There are reports of 104 Indians from the US to be arrested and allegedly inhuman behavior allegedly. Discussions of pictures and videos of chains tied in the hands and feet of Indians are discussed everywhere. The opposition is asking the government questions and the government is reminding the opposition of law and agreement. Meanwhile, Congress leader Pawan Kheda has questioned the government’s move and attitude by remembering the case of Indian diplomat in America.
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Pawan Kheda wrote on the social media site X, ‘I feel sad as an Indian, seeing pictures of Indians being handcuffed and insulted by handcuffs. I remember the incident of December 2013 when Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade was handcuffed in America and strip was searched. After this, Kheda remembers the strict steps taken by the UPA government of that time against the US and asks questions to the current government.
Let’s understand what was the matter of Devyani Khobragade? Why was he arrested in America? And, what attitude did India take after this.
This is not the first case of poor behavior in America with Indians. Even before this, there have been incidents of inappropriate behavior with Indian citizens and diplomats in America. In December 2013, the arrest of Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade was one such case which caused tension in the relationship between the two countries.
Devyani Khobragade is an officer of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and in 2013 she was posted as Deputy Counsel General in the Consulate General of India, New York -based Indian Consulate General of India. He was arrested by America’s Immigration and Customs Information (ICE) agency. The US alleged that he manipulated his domestic assistant Sangeeta Richard’s visa documents and paid him less than the minimum wage.
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The US administration claimed that Devyani Khobragade had said to pay a salary of $ 4500 per month to Sangeeta, but in reality she was being paid less than this. After this allegation, the New York Police arrested Devyani on 12 December 2013.
How did Devayani behave with Khobragade?
Devyani Khobragade was arrested like a common criminal. He was publicly handcuffed and then taken to the police station and searched. In this process, his clothes were taken off and examined, which was completely against diplomatic etiquette. Not only this, he was also forced to the DNA Swab Test and was kept with criminal prisoners for some time.
As soon as this news came to light, tremendous resentment spread throughout India. The Government of India, Opposition, diplomats and the general public called this action an insult to Indian dignity and demanded immediate cleanliness from the US.
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Devyani was arrested in the case of giving wrong facts in the visa application of her domestic assistant Sangeeta Richard. Later, he was granted bail on a bond of two and a half million dollars. The American officials were completely shaken by India’s strict reaction to the matter and they could not believe it.
Especially those officials were more surprised, who saw foreign policy cases, because such a response was not expected from New Delhi. Senior US government officials and MPs in charge of Indo-US relations were saying that the ‘virtue and fault’ of this arrest was not seriously thought before proceeding on the matter.
A US administration official then said, ‘We have felt. We have to bear the consequences. India had stressed that such arrest is not only a violation of the Vienna convention, but is against the sense of Indo-US relations for which President Barack Obama has been trying for the last five years.
Government of India response
India termed this misconduct with Devyani Khobragade as serious diplomatic violations and took many strict measures against the US. The then Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh summoned the US Ambassador Nancy Powell in India and handed over an official protest letter.
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The then Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh described the incident as condemnable. In Parliament also, there was a fierce debate on this issue and demanded strict action against the US from the Government of India.
The government withdrew several facilities to the US embassy, including special airport passes being received by American diplomats, the convenience of duty-free liquor and other products for American Embassy personnel, and special entry cards for American diplomats.
Apart from this, the Government of India also started the Income Tax check of the US Embassy school, which sent a strong message to the US administration.
How did America clean up?
After India’s strict reaction, America was forced to clarify. US Secretary of State John Kerry regretted the incident and said that America was not intended to insult any Indian diplomat.
Then a day after US Secretary of State John Carrie regretted his arrest, his then his then counterpart Salman Khurshid publicly demanded that the case be withdrawn against Devyani. Khurshid had said, “This matter should not be taken forward … After a lot of efforts, our relations are formed … and we have to deal with it in a sensitive manner.”
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In this case, political activities had become very fast. Carrie had a phone conversation with the National Security Advisor, while the Foreign Deputy Minister of America of America, Wendy Sharman, had a conversation with Foreign Secretary Sujata Singh for about 40 minutes. In addition, the US administration called Foreign Secretary Sujata Singh officially and expressed regret and assured to resolve the matter as soon as possible.
US President Barack Obama was also informed about the incident. After this, the White House had called the arrest a ‘ever incident’ and hoped that this would not adversely affect bilateral relations.
Later, Devyani Khobragade was sent back to India by giving benefits of diplomatic immunity. Along with this, he was given new responsibility in the Indian Ministry of External Affairs.
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The effect of this incident and the current reference
The arrest of Devyani Khobragade and then India’s sharp reaction made it clear that no agreement could be reached with diplomatic honors. The matter had made the relationship between the two countries tense, although the later diplomatic efforts improved relations.
Today, when 104 Indians were deployed from the US and they were allegedly treated allegedly, the incident has once again come into the limelight. The opposition, especially the Congress, is giving an example of this to give such strict message to the Modi government to the Modi government.