Wary of incurring China’s wrath, in a shameful reversal for a country that hosts the Dalai Lama and numerous Tibetan refugees escaping Beijing’s repression, India has denied entry to activists on China planning to visit India and attend a conference on democracy.
India said that it denied the visas because the activists were traveling as tourists, and had not applied for visas allowing them to participate in a conference. But the activists don’t buy that, and believe that India is buckling under pressure from Beijing.
“I 100 percent believe it’s the Chinese government’s pressure on India,” said Lu Jinghua, a leader of the 1989 Tiananmen Square student protests.
Many foreign policy experts in India feel that criticizing abusive governments pushes these countries toward China, which shows little concern for human rights protections. In the 1980s, the Burmese military junta chose China as its patron after India protested the arrest of democracy leader Aung San Su Kyi. More recently, Sri Lanka’s former Rajapaksa government shut out India after New Delhi voted in support of a Human Rights Council resolution calling for investigations into allegations of war crimes. Nepal turned to China when India called for an equitable constitution that protects the rights of ethnic minorities.
But if India wants to be respected as a global leader, it should speak out against human rights violations abroad, and stand by suffering citizens, not their oppressive rulers. With all its human rights problems, India remains a genuine democracy with democratic institutions. Its active and vocal civil society is acknowledged and respected. It cannot, and should not, want to be like China.
India should be sensitive to how the course of history can quickly change. India reversed its policy to reach out to the abusive junta in Burma, and now Aung San Su Kyi’s party has just won elections after the Burmese voted in droves to oust the military. In Sri Lanka, the Rajapaksa government also lost at the ballot box, and the new government has taken important steps towards improving respect for rights in the country.
India should decide to be on the human rights side of history, standing by people against oppression. It should immediately issues visas to the activists from China who want to travel to India, and support their call for an end to human rights violations.
