US Image in South Asia Hit Badly Due to Its Continuous Interference

A recent report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) claimed that the Indian Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) enacted in March could potentially breach the country's Constitution.

The CRS also highlighted concerns that if the CAA is coupled with a planned National Register of Citizens (NRC), it could jeopardise the rights of India’s Muslim population.

It is not the first time that the US has criticised the CAA. After its implementation on March 11, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller expressed concerns and said the US was closely monitoring the legislation, asserting that “religious freedom and equal treatment under the law for all communities are fundamental democratic principles.”

Washington's criticism has drawn fire from Hindu groups, while the Indian government clarified that no rights of minorities would be violated. It also cautioned the US to not interfere in India's internal matters.

US Keeps Interfering in Other Nations' Business

Political expert Shrikant Pandey told Sputnik India that the US has a habit of interfering in the internal affairs of other countries.

“India is an emerging power from all the prospects and the US is not able to digest this. The US very well knows that it won’t be able to hamper India’s growth," Pandey said. "However, it wants that the pace of India’s growth should be slowed down. This is the reason why the US is continuously trying to interfere in the internal matters of India.”

He added that India has never tolerated interference from the US or any other country since it won independence, and the present government has gone further as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's “India First” policy.

The pundit also noted that India has strongly refuted the claims about the CAA made by the US and certain sections of the Western media.

“The US is habitual of interfering in the internal matters of the other countries but is not paying attention to what is going in its own country. There have been several incidents like [the] Black Lives Matter campaign or recently the way former President Donald Trump is being treated [which] show that the US is itself not in a good shape,” Pandey said.

The interference of the US has increased as India is witnessing the Lok Sabha elections. whetehr criticism of CAA or statements on the arrest of Delhi State Chief Arvind Kejriwal, the US is purposely meddling in India's internal affairs.

But the political expert said that no interference or statements from the US would have any impact on the elections, as neither the Indian voters nor the government are paying heed to the propagandist cabal trying to demean India’s image globally.

The US Should Recognize World Has Become Multipolar

Continuous US interference in India's affairs and those of other countries has put a dent on its image in the South Asia, the pundit argued. He said several of Washington's attempted interventions in the region hade failed, including its attempt to interfere in elections in Bangladesh.

“The US has to understand one thing that this world is no longer bipolar, rather it has become multipolar and all the countries, especially the developing ones, will first consider the interest of their people first,” Pandey said.

Highlighting Washington's diminishing influence, he said India, which is becoming the voice of the Global South would not take instructions from the US on the Ukraine conflict and wouuld maintain its current neutral stance.

“Such things are witnessed by other countries of South Asia too," Pandey said. "They are not ready to take any dictation from the US which means that it is no longer the country which used to do moral policing for the world. This clearly depicts that its influence has [been] damaged.”

He cautioned the US to understand that India’s dependence on it has decreased, and it is in theWashington's interest to maintain good relations with New Delhi.

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28 March, 19:29