Boris Johnson’s visit to the opening of a JCB factory during his two-day tour of India was called “deaf” amid protests over the destruction of predominantly Muslim homes in the country with the help of the company’s bulldozers.
The British prime minister landed in India on Thursday, a day after Delhi municipal authorities moved with JCB bulldozers to demolish homes and properties of predominantly Muslim residents in an area of the capital where religious riots erupted over the weekend.
Local authorities denied that the destruction was linked to violence in the community and said there was no discrimination in the action, but the incident caused unrest and many observers noted the awkward moment of Mr Johnson’s visit to the JCB factory.
Mr Johnson’s first stop in India was in the city of Ahmedabad in the western state of Gujarat, where he was taken to the Sabarmati Ashram, the former home of Mahatma Gandhi. He was photographed with Gandhi’s traditional charkha (spinning wheel).
But it was the second stop on the journey – the opening of a new plant for the UK-based Joseph Cyril Bamford Excavators Limited (JCB) – which drew attention to Mr Johnson’s visit from a number of excited Indian commentators.
Mr. Johnson boarded a Chinook helicopter of the Indian Air Force to visit the new JCB factory in Vadodara, owned by the great Tory donor Lord Bamford.
Political commentators in India said bulldozers and excavators made by the company, which also makes agricultural and construction equipment, were used to demolish houses during a high-profile incident in Jahangirpuri, North Delhi, the day before.
The JCB logo featured prominent photos Thursday of weeping residents struggling to retrieve personal belongings from the rubble of their homes.
“What a bulldozer irony! The British Prime Minister @BorisJohnson will open the JCB plant in Halol, which will produce bulldozers on a day when the Supreme Court complies with the constitutional restrictions on the use of the machine by the administration. #jahagirpuri, writes Sanjay Kapoor, editor of the Indian magazine Hardnews.
“JCB’s website is proud to say that it is used for construction, agriculture, recycling and electricity generation. In India, it is used to neutralize the poor and inflict collective humiliation on Muslims. “We hope that friends in the United Kingdom will hold their prime minister accountable,” tweeted Alishan Jaffrey, a Muslim journalist in India who writes for The Wire.
“It seems that the visit to @BorisJohnson is now becoming more and more deaf. A visit to a JCB plant while its bulldozers are being used to illegally terrorize Muslims? Someone from @UKinIndia failed to do his job. “The only way Johnson can save this trip is by talking,” wrote Mohamed Zeeshan, a leading Muslim columnist in India.
“As many such images have emerged from Delhi, it is ironic that the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom @BorisJohnson will open a JCB factory in Gujarat today,” wrote Danish Khan, another Indian journalist, sharing the image of the JCB bulldozer used in the demolition. in northern Delhi.
Amnesty India called his visit “not only ignorance, but his silence about the incident is deafening.”
The demolition of the municipal corporation in North Delhi, which is controlled by the Hindu right-wing Bharatiya Janata (BJP) party led by Narendra Modi, continued for some time on Wednesday morning despite a suspension order issued by the country’s supreme court.
Residents and rights activists say the demolition was biased against Muslim residents after officials failed to damage a temple that was in the same lane with other structures allegedly invaded.
During his visit to the JCB factory, Mr Johnson dismissed questions of authoritarianism in the host country and insisted that India was “democratic”.
However, Mr Johnson suggested that he raise issues with Mr Modi, including restrictions on the press, the protection of minorities and the use of bulldozers to destroy predominantly Muslim homes, when asked by broadcasters during a visit to the factory. JCB.
He said: “We always raise difficult issues, of course we do, but the fact is that India is a country of 1.35 billion people and is a democracy, it is the largest democracy in the world.
Asked if it was embarrassing for the prime minister that JCB should be involved in a lawsuit the day he visited his factory in Gujarat, Mr Johnson’s spokesman said: “It is a matter for the Indian authorities how to use any equipment ”
The spokesman denied that Mr Johnson had visited the JCB plant, as the company’s boss, Lord Bamford, was a major Tory donor.
“No,” he said. “He chose to go to the JCB factory because it is a very good illustration of the British business working with India and the Indian government for the benefit of both the United Kingdom and India.
“The factory visited today is the sixth to be opened here. They are one of the largest manufacturers in India of this type of equipment.
The Jahangirpuri area witnessed violence on April 16 and 18 during Hindu festivals, when saffron-clad men chanting slogans marched in a predominantly Muslim area, followed by a brawl between groups of people.
A similar incident followed in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, where the state government – also led by the BJP – openly said it was demolishing Muslim property as punishment for the violence that overshadowed the Hindu festival in Hargon.
According to news reports, authorities there have vowed to destroy at least 50 “illegal” structures of Muslims accused of stoning during Ram Nawami’s march, and said damage to public and private property during the violence , will be rebuilt by the rebels.
Mr Modi’s government has been repeatedly accused of promoting hard-line Hindu religious groups, and several incidents of hate speech against Muslims at religious events have been reported in recent months. There have been clashes between the two communities during recent Hindu festivals in at least five Indian states.
During his visit to Ahmedabad, Mr Johnson is also expected to meet with billionaire Gautam Adani, a staunch supporter of Mr Modi and his fellow Gujarati, and see Gujarat International Finance Tec-City or GIFT City before flew to Delhi, where he will meet with the Indian Prime Minister.
Downing Street says Mr Johnson’s focus will be on strengthening trade and defense ties between India and the United Kingdom, and that the Prime Minister will not “lecture” his host on any differences, including the continuing neutrality. of India to the conflict in Ukraine.
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