India has made this claim repeatedly that it wants to lead the campaign against terrorism. However, some of its actions can give the impression that it is following double standards on terrorism. If India wants to maintain its credibility on the issue of terrorism then it has to condemn all kinds of terrorism; whether it is done by the Muslims or done against the Muslims, whether it is done against them, whether it is done by an organization against a state or done by a state (State Terrorism). India seems to be enthusiastically condemning terrorism by the Islamic terrorists. However, it seems to lose its enthusiasm when the Muslims become victims of terrorism.                                                                                                                                                                                                                

By Dr. Sawraj Singh

          India has made this claim repeatedly that it wants to lead the campaign against terrorism. However, some of its actions can give the impression that it is following double standards on terrorism. If India wants to maintain its credibility on the issue of terrorism then it has to condemn all kinds of terrorism; whether it is done by the Muslims or done against the Muslims, whether it is done against them, whether it is done by an organization against a state or done by a state (State Terrorism). India seems to be enthusiastically condemning terrorism by the Islamic terrorists. However, it seems to lose its enthusiasm when the Muslims become victims of terrorism.                                                                                    

                 Recently, an Iranian nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizaadeh, was assassinated in a terror attack which is suspected to have been carried out by Israeli intelligence. India has not so far condemned this terrorist act. In 2019 the US carried out the assassination of Qassim Suleiman, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards. India refrained from criticizing the US. It just expressed the hope that all sides concerned would exercise restraint. This is not the first time that an Iranian nuclear scientist has been targeted. Four scientists were assassinated and Israel was suspected to be behind those.                                                        

     War crimes can also be considered acts of terrorism and should be condemned. Recently, the atrocities committed by the Australian soldiers in Afghanistan have been brought out by the media. Australian soldiers are shown to be slitting the throats of two Afghan boys by the Chinese media. However, instead of investigating the incidents, the Australian government is blaming China for defaming Australia. It is not just the Chinese media that is blaming Australia, there have been such accusations in the western media also. The British newspaper Guardian showed Australian soldiers drinking beer from the prosthetic leg of an Afghan whom they had killed.                                                                            

                The western countries have always followed double standards on terrorism. They have promoted terrorism when it is directed against their adversaries. However, when the same terrorists turn against the western countries then they raise hue and cry about terrorism. We can clearly see this in Afghanistan. The western countries supported the Taliban when they were fighting against the Soviet Union. However, when the Taliban turned their guns against the west then the western countries made them villains from heroes. The western countries incited terrorism in Libya and got rid of Gaddafi in the most brutal way setting new records in the field of barbarity in the world history. One wonders which of their acts qualifies them for a gold medal in brutality and barbarity; killing Saddam Hussein's grandsons in Iraq or killing Gaddafi in Libya? I think this may be a tie.  As far as an individual gold medal in these fields, Lieutenant William Calley Jr.'s record in made in the My Lai massacre of the innocent people in Vietnam is hard to beat.                                                                                                                                                                  

                However, in spite of such horrible record of human rights violations, the western countries continue to pose as the champions of democracy and human rights. This is a glaring example of double standards and hypocrisy. In the world history of colonial slavery, the west has passed through three stages: the first stage was that of military subjugation, the second stage was economic domination and the third and the present stage is of ideological enslavement. In this stage, the west is forcing the others to adopt its concepts of democracy and human rights despite the fact that its own dismal record in these fields. India should avoid joining the western club of double standards and hypocrisy.  

Dr. Sawraj Singh, MD F.I.C.S. is the Chairman of the Washington State Network for Human Rights and Chairman of the Central Washington Coalition for Social Justice. He can be reached at sawrajsingh@hotmail.com.