Skip to content or view mobile version

Home | Mobile | Editorial | Mission | Privacy | About | Contact | Help | Security | Support

A network of individuals, independent and alternative media activists and organisations, offering grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial coverage of important social and political issues.

USA ban right person - shocker!

l | 20.03.2005 11:32 | Analysis | World

In a move that has suprised many, US authorities have banned Narendra Modi,, who headed the government of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Gujarat when hindu extremists rioted and killed 2,500 muslims. After pressure from civil rights groups, Modi was refused entry by the United States which cited violation of religious freedom as the reason. However he will now address two meetings of expatriate Hindus via satellite this Sunday...


Banned Modi to address U.S. meet via satellite


BOMBAY (Reuters) - Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, refused entry by the United States citing violation of religious freedom, will address two meetings of expatriate Indians through satellite facility, his spokesman said on Sunday.

Washington last week revoked Modi's visa, sparking a series of protests with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urging the United States to reconsider its decision.

The U.S. embassy said on Friday Modi's tourist/business visa had been revoked under a law banning foreign officials deemed responsible for severe violation of religious freedom.

"Arrangements have been made for Modi to address two meetings via a satellite facility," Modi's spokesman, Hitesh Pandya, said by phone from Gandhinagar, Gujarat's capital.

Human rights groups say about 2,500 people, most of them Muslims, were hacked, burned or beaten to death in Gujarat in early 2002 after 59 Hindu pilgrims and activists died on a train in a fire some blame on a Muslim crowd.

Modi, who headed the government of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Gujarat then, was accused by the nation's top court, opposition parties and non-government groups of not doing enough to prevent the violence against Muslims.

Modi had planned to meet the large Gujarati expatriate community in the United States and deliver a keynote speech at an Asian-American hoteliers conference on Thursday.

The embassy said a separate application for a diplomatic visa had been rejected because state chief ministers did not qualify.

Modi, who travels often to seek investment in one of India's most industrialised states, has visited the United States before.

The U.S. decision came after Muslim and liberal groups campaigned there against the planned visit and petitioned the State Department to revoke his visa.

Critics of the decision say it has turned India's most controversial politician into a martyr and accuse the United States of hypocrisy.

The BJP plans a rally in Ahmedabad on Sunday to protest the U.S. decision.

Thousands of BJP workers, senior party leaders including national opposition leader Lal Krishna Advani were due to attend the "Swabhiman rally", party officials said.

About 500 BJP activists marched on the U.S. embassy in protest on Saturday, some shouting "Denial of a visa to Narendra Modi is an attack on Indian sovereignty," while in some parts of Gujarat angry demonstrators destroyed crates of carbonated drinks from Coca-Cola and PepsiCo.

l

Comments

Display the following comment

  1. Shri Hitesh Modi Bhagwan — Modi Follower
Upcoming Coverage
View and post events
Upcoming Events UK
24th October, London: 2015 London Anarchist Bookfair
2nd - 8th November: Wrexham, Wales, UK & Everywhere: Week of Action Against the North Wales Prison & the Prison Industrial Complex. Cymraeg: Wythnos o Weithredu yn Erbyn Carchar Gogledd Cymru

Ongoing UK
Every Tuesday 6pm-8pm, Yorkshire: Demo/vigil at NSA/NRO Menwith Hill US Spy Base More info: CAAB.

Every Tuesday, UK & worldwide: Counter Terror Tuesdays. Call the US Embassy nearest to you to protest Obama's Terror Tuesdays. More info here

Every day, London: Vigil for Julian Assange outside Ecuadorian Embassy

Parliament Sq Protest: see topic page
Ongoing Global
Rossport, Ireland: see topic page
Israel-Palestine: Israel Indymedia | Palestine Indymedia
Oaxaca: Chiapas Indymedia
Regions
All Regions
Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World
Other Local IMCs
Bristol/South West
Nottingham
Scotland
Social Media
You can follow @ukindymedia on indy.im and Twitter. We are working on a Twitter policy. We do not use Facebook, and advise you not to either.
Support Us
We need help paying the bills for hosting this site, please consider supporting us financially.
Other Media Projects
Schnews
Dissident Island Radio
Corporate Watch
Media Lens
VisionOnTV
Earth First! Action Update
Earth First! Action Reports
Topics
All Topics
Afghanistan
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-Nuclear
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Fracking
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Policing
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista
Major Reports
NATO 2014
G8 2013
Workfare
2011 Census Resistance
Occupy Everywhere
August Riots
Dale Farm
J30 Strike
Flotilla to Gaza
Mayday 2010
Tar Sands
G20 London Summit
University Occupations for Gaza
Guantanamo
Indymedia Server Seizure
COP15 Climate Summit 2009
Carmel Agrexco
G8 Japan 2008
SHAC
Stop Sequani
Stop RWB
Climate Camp 2008
Oaxaca Uprising
Rossport Solidarity
Smash EDO
SOCPA
Past Major Reports
Encrypted Page
You are viewing this page using an encrypted connection. If you bookmark this page or send its address in an email you might want to use the un-encrypted address of this page.
If you recieved a warning about an untrusted root certificate please install the CAcert root certificate, for more information see the security page.

Global IMC Network


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech