On Thursday, the European Parliament urged Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to end ethnic violence in Manipur, and to do more to protect ethnic and religious minorities in India. Modi is currently on an official visit to France, having been invited to attend the country’s annual Bastille Day national festival as a guest of honour.
However, between the ceremony and the diplomatic courting, EU parliamentarians in Strasbourg approved a motion that urged India to end violence in the country’s northeastern Manipur state, and to protect the minorities there.
The motion also criticised the ‘national rhetoric’ of the local state government, run by Modi’s right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). EU parliamentarian Pierre Larrouturou released a statement on his Twitter, with an accompanying video.
In his tweet, Larrouturou stated that Modi and Macron can “pretend that everything is going well in India”,however, the EU parliament is recalling facts, and strongly condemns the human rights violations that take place in India.
“Every day in India, thousands of Muslims, Christians, and members of ethnic minorities see their rights repressed,” the statement read. “To remain silent on the situation would have been a humiliation for all those who fight for their fights and suffer every day from the Hindu nationalism imposed by the Modi government.”
In May, CNN reported how residents of Manipur say there has been a breakdown of law and order. This was after a spell of violence that left at least 58 dead and tens of thousands more homeless.
In a speech to the public, Larrouturou went on to point out, “In Manipur, for the past two months, we have seen monstrous violence. Over 120 people have died and 1700 homes have been devastated, 250 churches have been destroyed, 40,000 people have fled for their lives.”
Despite differences over the war in Ukraine, namely India’s continued support to Russia, as well as tensions over human rights violations in the country, Western democracies are courting Modi and what is currently the world’s most populous country, as a counterweight to China’s influence in Asia.
India is also one of the largest global buyers of French arms. On Thursday, India approved in principle the purchase of 26 French marine Rafale jets and three Scorpene-class submarines, news agency ANI reported.
During Modi’s last visit to Paris in 2015, he announced a landmark deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets worth around €4 billion ($4.48 billion).
