Modi government has made a u-turn over visa for Chinese Uighur. So the patriotic chest-thumping over the weekend has now becomes a reason for embarrassment and bitterness as the government made a public U-turn on issuing visa to Uighur dissident Dolkun Isa.
This political turmoil is a matter of fact as Uighur is the executive committee chairmain of the World Uighur Congress, an organization that represents the Muslim minority in northwest province of China, and declared a terrorist by the Chinese government.
China issued a “red corner notice” against the Uighur to the international policing agency Interpol and seeks his arrest more than a decade ago, but other government refused to do so.
However, supporters of PM Narendra Modi and his government, who are often self-conscious about how India answers China,reacts on social media over the weekend to celebrate the move that Isa had acquired a tourist visa to India, using the hashtag #ModiSlapsChina.
Many viewed the move as a “slap” because China had earlier opposed India at United Nations in the week to block India’s attempt to have Masood Azhar, the alleged mastermind of Pathankot terror attack in January this year; designated an international terrorist.
On Monday, it became clear that Indian ministries did not follow the incident very closely, if at all, on Isa’s visa, and its possible geopolitical importance and result, and they canceled the visa.
On the other hand, Isa came forward and gave a statement expressing disappointment and said he could only consider that Chinese pressure led to the reversal. The turnaround by the New Delhi government did not please Indians, with the hashtag #ModiBowsToChina topping India’s Twitter trends on Monday.
Hua Chunying, a spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, was quoted in the Indian media as saying that “Dolkun is a terrorist on red notice of the Interpol and Chinese police. Bringing him to justice is due obligation of relevant countries.”
A spokesman for India’s Ministry of External Affairs, Vikas Swarup, was seen lnoncommittal in his response, simply saying, “We have seen media reports and the ministry is trying to ascertain facts.”
Earlier, Modi and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping have visited each other’s capitals, and both have agreed to solve border disputes. India’s hosting of the Dalai Lama and Tibet’s government-in-exile is another major sore point.
