Breeding Crisis

Smile please — so I can monetize and benefit from your tragedy!

We are witnessing a new narrative getting built around immigration. While American right wing is consistent with their rhetoric of excessive non-white immigration, the ultra Left wing is using ‘caste’ and ‘oppression’ as a barometer to restrict immigration into the US.

The main argument (more of conspiracy theory) flows that oppressors in US, aka Capitalists, are colluding with ‘upper caste’, ‘rich’ and influential political figures around the world to disenfranchise poor, lower ‘caste’ people into crossing borders illegally by intentionally devising coercive, racist policies — in other words — it’s all part of a grand Capitalist plan!

Take an example of a baffling article by Tanvi Mishra. The article titled “Broader” crisis, puts focus on a really important topic that seldom gets talk about by “privileged” India expats — illegal immigration from India. However, it bends over backwards in an attempt to draw a line between disparate points and random events to weave the grand string theory of “everything is connected”.

The article lays the entire blame on ascendence of “Hindu” supremacism in India since 2014 for the uptick in migration from all of South Asia! At the same time, it blames American/White (not religious Christian) supremacist foreign policies that make people from Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala to cross the border.

Upon closer investigation, the article simply falls apart and gets exposed as a narrative builder, a reference point, rather than as a genuine inquiry into the root causes of asylum seekers.

1. Border apprehensions have increased dramatically across the board — among all countries especially in 2017 to 2019. It is not unique to India.
2. Bangladesh, who’s economy is booming, is a theocratic Islamic State, is far away from US borders, also saw similar increase in number of people seeking asylum into US during the same years (from 20 in 2007 to 1200 in 2018).
3. Harvard Business school dean, Nitin Nohria, has claimed that all the legal immigration from India is because of stifling socialist policies in place for the last 70 years. It was extremely difficult to build and create a modern business — the first blow to Soviet style economic plan was booted out in 1991 and now get unshackled even further.
4. Data from CBO clearly shows the uptick happened long before Modi came to power. There is no data around how much of the migration happened from each state in India. There is a large blue collar labor from Communist governed Kerala and Uttar Pradesh — not governed by BJP until 2017.
5. If religious fear under Modi has any bearing, Gujarat would have seen a large scale labor and lower class movement. It didn’t.
6. Tanvi’s article, relies on and references other peoples work like Harsha Walia’s books or Roll Call’s article — which is fair enough.
7. Communist, ultra Left wing policies have long stifled India’s economic growth plans. They still have a strong hold on anti-American, pro-socialist policies in elite circles of media — like the ones Tanvi professes.
8. Immigration is highly personal. Hoping that Tanvi will share why she/her parents migrated to USA. To take down Capitalism? To escape from Punjab which has NEVER had a non-Sikh, or minority, as a Chief Minister? Escape from those who were the largest beneficiaries of the agricultural “Green revolution”? A state who’s middlemen procures 85% of India’s wheat and rice — while killing the environment with non-bio-diversity in the process? In fact, Pew research has revealed that Khalistan is a pipe dream of Sikhs abroad — while most Sikhs in India are its proud citizens!
9. The article attempts to scape goat “Stan Swamy” as a Christian Jesuit Priest who died in jail. The truth is that Stan was anti-constitutional, radical ultra Left wing revolutionary, willing to overthrow India’s government with violence. He died in a Christian hospital due to ill health.
10. A well known Liberation Theology is at work here. Proselytizing Christians work with Communists historiography to conquer and then divide the loot. It has decimated native cultures of South America. Even the Pope has since apologized for the insurmountable destruction caused by it. But that same playbook is being repeated in India.
11. Covid originated and propagated in non-BJP governed States who wanted more autonomy from Center as a change from Modi’s first nationwide lockdown. Amravati, Maharashtra is where Delta variant started. Delhi and Punjab where farmers protestors were going back and forth from London and Toronto saw UK/Alpha variant as a dominant strain (until Delta took over).

A narrative of crisis in India is being bred to portray Modi as Capitalist agent. The truth on the ground is completely different. Modi built toilets in every home, cooking gas for every family, road infrastructure, government housing for every one, bank accounts for benefit transfer (without middlemen to avoid corruption), universal health plans and many ‘commoner’ friendly policies.