As we bid adieu to an eventful year, Devyani Khobragade, an otherwise nondescript name has for all the wrong reasons united a bitterly divided India, so much so that even political foes have joined hands.
Though it might seem unthinkable, both the ruling Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi and the opposition prime ministerial aspirant Narendra Modi have in a rare show of unity snubbed a visiting US congressional delegation to protest the alleged maltreatment of Devyani, India’s deputy consul-general in New York.
The Indian official was arrested on charges of visa fraud and violation of US labor law — both serious offenses punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment. Khobragade is accused of lying on an application for her housekeeper-cum-nanny’s work visa as she over-reported the amount of the sum actually paid. Indians were understandably livid at the shabby way US agencies treated Devyani, who was picked up while dropping her daughter off at school and strip and cavity-searched before her release on bail.
Egged on by a frenzy media, the Indian Foreign Office was virtually forced into a public confrontation capable of damaging the plinth of a thriving Indo-US bilateral relationship. Yes, some unwelcome developments in the past like a hands-on search of another lady diplomat Meera Shankar, former Indian Ambassador to the US and forced removal of India’s ex-permanent envoy to UN, Hardeep Puri’s turban at US airports are worrisome. But diplomacy at the end of the day is an art of resolving differences silently. If the US is guilty of committing excesses, can we not accuse the Indian establishment too of mixing electoral politics with diplomacy?
The brouhaha over Devyani’s arrest is more a posture aimed at the electorate than reciprocation of the perceived slight. Even an intern in the Foreign Office can understand that disrespecting the laws of the host country amounts to tarnishing the image of India internationally. Moreover, why was Khobgade not withdrawn from her US assignment despite forewarning from the US administration about the possibility of her detention? Were the Foreign Office mandarins preparing ground for the Indian political class to gain electoral mileage by taking on the mighty United States in a pre-general election season? Above all, introduction of a conspiracy theory makes us a laughing stalk to everybody in the international community.
Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid declared in Parliament that Khobragade is a victim of US conspiracy and that India’s sovereignty is in danger while Devyani’s father, a retired bureaucrat, went to the extent of stamping the maid as a US spy. But then, why would the US secret service entrap Devyani — entrusted with non-strategic diplomatic work at the Indian Consulate in New York — unless she is an undeclared Indian intelligence asset working under diplomatic cover?
Some elements in India are hell bent on lowering the dignity of the nation by floating all sorts of bizarre arguments including the alleged dramatic evacuation operation undertaken by American intelligence to quietly take nanny Sangeeta’s spouse and children out of India under the very nose of the law enforcement agencies immediately prior to Devyani’s arrest. Such callous off-the-cuff remarks will only complicate the situation further and incite all sorts of rumors about Khobragade’s real status. It will also give rise to some embarrassing questions about how and why the government failed to keep track of the supposed conspiracy and repatriate the official concerned in time. Instead of heaping all sorts of abuse on nanny Sangeeta and the US administration, New Delhi would do well to set its sights toward finding a logical solution to end the impasse like brokering an out-of-court settlement for withdrawal of all charges against the accused diplomat. Otherwise India will face the ignominy of being represented by a controversial character involved in illegalities at home and abroad.
When the dust settles, citizens will realize how much damage this sudden hyper-reaction has caused to India’s credibility. Most importantly, this misplaced outburst of nationalistic fervor has only projected us as a bunch of hypocrites who would clamor for an individual of high status and immunity while remaining indifferent to the plight of a not so influential merchant navy sailor, who almost lost the chance to perform the last rite of his toddler son while languishing in an African prison for no fault of his. India as a nation will also be ridiculed for the double standard of hankering for introduction of a tough legislation to protect domestic worker from abuse and exploitation and yet coming out in full support of someone who is guilty of committing similar offense. Instead of embarking on a public show of bravado, the government should have focused on disciplining its own staff. After all Khobragade is not the only Indian diplomat to have landed in a legal soup for mistreating housekeepers. In fact this is the third year in a row that officials posted in India’s New York consulate have made headlines by wrongfully exploiting their maids. Unfortunately, what these officials fail to understand is that the global community tends to believe that such gross misconduct is a reflection of the general Indian attitude toward domestic help. It is nothing short of an irony that Mahatma Gandhi’s India has chosen to belittle the exploitation of domestic workers who toil hard to earn a decent living while America, the symbol of capitalism and alleged exploiter of the underprivileged, is fighting for the cause of a poor housekeeper.
- Seema Sengupta is a Kolkata-based journalist and columnist.
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