A day after Hamid Ansari made statements at the IAMC event condemning Indian democracy, New York governor Kathy Hochul responded appropriately, saying, “India adopting its constitution has changed the world for the better.” Her fellow Congressmen, on the other hand, disagreed with her and expressed their concerns about India’s human rights condition. These are two quite different perspectives from members of the same political party.
According to Hamid Ansari, the people of the nation have seen the “development of tendencies and practices” in recent years that contradict the “well-established premise of civic nationalism” and substitute a “new and fictional practice of cultural nationalism.”
He added that the Indian democracy aims to portray an electoral majority in the disguise of a religious majority and monopolized political power, pointing out that about 20% of Indians are religious minorities. It aspires to separate individuals based on their religious beliefs, foster intolerance, infer otherness, and create a sense of unease and uneasiness. Ansari went on to say that these tendencies should be challenged both legally and politically.
Meanwhile, Hamid Ansari’s anti-national statements on India drew a sharp backlash from numerous parties, as well as the ruling BJP. On the occasion of 73rd Republic Day, the former VP participated in a congressional briefing organized by the Indian American Muslim Council on the topic (IAMC) ‘Protecting India’s Pluralist Constitution’.
Notably, the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) was created in 2002 in the aftermath of the Gujarat riots, and it advertises itself as the “largest advocacy organisation of Indian Muslims in the United States.” Since its creation, one of its key aims has been to punish Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for his claimed role in the riots and to raise global awareness of so-called “human rights crimes” against Muslims in Gujarat.
