[Ms. Khobragade, the deputy consul general in
New York, was arrested on Dec. 12 on charges
that she fraudulently obtained a work visa for her housekeeper, forced her to
work longer hours than agreed to and paid her far less than the minimum wage.
Anger among Indians intensified after they learned that the United States had
flown the maid’s husband and children out of India on visas meant for use in
cases of human trafficking two days before Ms. Khobragade’s arrest, saying the
family had been threatened.]
NEW
DELHI — India’s diplomatic corps, still seething over the arrest of an
Indian diplomat in New York, continued its tit-for-tat campaign against
American diplomats this week, revoking privileges, beginning tax investigations
and issuing new consular identity cards that say the card holder can be
arrested for serious offenses.
Although top Indian politicians are no longer
denouncing the United States daily for the arrest and strip search of the
diplomat, Devyani Khobragade, 39, foreign service officials are not letting the
matter drop. The continued hard feelings suggest that the dispute could have a
long-term impact on a relationship both sides say is crucial.
“We are in touch with you,” Syed Akbaruddin, the
spokesman for the Ministry of External Affairs, said in a lengthy interview
Thursday, addressing his remarks to his American counterparts. “You pick up the
phone all the time. You clearly knew this arrest was coming.
“After all, we have a strategic partnership and
cooperate on a range of issues, yet you can’t tell us a thing while doing all
this stuff behind our backs?”
Ms. Khobragade, the deputy consul general in New
York, was arrested on Dec. 12 on charges
that she fraudulently obtained a work visa for her housekeeper, forced her to
work longer hours than agreed to and paid her far less than the minimum wage.
Anger among Indians intensified after they learned that the United States had
flown the maid’s husband and children out of India on visas meant for use in
cases of human trafficking two days before Ms. Khobragade’s arrest, saying the family
had been threatened.
The human-trafficking designation deeply
offended Indian officials, who termed the threats exaggerated and said the
Americans should have discussed the matter with them, particularly since they
had informed their American counterparts repeatedly about their concerns after
the maid, Sangeeta Richard, left Ms. Khobragade’s employment in June.
A spokesman for the United States Embassy in New
Delhi refused to comment on Thursday.
Outrage in India’s tiny diplomatic corps is
particularly acute because those who deal with the United States often feel
overwhelmed by the sheer volume of communications. India has just three senior
diplomats on its North America desk, who deal with scores of counterparts from
the United States and Canada. And the issue of the treatment of domestic help
does not resonate in India as it does in the United States; nearly all
officials in New Delhi have maids working dawn to dusk six or seven days a
week, and generally earning even less than Ms. Richard did.
India has undertaken punitive measures that it
believes puts American diplomats in India on par with Indian diplomats in the
United States. It withdrew passes that allow American diplomats to meet
important guests, like members of Congress, at airport gates, and canceled the
diplomatic identity cards given to consular officials and their families,
reissuing cards only to officials. The cards instruct police officers that the
holder may be arrested for serious offenses.
In addition, India is investigating whether
spouses and employees of American officials are paying taxes on earnings made
in India, particularly at the American schools in New Delhi, Mumbai and
Chennai. India has canceled the United States Embassy’s import privileges for
food and alcohol. And security barriers that surrounded the embassy in New
Delhi have been permanently removed. Indian officials say the barriers were
unnecessary and in some cases impeded traffic.
“We would not do anything to adversely affect
the security of the U.S. Embassy,” Mr. Akbaruddin said. “To suggest otherwise
is unfair.”
There are 14 other Indian maids working for
Indian diplomats in the United States, and India is negotiating over their
status with the State Department. To India, these maids should be considered
Indian government employees whose employment does not fall under American wage
and hour laws.
A little-noticed aspect of the uproar has been
India’s unhappiness with American officials of Indian descent. The federal
prosecutor on the case, Preet Bharara, is of Indian descent, as are many
officials on the South Asia desk of the United States State Department.
India has a fraught relationship with members of
its own diaspora. Commercials and Bollywood films often treat such people with
mild contempt, and in the Khobragade case, Indian officials have said they
believe that their counterparts in the United States treated India poorly in an
excessive show of loyalty to the United States.
American officials quietly say they bent over
backward to heal bruised feelings. On Dec. 19, Secretary of State John Kerry
tried to get in touch with the Indian foreign secretary, Salman Khurshid, but
Mr. Khurshid did not take his call for reasons he has not explained. So Mr.
Kerry called Shivshankar Menon, the Indian national security adviser, to
express his “regret” over the matter.
Top Indian politicians instead demanded an
official apology and a dismissal of all charges against Ms. Khobragade. On Dec.
20, Mr. Khurshid continued to express outrage over the affair and said he
expected to hear from Mr. Kerry soon. But by then, American eagerness to
resolve the impasse had evaporated. That same day, a deputy State Department
spokeswoman said Mr. Kerry had not spoken to Mr. Khurshid and had no plans to
do so.
India is seeking permission from the State
Department to transfer Ms. Khobragade from the Indian Consulate, where she gets
limited diplomatic immunity, to its United Nations mission, where her
protection against prosecution would be far stronger. Indeed, Indian officials
say Ms. Khobragade was consulting with her United Nations counterparts as early
as last summer, which they say should give her immunity for the entire period.
But American officials so far insist that
whatever immunity Ms. Khobragade earns from the switch will not be retroactive.
“Receiving diplomatic immunity does not nullify
any previously existing criminal charges,” said Jen Psaki, the State Department
spokeswoman. “Those remain on the books.”
Ms. Khobragade could leave the United States for
India, never return and never face another day in court, but that seems
unlikely because her husband, a professor of philosophy, was raised in the
United States and has family there.
