Biden welcomes Modi for state visit amid concerns over India’s human rights record

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• Geoff Bennett:

  The prime minister of what is now the world's most populous nation was received with the fanfare of a state visit today at the White House.

  India's Narendra Modi visits the U.S. at a critical moment, as the White House seeks to marshal democracies to confront China and support Ukraine. But Modi's own conduct is also under the microscope.

  The most elevated form of American diplomacy, a state visit for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, heralded by marching bands and honor guards, while standing with President Biden before a packed crowd on the South Lawn.

  During the visit, the two leaders announced major defense partnerships, pledged to share technology, conduct more joint military exercises, and increase security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.

  Joe Biden, President of the United States: We discussed our work through the Quad, and how India and the United States, together with Australia and Japan, can ensure the vital Indo-Pacific region remains free, open, prosperous, and secure.

• Geoff Bennett:

  What brings them together, closer than ever before, is the rising challenge from China in the Indo-Pacific region.

  Washington has long viewed New Delhi as a counterbalancing force to Beijing. India has its own concerns, given escalating tensions along its 2,100-mile-long border with China. Outside the White House today, human rights groups protested Modi, focusing on what many observers see as democratic backsliding in the world's largest democracy.

  When asked about it by an American journalist in a joint press briefing, Modi pushed back.

• Narendra Modi, Indian Prime Minister (through translator):

  I'm actually really surprised that people say so. Democracy is in our DNA. Democracy runs in our veins. We live democracy. We have always proved that democracy can deliver.

  And when I said deliver, this is regardless of caste, creed, religion, gender. There's absolutely no space for discrimination.

• Geoff Bennett:

  But since Modi's Hindu right government came to power in 2014, discrimination and hate crimes against India's Muslims have sharply increased, including open calls for genocide from far right groups affiliated with Modi's political party.

  Modi's critics say he cracks down on dissent, targets journalists, and has introduced policies that human rights groups say discriminate against Muslims. Born as a tea seller in a small town, Modi represents India's rags-to-riches story, but he has roots in a staunchly far right Hindu nationalist ideology.

  In 2002, he was accused of presiding over widespread anti-Muslim violence in his home state of Gujarat when he was head of the state government. More than 1,000 people were killed.

  Aakashi Bhatt, Daughter of Jailed Whistle-Blower: All of that was done to (INAUDIBLE) the political ambition of one man, the then-chief minister of Gujarat, the now prime minister of India.

• Geoff Bennett:

  Aakashi Bhatt is the daughter of a former police officer, Sanjiv Bhatt, who testified against Modi, linking him to the carnage. Bhatt is now jailed, sentenced to life imprisonment in a different case.

  His daughter says he was convicted on false charges for speaking out against Modi.

• Aakashi Bhatt:

  As my father started submitting evidence and started testifying before various investigating bodies, him and us as a family were — were — we had to face intimidation of various sorts from the government, be it death threats, attempts at his life, attempts at our life, our house being bulldozed, my father being dismissed from service, only because he testified against Modi.

• Geoff Bennett:

  Following the riots, the U.S. imposed a travel ban on Modi under a federal law for severe violations of religious freedom. The ban was lifted only after he was elected prime minister of India.

  India's top court later exonerated him of all charges.

• Aakashi Bhatt:

  By inviting him, by rolling out the red carpet, you are condoning his crackdown on human rights, the crackdown on free speech, on media, on the judiciary.

• Geoff Bennett:

  After a morning spent at the White House, Modi later addressed the joint session of Congress. President Biden hosts Modi at a lavish state dinner tonight.

  With Narendra Modi, President Biden and his team have soft-pedaled many of the criticisms they often leveled at other leaders who they believe are falling short on democratic values.

  We look at why and why this relationship is growing in importance with Daniel Markey. He's the senior adviser on South Asia at the U.S. Institute of Peace. That's a federally funded institution that works toward conflict resolution. He's also served in the U.S. State Department.

  Thanks so much for being with us.

  Daniel Markey, U.S. Institute of Peace: Of course.

• Geoff Bennett:

  So, President Biden is rolling out the red carpet for a leader who is said to be increasingly autocratic, but who could be a key ally, given rising tensions with Russia and China.

  What's the cost/benefit analysis for the U.S.?

• Daniel Markey:

  Well, certainly from the Biden administration's perspective, there are huge upside benefits.

  They're thinking about the long term and they're thinking about geopolitical competition with China, an enormous country. The scale issue looms large, right? It's 1.4 billion or so people in China, and now we have about the same number or a little bit more in India.

