Indian PM’s daughter takes on Bush administration

By Ravi S Jha

NEW DELHI — She is 36-year-old — the New York-based youngest daughter of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. But Amrit Singh is grabbing the world attention with her legal battle against Pentagon, that too when her father, the veteran architect of Indian free-market reforms, is busy making ‘friendship’ with her adversary none other than the US President George W. Bush. 

Amrit needs not much introduction. As an Indian prime minister’s daughter, she has done what many would not even dream of doing. Armed with just a law degree and some experience, she has confronted the US government.

When Dr Singh talked with Cuban leader Fidel Castro on the world’s united fight against terrorism, Amrit was busy taking on Bush’s ‘war on terror’.

No wonder, Dr Singh’s daughter has given the Bush administration a tough time as a highly successful attorney with human rights group, American Civil Liberties Union. The group is fighting the US government on Abu Ghraib and issues of recent profiling of Arabs, Asians etc. on what she calls Washington’s ‘anti-brown discrimination’.

Dr Singh may break the protocol bread with Bush and be overly appreciative of his ‘war on terror’ initiatives. But if one listens to Amrit, he will come to know how Dr Singh could have been ‘mistaken’. Her prime minister father may differ officially with her assertive opinion on the US government, violating human right norms. But Amrit is certain that Bush administration’s act of injustice in the name of ‘war on terror’ will end soon.

“US government has indulged in abuse of detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay. And it may be linked to policies and procedures formulated and implemented by high-ranking US government officials. I have no qualm in saying that,” Amrit says in an international civil liberties report that has put Bush government in dilemma.

All of Dr Singh’s three daughters — Upender, Daman and Amrit — have chosen different, independent professions. It is said Dr Singh never interfered with their professional lives. The eldest has teaching background in history and political science at St Stephen’s College here. The second worked as consultant with Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI) after graduating in Mathematics.

While none of Dr Singh’s children have tried making big news, it is Amrit’s initiatives after graduating from the prestigious Yale Law School that put her in the limelight both in the US and in India.

When Bush visited New Delhi early this year, Amrit’s criticism of his anti-terrorism policy had echoed in the corridors of power. India’s foreign and domestic policy objectives are driven by the agenda of the Congress-led government, where Dr Singh’s role is of a capable pursuer. Yet, it is not surprising that his daughter’s anti-Bush campaign never stymied the Indo-US relations.

Amrit points out: “US government has persisted in portraying the (human rights) abuse of detainees as the work of a handful of low-ranking soldiers while apparently shielding higher-ranking officials and the systemic nature of the abuse from public scrutiny.”

She says, in October 2003, long before the Abu Ghraib scandal was exposed, the ACLU and other groups filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with numerous federal agencies in the US. FOIA sought records related to the torture of detainees held in US custody abroad and the rendition of detainees to foreign intelligence services since September 11, 2001. “Since that time, the US government has continued to thwart the ACLU’s efforts to uncover those responsible for the abuse of detainees,” she points out. “We decided to uncover the entire truth about who was ultimately responsible for the torture and abuse of detainees in US custody in Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere abroad,” she says.

“The abuse of detainees held at a US air base in Bagram, Afghanistan; a criminal investigation into the deaths of two detainees held there, and the US’ rendition of detainees to other countries known to employ torture, etc, needs to be exposed. This is despite numerous provisions under international law, prohibiting the practice of torture or degrading treatment,” says Amrit.

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