White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted pictures of handcuffed migrants tied together and walking towards a military plane, on Jan 24. (Photo: X/@PressSec)
Feb 4, 2025 19:16 IST First published on: Feb 4, 2025 at 19:16 IST
Written by Manav Sachdeva
Reportedly, there is only one toilet, a porta potty at that, for over 200 deportees on a C-130 bringing Indians without status back home today. I want to highlight the way they are being treated. This is to understand the dehumanisation human beings without legal status — specifically those who are not part of the Caucasian fold — are facing under President Donald Trump’s policies. Would the deportation of 200 plus Caucasians, from India, in a similar manner, ever happen without an outcry for human rights? Before I get into the strategic implications, we need to sear that image into our mind, an outrage we must never forget, an insult that is likely to be repeated till the 18,000 Indians without status are deported.
With this image in mind, I want to put forth a few demands that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his team must make of Trump when they meet him. First, if the deportations are going to happen, they must be carried out with honour, following due process. They cannot be treated like criminals.
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While the Indian establishment has acquiesced to the deportations for now, the public image of multiple flights of Indians being brought back on military flights, is sure to trigger colonial-era feelings of “Dogs and Indians not wanted”, and may also affect PM Modi’s standing and India’s bilateral relations with the United States. Further, it may affect the Indian-Americans who may face higher scrutiny by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials and ill-treatment by their peers on racial grounds.
In a broader sense, so many people’s hope is being shattered. The American Dream — even if it is, in reality, hard to reach or unreachable even for most Americans — meant something for people around the world. Now, it seems to be on its deathbed. What about the asylum seekers that may be among the deportees? How will the various political factions and governments back home treat those who escaped in hopes of a safer life in the US?
The broader, strategic contours of India-US cooperation — defence and security, space and maritime exploration, and trade, among others, are all on the line if this relationship suffers. In sectors such as tech, AI and energy, Indians and Indian-Americans have made significant contributions for the US. The Indian diaspora, despite being small in number, contributes significantly to the US economy and politics. It is critical then, that the US deals with the deportations in a humane manner.
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Thus PM Modi, on February 13, when he meets his “good friend” Trump, must remind him in polite but firm terms of the strategic losses for the US if India looks away — a diminished Indo-Pacific strategic bulwark against China; geopolitical realignment vis-à-vis global interests wherever India and US are aligned in Europe, the Middle-east and Asia; and a decades-long arc of cooperation.
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In an era when India and Indians have endless global aspirations, let this deportation also be a clarion call for both good governance and jobs creation by the Modi government so that the incentive to take the “Dunki” route diminishes. Let this also be a call for Indians to consider the “apne ghar me bhi hai roti” idea: Lentils and bread, with dignity, at home, may be better than risking being disgraced and deported by a nation that no longer welcomes the tired, the poor, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free. It’s time to let the Chandrayaan-3 dreams of a resurgent India take flight even as chana dal and roti keep Indians grounded in their beloved homeland.
As A P J Kalam said, “strength respects strength”; let India and Indians aim daily to build incredible strength such that nations would shudder before treating another Indian abroad poorly, no matter their status. Until then, let us stop trading dignity for comfort.
Ambassador Manav Sachdeva serves as the Global Goodwill Ambassador for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office. He has worked for the UN and allied organisations
