| The India Cable |
Snapshot of the day
February 6, 2025
Siddharth Varadarajan
Amid rising opposition protests over the “inhuman” manner of deportation of 104 undocumented Indian citizens — 13 minors including young children were among the deportees — from the United States, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar today defended the shocking spectacle of deportees being cuffed and shackled. Instead of condemning the treatment, he asserted that the use of restraints was Standard Operating Procedure for all US deportations, effectively normalising the humiliation of Indian nationals on foreign soil — and Indian airspace too. “The standard operating procedure for deportation by aircraft used by [US Immigration and Customs Enforcement], that has been effective from 2012, provides for the use of restraints,” Jaishankar told the Rajya Sabha. He said that New Delhi was informed by US authorities “that women and children are not restrained” – a claim that women deportees have refuted. Jaishankar said that India’s focus should be on a “strong crackdown on the illegal migration industry, while taking steps to ease visas for legitimate travellers”. He said that law enforcement agencies will take “preventive and exemplary” action against those who sent the deportees to the United States illegally.
Meanwhile, the US embassy has maintained that it was enforcing immigration laws against “inadmissible and removable aliens,” while the Chief of the US Border Patrol shared photos and videos of Indians boarding the C-17 military plane, with their legs and hands chained.
Several deportees, including a woman, later told the media that their legs had been chained and their hands tied, making it difficult to eat, drink or use the washroom. Their accounts echoed those of deportees previously sent back by the Trump administration to South and Central American countries, which had sparked protests from the Colombian and Brazilian governments.
Harwinder Singh, a 40-year-old from Tahli village in Punjab’s Hoshiarpur, spoke to Kusum Arora about his journey which paints a grim picture of the inhumane conditions endured. “For 40 hours, we were handcuffed, our feet tied with chains and were not allowed to move an inch from our seats. After repeated requests, we were allowed to drag ourselves to the washroom. The crew would open the door of the lavatory and shove us in,” said Singh. Recounting the ordeal as “worse than hell,” he described their struggles to eat, drink, and use the restroom. “They would force us to eat with handcuffs on. Our requests to the security personnel to remove the cuffs for a few minutes fell on deaf ears. The journey was not only physically painful, but also mentally exhausting…,” he said, adding that a “kind” crew member offered them fruits.
Opposition MPs in Parliament grilled Jaishankar, demanding to know whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi would raise the issue of the inhumane deportation with President Trump during their upcoming meeting next week. They questioned why India, a self-proclaimed rising power, failed to ensure its citizens were treated with dignity, especially when smaller nations like Colombia have flown their deported citizens home with respect. In his response, Jaishankar avoided answering these pointed questions.
The Congress slammed the government for allowing a US military aircraft carrying shackled Indian deportees to land in Amritsar instead of the national capital, alleging that the choice was driven by optics and an attempt to avoid scrutiny. The landing location, they argued, was carefully selected to downplay the humiliating treatment meted out to these citizens, reinforcing the narrative that the government prioritizes perception over the dignity of its people. “The Gujarat model was projected, but now, for the sake of building narrative and perception, Amritsar was chosen as the destination,” said Congress’ Jalandhar Cantt MLA Pargat Singh. He questioned why so many people from Gujarat were settling abroad illegally if the so-called Gujarat model was so successful.
Speaking of which, former Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat Nitin Patel has expressed sympathy for the deported Gujaratis, underlining the fact that they had gone abroad looking for a job or career, and therefore should not be portrayed as criminals. “They were living in the US for some time. They are being sent back only because they don’t have some permissions. I urge the state government to see to it that they are not harassed,” Patel told reporters.
A television anchor with India Today made the mistake of calling the treatment of the 104 deportees a “disgrace”. But he did an inelegant pivot when government supporters, also known as ‘bhakts’, reminded him that this statement would be seen as an adverse comment on Modi…