  So, as they think about how to balance China, I think they look at India as an necessary factor in that. And they see it as enormously helpful because India has this population, a huge market for U.S. goods, huge numbers of skilled workers, some of the brightest brains that have led to growth in America's own industry, especially the I.T. industry, and so on.

  So they see that as a huge upside benefit over the long term. And, in the near term, as your piece pointed out, India's facing a huge challenge along its border with China, a very acute military threat. And the Biden administration recognizes that it has an interest in making sure that India isn't intimidated, that it isn't bossed around, because that sends a dangerous message to other countries in the region.

  And so there's sort of a long-term concern and a near-term interest as well.

• Geoff Bennett:

  I spoke with senior White House officials, who said that President Biden is trying to expand and fortify a coalition of democracies to really confront and counter China and Russia.

  What strategic role does India play in both of those equations?

• Daniel Markey:

  Well, in terms of countering China, India is enormous. And it is also, interestingly, located right along — of course, it sort of dominates the Indian Ocean.

  And that is something that makes it useful, because many of China's shipping lanes cross through the Indian Ocean. And so India is useful to the United States as it thinks about a strategy for, in a sense — in a sense, containing China.

  With respect to Russia, though, the story is very different. Here, India has been a longtime partner of Russia, going back to the Cold War. India continues to buy a considerable amount of military equipment from Russia. But the United States recognizes that, at this moment, as Russia is in this war with Ukraine, it's less able to deliver to India what India needs.

  So maybe this is a potential turning point in India's relationship with Russia. The United States would like to be on the receiving end of Indian orders of defense equipment going forward.

• Geoff Bennett:

  Is that why this major defense partnership is so important? Is this a serious deliverable? Or is this just something that appears on a one-sheet that the White House can say, look, we have met and we have done something?

• Daniel Markey:

  No, this is serious. This is something that it's been in the works for some time. Haven't quite cracked the code on how to get India to buy huge amounts of U.S. military equipment or fundamentally turn toward American and Western suppliers and away from Russia.

  But this may be the moment for that to happen. In the past, we have seen sort of promises gone unmet. Now we're looking at a jet engine deal that could potentially power Indian jets for this generation and the next generation. We're looking at a big sale of drones. So, we're talking tens of billions of dollars, and probably a lot more than that.

  So, no, this is a big deal.

• Geoff Bennett:

  The Indian prime minister does not often do press conferences. His team tightly controls his message, his media availability.

  But he did engage in a press conference today. And he was asked by Sabrina Siddiqui at The Wall Street Journal about his human rights violations, his alleged record of human rights violations. And he said: "Democracy is in our DNA. There's no question of discrimination."

  Is he right about that?

• Daniel Markey:

  I don't believe that he is.

  I believe that, under Modi's leadership, India has become steadily less democratic. Your setup piece, I think, appropriately identified a number of the problems that have happened on his watch with respect to communal violence, particularly with respect to the Muslim community, which is over 200 million or so in India.

  It's an enormous part of the Indian society. We're talking about a lot of people. And that's dangerous for a reason that President Obama pointed out actually today in an interview. He recognized that if India begins to be more divided as a society, less unified, it's a less powerful and less capable American partner going forward.

  And because India is so large, it's a threat, or India's instability would be a threat to world stability. And so I think it's important that we ask serious questions about what Modi is doing, as a leader, and particularly on the democratic front. It is very apt that today was one of the first times that he submitted to questions from the press.

  In India, this just doesn't happen. He has more or less muzzled the press, made it a less effective sort of watchdog of his government. And that's how he likes it. That is not the type of thing that a true democratic leader does.

• Geoff Bennett:

  How does the Indian prime minister benefit from all of this back home, the state visit, all of the trappings that come with it?

• Daniel Markey:

  Yes, this is enormously helpful for him politically.

  Every time that he is celebrated on the world stage, he very skillfully brings that back to the Indian public, portrays himself and India as a visual guru, as a world leader. And this is something that he will play up this trip, certainly, other trips to other capitals in the world, as well as the G20, which India's hosting this year.

  All of these are leading up to next year's national elections. And so he's very shrewdly using his statesmanship as a means to suggest that he is the appropriate leader back to Indian voters next year.

• Geoff Bennett:

  Daniel Markey, really enjoyed speaking with you. Thanks for coming in.

• Daniel Markey:

  Thank you. Appreciate it.