Everything wrong with India's reaction to racist attack on African students
It's been nearly a week of fire-fighting by the Indian government as it struggles to contain the potential damage to India-Africa relations following the killing of a Congolese student and spate of attacks on persons from other African countries.
As the government battles to douse the flames, it may well draw some important lessons from Australia's experience after it found itself battling charges of racism and insensitivity towards Indian students following a spate of attacks on them in 2009-10. It's the very same charges India now is now facing - of being racist.
The attacks on Indian students in Australia which the latter initially sought to downplay as not being racist in nature soured bilateral ties which then took a while to get back on track.
It's noteworthy that the Indian government has been at pains to deny any racist overtones to the attacks on nationals from African countries. External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj affirmed on Tuesday: "All criminal acts should not be construed as racial attacks."
Noting that India is the land of Gandhi and Buddha the minister declared: "We can never have a racist mindset."
Swaraj has promised to put an institutional mechanism in place to ensure incidents such as the killing of the Congolese student do not happen.
However, the government would also do well to rein in some of its ministers including minister of state for external affairs general (retd) VK Singh who, instead of soothing frayed nerves and addressing African concerns have either been seeking to divert from the real issue or adding fuel to the fire with their insensitive remarks.
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| The Indian government has been at pains to deny any racist overtones to the attacks on nationals from African countries. |
For, a lot is at stake for New Delhi including India's image on the world stage as it strives to forge an even closer political, economic and strategic partnership with the 54-nation continent.
Having had close, historical ties and a shared colonial past with Africa, India stepped up its diplomatic engagement with the continent through a structured format by initiating the India-Africa Summit in 2008.
In October 2015, New Delhi hosted the third India-Africa Summit to impart an even greater momentum to the ties.
As part of India's stepped up Africa outreach, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to go on a three-nation swing that will take him to Mozambique, Kenya and South Africa early next month.
India's trade with Africa stood at an impressive US $72 billion in 2014-15 though it's tilted in India's favour. India investments in Africa range between a whopping US $30 to 35 billion. Further, nearly 16 per cent of India's oil needs are met with imports from Africa.
As part of its efforts to assist African nations in capacity building, between 2005-2010, India extended almost US $9 billion in concessional credit for nearly 140 projects in over 40 African countries.
As part of its capacity building efforts, India also provides a huge number of scholarships - 25,000 until October last year - to students from African countries.
The African Union can be an important backer for India's bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
However, New Delhi's concerted efforts to woo African nations where China has already made significant inroads could quickly come undone if effective measures are not taken to address their concerns on the spate of attacks on Africans here.
While Gen Singh, as has been his wont, chose to target the media, some other BJP ministers have made the Centre's task equally difficult as it seeks to douse the flames following the attacks on Africans here that are a deadly cocktail of racism and crime.
While tourism and culture minister Mahesh Sharma declared that Äfrican is unsafe too", Goa's BJP chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar has complained about Nigerians saying the Goanese are annoyed with their behaviour, with their attitude, their way of life".
Surely greater sensitivity and restraint is called for on the part of these ministers instead of making remarks causing India much diplomatic discomfiture and embarrassment.
The strenuous diplomatic overtures currently being made to the African countries, their envoys and members of its community through remarks made by President Pranab Mukherjee, vice-president Hamid Ansari - he is currently on a tour of north African nations Morocco and Tunisia - and external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj will come to nought if its ministers act like loose cannons.
Take Gen VK Singh who the government entrusted with the task of damage control and who met the African envoys after they threatened to boycott the ministry's Africa Day celebrations slated for May 26 following the brutal murder of the Congolese student.
Later, the MoS condemned the attack and even called for a minute's silence to be observed in memory of the slain student before the commencement of a cultural programme to mark Africa Day celebrations inside a packed auditorium.
However, barely three days following a meeting with police officials he tweeted targeting his favourite whipping boy, the media accusing it of "blowing up" a "minor scuffle" as an attack on African nationals in one of Delhi's many urbanised villages, Rajpur Khurd.
He followed it up with another tweet: "Why is media doing this? As responsible citizens let us question them and their motives."
The good general would do well to remember that when Australia was rocked by attacks against Indians, especially students, it was the media especially Indian news outlets that highlighted the matter.
He also needs to know that the Delhi Police narrative of the incidents involving Africans as being crimes need not be swallowed hook, line and sinker.