Celebrating those who slam India is Oppn’s new brand of politics

Thedecision of the Congress Party to bestow the Indira Gandhi Peace Award upon former Chilean president and ex-UN Human Rights chief Michelle Bachelet has stirred a hornet’s nest—deservedly so. Critics argue that Bachelet is not merely a critic of India but someone whose comments repeatedly targeted the nation’s sovereignty and internal decision-making, turning legitimate criticism into what many perceive as hostility towards India itself.

Her frequent attacks on the abrogation of Article 370, the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), and other matters of purely internal governance have long been seen by large sections of the Indian public as intrusive, biased and politically motivated.

There is, of course, a fundamental difference between criticism and hatred. Civilisation is built on debate, on the exchange of ideas, and on constructive disagreement. One may passionately disagree with a theatre critic’s interpretation of Macbeth, but hating the critic for that interpretation would be absurd.

Likewise, Bachelet certainly has the right to criticise policies of sovereign nations, including that of India. But critics insist that she crossed that line when she used her UN platform to prescribe what India should or should not do, and to repeatedly portray the world’s largest democracy in a negative, accusatory light on the global stage.

When the Congress party chooses to honour such a figure with a peace award, it inevitably raises a disturbing question: What message is the party sending to the people of India? Is this a celebration of dialogue and peace—or an endorsement of those who publicly shame the nation in international forums?

Bachelet’s tenure at the UNHRC was marked by repeated condemnations of Indian policies. She described herself as “deeply concerned” after the constitutional restructuring of Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019 and demanded access to the Line of Control. She criticised the Indian government’s internet restrictions and preventive detentions without acknowledging decades of terrorism in the region or the thousands of civilians and security personnel killed.

On the CAA—legislation designed to protect persecuted minorities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh—she described it as discriminatory and threatened to challenge India at the UN. She called the FCRA a tool to “punish NGOs” even though the Act exists precisely to regulate foreign funds and protect national security.

The BJP publicly accused her of adopting a “distinctly anti-India, pro-Islamist narrative” during her tenure. Whether one agrees or not, the criticism revolves around sovereignty: should a foreign figure, sitting in Geneva, declare India guilty without context or balance? Should domestic policies shaped by democratic mandate be second-guessed by UN bureaucrats?

When Congress chooses such a person for a peace award, it is not seen as an academic decision—it becomes a political signal. It dilutes the legitimacy of the award and turns it into a tool of ideological messaging rather than honouring genuine peace, disarmament and development efforts.

The Congress is fully entitled to oppose Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It can criticise his policies, challenge him electorally, question governance decisions, and present alternatives. That is the essence of democracy. But critics say Congress has crossed a dangerous line—opposition to Modi has mutated into bitterness towards India itself. The party refuses to acknowledge national achievements, undermines constitutional institutions, encourages narratives of pessimism and collapse, and supports those who speak against India abroad.

Instead of returning to the drawing board, reassessing strategy, listening to its grassroots and rebuilding political credibility, Congress continues to invest in failed slogans such as ‘vote chori’, personal attacks on the Prime Minister and even his family, and divisive identity politics. It ignores what truly wins elections—ground-level mobilisation, disciplined cadre, organisational planning and leaders who understand realities instead of living in echo chambers.

It is tragic that a party that once led the national movement is now abandoned even by regional allies like the Samajwadi Party and TMC. AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi recently slammed the INDIA alliance, saying Muslims are being treated like a qawwali troupe—summoned when needed and discarded thereafter. “Muslims are not plastic cups,” he said, warning that the politics of tokenism will no longer work. He also ridiculed the Congress claim of ‘vote chori’ in Bihar, arguing that his own party successfully restored 900 voter names and asking why the Congress could not do the same.

Rahul Gandhi continues to behave not like a serious politician but a political performer. Yatras, gym videos, pool jumps and symbolic spectacles may win applause on social media—but they do not fetch votes or win elections. Politicians must be thick-skinned; the danger arises when they become thick-minded.

The Indira Gandhi Peace Prize ceremony was further tainted by the presence of Jagdish Tytler, a name synonymous with the horrors of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots—three days of planned mayhem that scarred the nation forever. Those like me, who witnessed the carnage, know that mobs armed with sticks and petrol bombs dragged Sikh men from their houses and lynched in broad daylight. Shops were burnt while the police looked the other way for three days.

The alleged architects of the massacre—Sajjan Kumar, HKL Bhagat and Tytler himself—were protected for decades by the Congress.

Inviting Tytler to a peace award ceremony was not oversight; it was an insult. It reopened wounds that never healed and betrayed the Sikh community’s trust.

Congress today clings to assassinations as moral shields. Yes, the killing of Indira and Rajiv Gandhi was tragic and condemnable. But martyrdom cannot be used to justify institutional abuse, political violence or hereditary entitlement. The party still seems to believe that India is duty-bound to honour the dynasty forever.

Meanwhile, 272 eminent Indian citizens—retired judges, diplomats, generals and civil servants—recently wrote to Rahul Gandhi warning against the party’s attempts to undermine institutions such as the Election Commission. Congress responded by mocking them as “BJP employment exchange applicants”. Such arrogance is not leadership; it is political suicide.

In a democracy, citizens deserve a strong, intelligent and responsible opposition. Instead, the Congress seems determined to destroy itself. The obsession with hating Modi rather than understanding India has already cost it 95 elections since 2014, and it appears poised to complete a century of defeats by 2026. It alienates Hindus through anti-Sanatana rhetoric, insults soldiers, undermines democracy abroad, and now honours a controversial international figure who repeatedly attacked India.

The country is moving forward while Congress is moving backwards, clinging to bitterness, dynasty and self-delusion. If the party wishes to survive, it must abandon entitlement, listen to voters, rebuild organisation from the ground up, and above all—put India first.

(The author is former Chief Editor of The Hans India)