Risks of embracing fascist Modi just got a whole lot worse

For Australia’s anti-China lobby, there’s no such thing as being too close to India. Celebrations of its economic success, in contrast to the growing narrative of doom around China, and the importance of cultivating ever-closer relationships with the government of Narendra Modi, flow from the pens of our most senior media Sinophobes.

You can only imagine the high dudgeon that would erupt from Peter Hartcher or Greg Sheridan if China followed the path of Russia’s Vladimir Putin and began murdering critics and opponents in other countries, with little effort to disguise it — indeed, the very point being to signal that nowhere is safe from the regime.

Except that’s exactly what Australia’s Five Eyes partner Canada — which like Australia has been deeply unpopular with the Chinese government for daring to criticise its interference in Canadian politics — believes the Modi government has done.

According to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, there are “credible allegations” that India was involved in the shooting of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Vancouver. There are now claims Canadian intelligence services had warned Nijjar that he had been targeted for assassination by “mercenaries”. Trudeau kicked out India’s chief spy from India’s high commission in Ottawa, to which Modi, who has furiously denied the allegation, retaliated by expelling a Canadian diplomat.

An interesting absence from the response to and coverage of the incident is that no-one is shocked that the Modi government might actually engage in murdering its critics abroad — certainly not in the way that, say, the idea of Trudeau having a political opponent shot on the streets of Mumbai would be shocking.

That’s because, for all the glowing coverage of India’s economic growth and Modi’s popularity, we know his government is murderous and fascist. Modi is directly implicated in the 2002 Gujarat riots that saw at least 800 Indian Muslims murdered. Under Modi, anti-Muslim hate rallies are a routine feature of Indian life — often led by members of Modi’s party. Modi has pursued laws intended to disenfranchise Muslims. Vigilantism, lynching and mob violence against Muslims, fuelled by far-right figures as well as BJP party members, are increasingly common.

Modi’s party has also been working to drive political opponents out of Parliament, as part of a litany of human rights abuses which saw the US State Department last year issue a lengthy report detailing:

Significant human rights issues included credible reports of: unlawful and arbitrary killings, including extrajudicial killings by the government or its agents; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by police and prison officials; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention; political prisoners or detainees … restrictions on freedom of expression and media, including violence or threats of violence, unjustified arrests or prosecutions of journalists, and enforcement of or threat to enforce criminal libel laws to limit expression … restrictions on freedom of movement and on the right to leave the country; refoulement of refugees; serious government corruption; harassment of domestic and international human rights organisations; lack of investigation of and accountability for gender-based violence, including domestic and intimate partner violence, sexual violence, workplace violence, child, early and forced marriage, femicide and other forms of such violence; crimes involving violence or threats of violence targeting members of national/racial/ethnic and minority groups based on religious affiliation, social status or sexual orientation; crimes involving violence or threats of violence targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex persons; and existence of forced and compulsory labor.

With such a record, would extrajudicial killing in another country be a significant step further?

Had China engaged in it, the loud denunciations of such conduct would be all over the op-ed pages of our newspapers. Instead, the Albanese government has merely spoken of “concerning reports” — continuing its policy of ducking for cover on the human rights abuses of the Modi government.

Problem is, Canada is a Five Eyes partner, so there can be no plausible deniability or wilful ignorance on the part of Australia about the intelligence the Canadians have gathered. Which leaves the problem of what Australia does if its carefully cultivated bulwark against Chinese aggression turns out to be a fascist state that engages in acts of terrorism in Western countries.

Does Australia need to rethink its relationship with India? Let us know your thoughts by writing to letters@crikey.com.au. Please include your full name to be considered for publication. We reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.