India's foreign minister recently sparked a debate on whether American media is biased and unfair in its portrayal of India and Indian affairs. At a recent event organised by the Indian-American community in Washington, DC, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said, "There are some newspapers - you know exactly what they're going to write, including one in this town. The more India goes its way, and the people who believe that they were the custodians, and shapers of India, lose ground in India, the more some of this debate is going to come outside. They're not winning in India. So, they will try and win outside India, or try and shape India from outside."
Amid this debate, let's take a look at how the Modi government's decisions and policies have been covered by US news organisations.
ON MODI
A recent article in the New York Times accused the Modi government of "stifling dissent, sidelining civilian institutions and making minorities second-class citizens". In August, an article in the New York Times had declared "Modi's India" the graveyard of "global democracy", saying that the BJP government is "espousing intolerant Hindu supremacist majoritarianism". In May 2022, a CNN article said that under "Modi's watch, Muslims are being vilified and evicted from their homes", and "their freedom of religion is being stifled".
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In February 2021, an article in TIME magazine said that under Modi, "hate speech is rife, peaceful dissent is criminalised, freedom of expression and association face new constraints". In May 2019, during the Indian election season, a Washington Post article said that India is experience "US-style polarisation", and at its centre is Modi, who "inspires either fervent loyalty, or deep distrust".
In November 2018, a Washington Post article accused Modi of being silent on controversies roiling India. The article said that before being elected, Modi used to call then-PM Manmohan Singh "Maun-mohan" for "saying too little about matters of national importance".
ON FARMERS STIR'
Another issue which saw comprehensive reportage by US media was the year-long protest by Indian farmers at the Delhi border.
A piece in the Washington Post in December 2020 had wondered whether the protesting farmers can "restore" Indian democracy even as the Modi government "guts the promise of equality for all" in the Indian Constitution. An article in the New York Times in February 2021 said that "Modi's response to farmer protests" is stirring "fears of a pattern" involving stifling of dissent.
After the government rescinded the 3 controversial farm laws, an article in the Washington Post said that Modi is "used to forcing through disastrous decisions". Another article in the TIME magazine said that farmers forced Modi to "retreat, but he will be back, with more religious polarisation".
ON COVID
American media also criticised the BJP government over its response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
During the second wave of Covid in India in 2021, an article in the Washington Post accused "Modi and his ministers" of focusing on "covering up their incompetence" by denouncing journalists, and alleging an international conspiracy. A piece in CNN said that the Indian PM "indulges in dramatic but empty gestures such as ordering the population to light candles and bang on pots and pans". CNN published another article which quoted Modi's critics as saying that the "Hindu nationalist government" didn't prepare for a second Covid wave, and also "encouraged mass gatherings at Hindu festivals and political rallies".
ON HIJAB ROW
More recently, a debate over hijab rules in Karnataka institutions caught the attention of US media.
A CNN article quoted activists as saying that the hijab row is an example of a "broader trend" of a "crackdown" on the minority Muslim population by the BJP government. On an earlier occasion, a Washington Post article had said that "Hindu nationalist student groups have been on the rise" at Indian campuses since Modi came to power.
ON UK CLASHES
The recent Hindu-Muslim tension in UK's Leicester was linked to Indian politics by one US outlet. An article in the Washington Post said that the United Kingdom is now having to "wrestle with India's demons".
ON KASHMIR
The situation in Kashmir is a topic which has seen extensive coverage by American media.
In November 2021, a Washington Post article accused the Indian government of making Kashmir "even more dangerous for religious minorities". The author said that the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir's special status looked like "an effort to soothe the ego of Hindu nationalist voters". A month later, another article in the Washington Post said that "Kashmir's already vulnerable civil society" was being "crushed". In August 2019, when the Modi government diluted Article 370, a New York Times podcast said that India "unilaterally erased" Jammu and Kashmir's "autonomy" and brought the conflict to a "tipping point".
