DM Monitoring
NEW YORK: Just like Prime Minister Imran Khan, Indian Premier Narendra Modi has also written an opinion piece on Wednesday for the US daily New York Times.
The piece was written on the 150th birth anniversary of Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi. In his piece Modi discussed the principles of non-violence the Indian leader followed. It seems that Modi has chosen to highlight Gandhi’s non-violent philosophy to counter the criticism he received on the curfew in Indian occupied Kashmir since August 5. PM Imran in his opinion piece last month had attacked Modi and compared the Indian policies in the occupied territory to Nazi Germany and the Indian premier to Adolf Hitler. Modi, in his op-ed, wrote about Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, and the like, in an attempt to mislead the world by comparing himself with these global icons of peace.
It remains to be seen whether the homage paid to non-violent independence leaders from across the world will be enough to white-wash Indian crimes in occupied Kashmir.
On August 5, Modi had revoked the constitutional autonomy given to occupied Kashmir under the Indian Constitution, and imposed a military curfew in the occupied territory, imprisoning millions of innocent Kashmiris.
Thousands were arbitrarily detained as well, and fears of an impending genocide in the valley are being raised across the world. International media is also reporting torture of detainees by Indian forces. Modi side-stepped discussing the Kashmir issue in his write-up, instead focusing on highlighting his sanitation programs, business acumen, and the non-violent philosophy of Gandhi.
“There have been many mass movements in the world, many strands of the freedom struggle even in India, but what sets apart the Gandhian struggle and those inspired by him is the wide-scale public participation,” Modi wrote.
“He never held administrative or elected office. He was never tempted by power. For him, independence was not absence of external rule. He saw a deep link between political independence and personal empowerment,” Modi added.
