Deporting infiltrators from one’s country is the right of any government, but the question is whether they also have the right to flout human values in doing so.

It is noteworthy that Colombia and Mexico have strongly objected to such inhumane treatment of their citizens. On the other hand, countries like India have acquiesced to Trump’s orders. Colombian President Petro refused to allow two US military planes to land. Petro insisted that the deportees travelling hand-cuffed in a military plane were not criminals and ought to be treated with dignity.

It is noteworthy that among the first batch of 104 people who arrived, the most were from Gujarat, followed by Punjab. Why these people from the so-called prosperous states need to go to America via illegal means is for them to explain. For now, people await the return of other Indians, hoping that they will not have to endure such torture and that the Prime Minister who is scheduled to meet Trump shortly will request his ‘friend’ to be considerate in this matter.

Prime Minister Modi told a Pravasi Bharatiya gathering in Bhubaneswar last month that overseas Indians are “Bharat’s Rashtradoot”–Indian Ambassador. But the Indian emigrants, who have been charged with entering the United States illegally and have been forced to return home, are ambassadors of a different kind. They remind the world not of Indian talent and enterprise, culture, or civilisation but of the lack of opportunity, of discrimination of one kind or another, and of the unease of living here that makes them undergo the hardship of illegal migration.

[Contributed by Muktkanth Ranjan]

Back to Home Page

Frontier
Vol 57, No. 35, Feb 23 - March 1, 2025