Trump-Modi friendship did not work

Raveesh Benjamin

(Managing Editor, Newsbuddy)

The same Donald Trump whom India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated on his re-election as ‘My Friend’, has as a ‘return gift’ to Modi sent back 104 Indians in a military plane, calling them illegal immigrants – that too by putting handcuffs and shackles on their hands and feet like criminals and tying their waists with chains. The deep pain of humiliation was clearly visible in the hearts of those who got off the military plane named C-17 Globemaster which landed at Amritsar airport on Wednesday, the whole country is experiencing unprecedented humiliation about this which it has never had to face before in the history of independent India. On one hand, this is a big diplomatic defeat for Modi who claims to be the Vishwa Guru, while on the other hand, this incident has also made it clear that there is a large section of Indians who have neither national pride nor the consciousness of human rights. This is the class that is a supporter of the Bharatiya Janata Party and stands with Modi and the government as always. Whatever it may be, the Indian government has failed to stand with its citizens in the most tragic and shameful moment of their lives.

This is the first batch. America has identified about 18 thousand illegal immigrants. They have been sent with the consent of the Indian government, which is even more shameful. That is, many more planes will land in this way at various airports of the country. This plane was landed in Amritsar because most of the people in this batch are from Punjab and Gujarat. However, among the illegal immigrants who are to be deported, more are said to be from Punjab, Haryana, Delhi etc. These people were living in America without valid documents by paying huge amounts to travel agents. Many people crossed the American border via Canada and reached that developed country in search of a better life. It is not that only people from India have reached there through this method, which is called the ‘donkey’ method. People from many Latin American, African and Asian countries go to America. Since there are not enough livelihood opportunities in these countries and America attracts people from all over the world in terms of equality and employment, there is a large population of people who have reached there in this way. When they get the opportunity, they get their papers corrected and through various measures get approval to live there permanently and legally. In 2022, famous film director Rajkumar Hirani made a film of the same name based on the plot of illegal immigration – ‘Dunky’. Although it has a story of going to London illegally, this method is called donkey in a derogatory and sarcastic way throughout the Western world.

When the US presidential election was held in 2024, Trump made it a big issue. Under his ‘America First’ policy, Trump had announced that if he wins, all illegal immigrants will be driven out. He prepared his country for this by saying that due to illegal immigrants, opportunities and resources are not sufficient for the Americans. He also got support on this issue. Under this, they fulfilled their promise. Apart from India, America has deported migrants from Guatemala, Honduras, Peru and Ecuador. These are very small countries but Colombia and Mexico not only showed backbone but also protected the dignity of their citizens. They did not allow American military planes to land at their airports. Later, Mexico took back its citizens from the US border and Colombia sent its planes to ensure their respectful return to the country.

This entire incident is sad for India because the government did not try to find a solution in collaboration with the American administration so that even if they are illegal migrants, their respectful return is ensured. The Indian government had enough time. India has earlier evacuated Indians trapped in different countries due to war or other circumstances. It can be believed that this is a special situation, but now at least the survivors should be brought