It takes courage to accuse a powerful politician – a man who would go on to become India‘s prime minister – of encouraging riots. Police officer Sanjiv Bhatt did just that. And he says he is paying the price for it.
Bhatt was arrested months after he filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court in 2011, alleging that Narendra Modi incited violence that killed more than 1,000 people in the western state of Gujarat. At the time, Modi was the chief minister of the state, and Bhatt was an officer of the police intelligence.
Then, earlier this year, Bhatt was fired after 27 years on the job for taking more leave than he was allowed.
His dismissal comes amid the stiffest crackdown in decades on critics and activist and aid groups perceived to be undermining India’s image and interests.
Since Modi took office last year, more than 9,000 humanitarian and human rights groups have lost their registration to receive foreign funding, effectively shutting many down, and dozens of activists have been threatened with arrest.
“Governments in general don’t like criticism,” said Teesta Setalvad, an activist fighting for the survivors and victims of the Gujarat riots who has been repeatedly harassed by authorities. “This particular government, from all its actions it is clear, is especially intolerant of any criticism.”
Setalvad, a vocal Modi critic, had her home and office raided in July by investigators searching for evidence of embezzlement, and one prosecutor has called for her arrest, describing her as a threat to national security.
The government denies efforts to silence dissent. Nalin Kohli, a spokesman for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, says that cases such as Bhatt’s are for the courts to decide. But the government has made clear it views aid organizations, particularly foreign ones, with deep suspicion.
Authorities started imposing restrictions after a government intelligence report last year said that local activists were working on the orders of foreign powers to undermine India’s economic growth. The report said India lost up to 3 per cent of GDP when groups like Greenpeace rallied communities against polluting industries.
Greenpeace India said its bank account has been frozen for months, and in January one of its activists was barred from boarding a flight to London, where she was to tell British lawmakers about a coal mining project in India, after she was told she was on a list of people not allowed to leave the country.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the government’s restrictions on humanitarian groups and their “donor-driven activism” were merely to hold them accountable.
That has had a chilling effect. Three humanitarian groups interviewed by The Associated Press refused to speak about the crackdown on the record for fear of government reprisals. All three said their projects, ranging from health to women’s empowerment, are being closely scrutinized by authorities and negative publicity could jeopardize them.
“Any kind of organized or institutional protest or criticism is clearly under greater threat under this government. There’s no doubt about that,” said Mukul Kesavan, a historian at New Delhi‘s Jamia Millia Islamia University.
Modi, however, enjoys wide support among Indians. He led his party’s landslide victory in general elections in 2014, and has an almost cult-like status in the country. Most of his supporters do not see the crackdown against the critics as a problem, and many are supportive.
Today, few people among his supporters are willing to believe that Modi was complicit in the 2002 riots, citing the fact that no court has found him culpable.
Bhatt, however, says he has no doubts about Modi’s involvement.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/international/india/india-clamping-down-on-critics-of-narendra-modi-activist-groups
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