Members of South Asians for Black Lives and Stand with Kashmir protesting the Gates Foundation award
SEATTLE, WA — The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has weathered strong criticism for their decision to confer the Global Goalkeeper award to Indian prime minister Narendra Modi. This award celebrates political leaders who demonstrate a commitment to development through impactful work. At a time when Modi’s government has grossly undermined the constitutional rights of marginalized Indian citizens, there could not be a more disrespectful, divisive and cynical choice for this award.
Under Modi’s administration, his Hindu supremacist government has incited violence against religious minorities, slashed social welfare programs and weakened legislative protections for Dalit, Muslim, and Christian communities. Mob violence, cow vigilantism, honour killings, sexual assaults, and fake encounters have all been normalised under his regime. India has also witnessed a surge in lynchings of Dalits and Muslims. Modi’s ministers and associates have supported and celebrated the alleged perpetrators of these lynchings, who have enjoyed freedom from accountability. Throughout his political career, he has overseen numerous human rights violations from the anti-Muslim pogrom of 2002’s Gujarat Riots until today, when his party is using the National Register of Citizens to declare millions of (mostly Muslim) Indians foreigners, and has escalated India’s oppression of Kashmir.
India has used Islamophobic stereotypes and colonial tactics for decades to maintain power in Kashmir. Indian security forces have resorted to murder, disappearances, mass rape, and blinding with pellet weapons to suppress Kashmiri resistance. After the recent abrogation of Article 370, Indian politicians and private citizens have issued public statements that objectify and fetishize Kashmiri women, stating “Indian men are now free to marry Kashmiri women,” expressing their entitlement over Kashmiri bodies and Kashmiri land, reproducing colonial tactics of exerting power.
API Chaya believes that these statements lay a foundation for sexual and domestic violence against Kashmiris. Recognizing the intersections between interpersonal and state violence, API Chaya is dedicated to ending all forms of violence and oppression. We take a strong stance against the Indian military’s use of sexual violence as a weapon of war. The human rights situation in Kashmir creates systemic and interpersonal violence everyday, and we are mobilizing in solidarity with Kashmiris to stop the humanitarian crisis immediately.
As for the development work the Gates Foundation means to commend, if one visits the poorest villages and the remote areas where India’s most marginalised live, one can see the Swachh Bharat campaign is a sham. There cannot be development without justice. The Foundation should not honor Modi for building toilets when the lower caste Indians expected to clean them continue to be discriminated against and denied basic human rights, let alone an equitable share in India’s economic growth.
In this context, we are firm that the Gates Foundation not honor Narendra Modi. Under his administration, the Indian government stands against the Foundation’s core belief that “all lives have equal value.” His development work cannot erase the injustice and violence he has perpetuated against marginalized Indians.
Congratulations to Prime Minister Modi for being honored and many thanks to Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for honoring Prime Minister Modi for an extra-ordinary vision and mission.
The mission isn’t complete but the vision of “Swachh Bharat” was also an unfulfilled dream of Mahatma Gandhi. It’s also a great service of ensuring dignity to hundreds of millions of underprivileged women all across modern India. Every women based organization should support such initiatives. I am surprised that a women centric organization like Chaya didn’t look at this from that perspective has completely lost an opportunity to do the right thing.
completely incorrect and grossly exaggerated article. this demented lady has no context or has made any effort to understand the actual situation on the ground. she has portrayed a flawed image of India and Prime Minister Modi. almost like Idi Amin of Uganda. I just got back last week from a long visit in India..India is vibrant, free, thriving and secular. there is a major mindset change on cleanliness with complete ban on plastic.
Kashmir is our internal issue and we often forget that this once paradise is turned into hell by the barbaric islam fundamentalists. 70 years of cancerous growth has to be weeded out.
this shameless lady writing this article needs medical treatment and no right or credibility to publish such an awful and malicious report
What gates Foundation did is completely different subject. As for as Modiji and Kashmir he exactly knows what he is doing and public of India supporting him . Kashmir now, then and forever it belongs to India and it will be part of indian . No one has right to ask any questions. About the people of Kashmir yes they have been protected from foreign hands so that no lives will destroy.
Hope everyone educate with history first .
By the way Hindu is not a religion and it’s the way of living and we are all Hindus in the world. Because we live the way we want . Hindu people never convert any one to particular religion. Because there is no religion we are all humans and respect and help each other . God Bless all .
Thanks to Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for honoring PM Modi with due recognition despite of A bunch of activists (pseudo secularists) without any knowledge of what’s been happening in Jammu & Kashmir since 1947 have become a propaganda machine for the separatists by creating a bias against Modi & Hinduism. They don’t even look at the sufferings of tens of thousands of Kashmiri Pundits (minorities) in the eighties who became mass exodus, killings of tens of thousands by the cross-boarder terrorism supported by the neighboring country and the upcoming programs and policies adopted by the Indian government for the social justice for all common people, especially, women, children, adolescents and youth in the Jammu & Kashmir after the abrogation.
The following are the facts ignored by these groups of Modi bashing protesters:
1. Jammu & Kashmir has been an integral part of India.
2. The abrogation of temporary articles 370 and 15 were done constitutionally by discussion and votes by both Houses of Parliament.
3. The abrogation of these articles are also the internal matter of India.
4. Not single life was lost since the abrogation of these articles on 08/05 due to the measures taken by the administration.
5. These articles have been consistently abused by few handful of politicians (3 families) in Kashmir since 1950.
6. The federal funding in billions allocated by the Indian government were not spent for common people in the state of Jammu & Kashmir for last 70 years.
7. Cross boarder terrorism has caused tens of thousands of Kashmiri Pandits flee from Jammu Kashmir and live like refugees in Delhi and other states.
8. The new policies by the Indian government ensures social justice for all, especially under privileged women and children.
9. Jammu & Kashmir will be open for economic development from all over India and abroad. It was not allowed earlier due to those draconian articles.
10. By abrogating these horrible articles, creating three different geographical regions for fair representation in governance and adopting policies for ensuring social justice for all, cross-boarder terrorism is expected to come to a stop.
Shame on these pseudo secularists. I knew so many of them and had respected & supported their works and thought that they would continue standing for valid causes of providing social justice to all. It’s unfortunate that they have been blind sighted by few media reports based on utterly flawed perception and bias so much so that they could not recognize the long and real sufferings of poor women & children (the real minorities) in the whole state of J&K. They preferred to cause a religious divide instead by going blind on that track.