NAPM condemns treatment meted out to Indians deported by US; urges PM to take up issue

US: National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) has strongly condemned the inhuman and cruel treatment meted out to Indian citizens deported by the new Trump administration.

The statement comes after Indian `illegal’ migrants were cuffed and sent back in a military plane.

NAPM said this is yet another new, cruel, and shameful low and marks the beginning of another era of racist politics.

"We equally condemn the meek inaction of the PM Modi-led Govt thus far and demand that the Centre take all necessary measures to safeguard its citizens' fundamental human rights and labor rights, both domestically and overseas. We demand PM Modi, who is likely to visit the US on February 12, to raise this issue strongly with the US authorities," said NAPM in a statement.

What happened?

On February 5, a US military aircraft carrying 104 Indian citizens (including 19 women and 13 minors) landed in Amritsar. While deportation of non-citizens found to violate US Immigration Law is a routine procedure, this time, it was different and brazen.

All 104, including women and children, were handcuffed and even had their legs restrained for the entire 40-hour flight. The US Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks posted a video of Indian citizens walking in handcuffs with shackled feet boarding the US military plane, remarking that this was the “farthest deportation flight yet using military transport.”

One of them described the experience of being chained inside the aircraft as feeling like a “chained animal.”

Protest from the Opposition:

The mistreatment of Indians returned on the US military aircraft resulted in opposition MPs raising the issue in Parliament.

India’s External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar, acknowledged that the Union government has been in discussion with the USA regarding Indian deportees. However, on the question of the use of military aircraft and the mistreatment of Indians being returned, the minister took the defence of ‘officialdom,’ claiming the US deportation procedures ‘allow for the use of restraints and that he was assured that women and children were not restrained.’

NAPM condemns this mistreatment:

NAPM unequivocally condemns this degrading mistreatment of Indian migrants during deportation by the U.S. government, which amounts to a violation of their basic human rights and dignity.

"It must be remembered that even if a citizen of one country violates a law in another country, their basic and inalienable human rights must be respected. NAPM also condemns the Indian government for justifying this sub-human treatment instead of standing up for its citizens," said NAPM in a statement.

The mistreatment of Indian citizens by US authorities, prima facie, is against the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), 1976, and also against the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984).

Indians going to the US for jobs:

According to NAPM, most of the US jobs are precarious and/or low-paying. Hence, they are not preferred by citizens of the global north. For instance, farm workers in the USA are predominantly migrants as the working conditions are poor and pay is minimal.

However, thanks to the crushing unemployment coupled with a decline in welfare provision in countries like India, many of our workers take the risky decision of migrating through irregular channels to work in such poor-quality jobs. In this manner, a supply of cheap, pliant labor is ensured, which contributes to profits for firms in the global north.