On Thursday (9th May), veteran Congress leader Jairam Ramesh courted controversy for sharing a news report, which claimed that the rise of India on the world stage under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a supposedly ‘a mirage.’
In a tweet, he wrote, ” Amazing that such a report would get such a prominent outlet. The devastating impacts of climate change? Wonder what the outgoing External Affairs Minister has to say about it.”
The article published by The Times of India relied on a dubious report, prepared by an NGO ‘Friends For Democracy’ which is run by the son of far-left billionaire George Soros.
The controversial report deliberately titled ‘Modi Mirage’ claimed to have surveyed just 3000 people, belonging to the UK, France and the USA, online to conclude that people in Europe view India less favourably under PM Modi as compared to previous regimes led by the Congress party.
The report prepared by Jonathan Soros-run-NGO alleged that 52% of British Indians dislike PM Modi while 65% of British Indians are supposedly concerned about religious violence in India spilling over to the United Kingdom.
Friends for Democracy claimed, “The majority of people in the US, UK and France are concerned about the state of human rights and democracy in India. So much so that they overwhelmingly want to see these issues made conditions of new trade and political negotiations.“
The NGO further alleged citing a report by V-Dem, “There is a virtual consensus among experts that concerns for India’s democracy and human rights under Modi are well founded.“
For those unaware of V-Dem, it is funded by the likes of George Soros’ Open Society Foundations (OSF) and has been involved in anti-India propaganda for several years. OpIndia has previously reported that Soros has been eyeing a colour revolution in India.
Friends for Democracy further brazened out, “State machinery is being misused to oppress the opposition, as evidenced by a wave of arrests, Enforcement Directorate raids, and investigations opened against opposition leaders, while BJP own leaders enjoy total impunity. Twitter, X, and Apple have all sounded the alarm at illegitimate government abuse of their platforms.“
The report has been maliciously timed to coincide with the ongoing Lok Sabha elections in India in the hopes of influencing the political opinion of the electorates.
Anti-India activists behind ‘Modi Mirage’ report
Besides the NGO run by Jonathan Soros, several other anti-India propagandists had co-authored the report titled ‘Modi Mirage’ to allege that India’s global rise is a myth.
One of them happens to be Irfan Nooruddin, a Professor at Georgetown University in the United States. He has good ties with veteran Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, who helped amplify the dubious report on India’s supposed perception in Europe.
The nature of the relationship is so strong that Nooruddin proudly flaunts engaging with Ramesh on the cover photo of his website.
As pointed out by the popular X handle ‘Stop Hindu Hate Advocacy Network (SHHAN)’, Nooruddin has been involved in fearmongering about the state of Indian minorities in the US and calling for the interference of foreign nations in the internal affairs of the country.
“Vigilante groups – in a manner reminiscent of the darkest periods of American history – harass, beat, and murder Muslim men rumoured to be smuggling beef, dating a Hindu girl, or insulting a deity. No evidence is required…This offers an opening for the US government to call upon its alleged partner to speak more clearly and act more decisively to defend religious minorities.”
In September 2023, he was roped in by the controversial US federal commission ‘The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)’ to spread canards about India during a panel discussion.
Another academic by the name of Subir Sinha from the SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies) in London has also been at the helm of whitewashing Islamist violence and falsely implicating Hindusidentifying the infamous 2022 anti-Hindu Leicester violence in the United Kingdom.
In the past, Sinha had disseminated lies about the 2002 Gujarat riots, the Hindu epics Ramayana and Mahabharata and the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A by the Modi government. He had also cast aspersions on the Indian democracy.
Another co-author of the malicious report ‘Modi Mirage’ happens to be Riumbra Manuvie, who runs the controversial think-tank ‘Foundation The London Story (TLS)’.
In 2023, TLS had featured a ‘journalist’ favoured by ISIS, Meer Faisal, to give a clean chit to Muslim extremists who ran riots in Nuh in Mewat region of Haryana.
At that time, OpIndia had published a detailed story on Ritumbra Manuvie, who wrote multiple anti-India propaganda pieces for The Quint and The Print. She was also one of the organisers of anti-CAA protests outside the Peace Palace in the Hague city of Netherlands.
Ritumbra Manuvie dubbed the Citizenship Amendment Act as ‘homeland purification’, encouraged the intervention of the European Parliament in India’s internal matters and misled people about Assam’s detention camps.
The propaganda artist was also seen endorsing the likes of Teesta Setalvad, who falsely tried to implicate erstwhile Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in the 2022 Gujarat case. She carried out her disinformation campaign about CAA and NRC on the platforms of Oxford Law Faculty and the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), well until November 2020.
Ritumbra Manuvie had also been the frontrunner in shielding Islamists who unleashed mayhem on the streets of northeast Delhi in February 2020.
Anti-India propaganda, George Soros and its nexus
India has been fighting a ‘perception war’ on all fronts since the start of 2023. On February 16 this year, George Soros exploited the Adani-Hindenburg controversy and launched a scathing attack on the Indian government.
He claimed, “Modi and business tycoon Adani are close allies. Their fate is intertwined…Adani Enterprises tried to raise funds in the stock market, but it failed. Adani is accused of stock manipulation and his stock collapsed like a house of cards.”
Soros accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of crony capitalism. “Modi is silent on the subject, but he will have to answer questions from foreign investors and in parliament,” he added.
The Hungarian-American billionaire also said that the ‘shakedown’ caused to the Indian markets due to the Hindenburg Research report will result in ‘much needed institutional reforms’ and ‘democratic revival’.
George Soros and his vicious ecosystem of NGOs, activists and journalists had been trying to prove PM Modi as an ‘electoral autocrat’ who needed to be ousted for the ‘greater good’ of this country. And it has been a work in progress for a long time.
The Hungarian-American billionaire has also tried to use international institutions, which are funded by him, including Freedom House and V-Dem (Varieties of Democracy) Institute to tarnish the image of India at a global level.