This archive report was first published on 27 September 2019.
India's National Register of Citizenship, released on September 1, has left nearly two million people in Assam stateless. The list was created to target 'illegal immigration' from neighboring Bangladesh, a move that has sparked concerns about the country's Hindu nationalist agenda.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party has vowed to carry out the exercise nationwide, promising to 'remove every single infiltrator' except for Hindus, Sikhs, and Buddhists. This rhetoric poses a clear threat to India's Dalit, Muslim, Christian, and Jewish citizens.
As I write this, the recent assault on Kashmir is still fresh in my mind. Seven million people are currently under virtual incarceration in Indian-occupied Kashmir. On August 5, Modi's government unilaterally abrogated the semiautonomous status of Kashmir, imposing a military siege and cutting off phone, internet, and television connections.
Despite Modi's claims of bringing economic growth to Kashmir, the suffering of its people has only intensified. By the time the Gates Foundation awarded Modi in Manhattan, Kashmir had been cut off from the world for 51 days. Reports of illegal detention, torture of teenagers, and night raids terrorizing families have surfaced.
Modi's government has been accused of collective punishment by United Nations human rights experts. The lockdown and communications blackout have hindered patients' access to hospitals and lifesaving drugs. Foreign reporters have also been banned from Kashmir.
Several staff members at the Gates Foundation expressed concerns about awarding Modi, but the organization chose to normalize him, citing his achievements in sanitation. However, the timing of the award has been criticized as a public relations disaster, and the decision to honor Modi is widely seen as wrong.
