Still in shackles: Second lot of illegal Indian immigrants come home

Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann may have been (justifiably) concerned about the optics of the returning deportees insofar as it affected Punjab and Punjabis — but for the rest of India, the spectacle at Amritsar last night, 15 February, of another 100-plus men in shackles on a military plane (coming mere days after prime minister Narendra Modi and Donald Trump exchanged handshakes, hugs, thumbs-up in Washington) was the greater outrage.

The US military craft carrying the 117 illegal Indian immigrants — of which 65 were from Punjab — landed at Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport at 11.32 p.m. on Saturday.

Apart from the 65 Punjabis, the 33 persons from Haryana were the next biggest batch this time. The 'lot' also included 8 from Gujarat, 3 from Uttar Pradesh and 2 each from Goa, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, 1 each from Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, per officials.

And yes, most wore shackles — only the five women deportees were spared that.

Notably, external affairs minister Jaishankar had said — in response to considerable criticism at home — that the MEA (ministry of external affairs) was ‘engaging with’ US officials to ensure the deportees’ return with dignity. He had emphasised that while immigration laws must be upheld, humane treatment was important likewise — even as he claimed in Parliament that the US deportation policy was unchanged since 2012.

The thing is, the Modi government and his ministers cannot have it both ways — these are either criminals, who knowingly colluded to get into America illegally with criminal intent; or they are the victims of those human trafficking touts, persons from "ordinary families" (like the prime minister said), being misled.

Especially if it is the latter — and Modi has gone on record saying so — then this treatment of the hapless is certainly inhumane, as civil rights activists, human rights lawyers and opposition politicians have repeatedly said in the last few days.

Modi, meanwhile, would prefer to focus on the "bigger fight", the one to end the "ecosystem" of human trafficking, he told the media in his maiden joint presser in Washington.

On the humiliating treatment of the deportees and prime minister Modi's recent remarks in Washington about addressing human trafficking to solve the problem, one netizen argued, 'Illegal immigrants are not part of human trafficking. These are visible symptoms of a State which has failed to provide a future to millions of youth in 10 years after promising Acche Din [good times] and 2 crore jobs annually. They didn't see a future in India. They were desperate...'

Meanwhile, the onus fell on the AAP-led Punjab government to welcome the deportees home, ensure their medical care and make arrangements for the overnight stay (for those from other Indian states) or transport (in the case of locals and neighbouring Haryana).

Those from other states are flying this morning (Sunday, 16 February) to Delhi airport from Amritsar and will be sent on home from there, on further flights.

So why not simply land the plane in Delhi, Punjab chief minister Mann had asked last time as well, when the first plane of 105 deportees arrived on 5 February.

His objection was to the choice of the city most sacred to Sikhs: "Do not make our holy city [Amritsar] a deport centre," he said.

Not just the Golden Temple, he pointed out, this was the city of the Durgiana Mandir, Ram Tirath temple, Jallianwala Bagh and Gobindgarh Fort, he pointed out to media. "Will they allow landing (of deportation flights) at Vatican City, if they (deportees) hail from there?" Mann asked.

Mann also reiterated the stance of many in the opposition that prime minister Modi should have sent an Indian plane to bring back the deportees and take charge of the situation — since India has already accepted ownership — and bring them back with dignity. This was what Venezuela managed to do, certainly.

The Opposition and Modi critics are not the only ones objecting either. Even BJP leader Uma Bharti — a former union minister and a very recognisable member of the 'saffron brigade' — on Saturday posted on X about for the 'cruel and extremely shameful manner' in which the US is deporting these illegal Indian immigrants recently.

Uma Bharti posted, "The manner in which the illegal Indian immigrants were sent back from America in handcuffs and shackles is extremely shameful and a blot on humanity.'

The American governments have shown this cruel and violent attitude towards ‘Red Indians’ [Native Americans] and people of African origin [Black Americans] many times, she noted, drawing a parallel that pointed to the racism that may underlie the choices.

‘Entering a country illegally is a crime, every country has provisions for its punishment as per the law, but such cruelty is a great sin,’ the BJP leader said.

A third plane carrying 157 deportees is expected to land at the Amritsar airport on Sunday, sources said.

With PTI inputs