India's Modi comes to Washington, but what about democracy back home?

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the White House has been accompanied by the announcement of several major deals between the two countries. But the visit has also drawn criticism from some over India’s human rights backsliding under Mr. Modi.

First Look

President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are marking the state visit of the Indian leader on Thursday by launching new partnerships in defense, semiconductor manufacturing, and more sectors as the leaders look to strengthen their countries’ crucial – albeit complicated – relationship.

But as Mr. Biden fetes Mr. Modi, human rights advocates and some United States lawmakers are questioning the Democratic president’s decision to offer the high honor to a leader whose nine-year tenure over the world’s biggest democracy has been marked by a backslide in political, religious, and press freedoms.

Biden administration officials say honoring Mr. Modi, the leader of the conservative Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, is Diplomacy 101. The U.S.-India relationship will be vital in coming decades as both sides navigate an ascendant China and enormous challenges posed by climate change, artificial intelligence, supply chain resilience, and other issues.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said President Biden will raise his concerns but will avoid lecturing the prime minister during their formal talks.

“The question of where politics and the question of democratic institutions go in India is going to be determined within India by Indians. It’s not going to be determined by the United States,” Mr. Sullivan said. “So what we can do is our part, and our part is to speak out on behalf of universal values.”

Among the major announcements to be made Thursday is an agreement that will allow U.S.-based General Electric to partner with India-based Hindustan Aeronautics to produce jet engines for Indian aircraft in India and the sale of U.S.-made armed MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones, according to senior Biden administration officials. The officials briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity to preview the major agreements ahead of their formal announcement.

The Biden administration also is unveiling plans aimed at bolstering India’s semiconductor industry. U.S.-based Micron Technology has agreed to build a $2.75 billion semiconductor assembly and test facility in India, with Micron spending $800 million and India funding the rest. U.S.-based Applied Materials is announcing it will launch a new semiconductor center for commercialization and innovation in India, and Lam Research, another semiconductor manufacturing equipment company, will start a training program for 60,000 Indian engineers.

On the space front, India will sign on to the Artemis Accords, a blueprint for space exploration cooperation among nations participating in NASA’s lunar exploration plans. NASA and the Indian Space Research Organization also agreed to make a joint mission to the International Space Station next year.

The State Department will also announce plans to open consulates in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad, while India will reopen its consulate in Seattle.

Despite the major deals, the visit will be shadowed by concerns laid out by rights activists and lawmakers that question Mr. Modi’s commitment to democratic principles.

Mr. Modi has faced criticism over legislation amending the country’s citizenship law that fast-tracks naturalization for some migrants but excludes Muslims, a rise in violence against Muslims and other religious minorities by Hindu nationalists, and the recent conviction of India’s top opposition leader, Rahul Gandhi, for mocking Mr. Modi’s surname.

In 2005, the U.S. revoked Mr. Modi’s visa to the U.S., citing concerns that, as chief minister of Gujarat, he did not act to stop communal violence during 2002 anti-Muslim riots that left more than 1,000 people dead. An investigation approved by the Indian Supreme Court later absolved Mr. Modi, but the stain of the dark moment has lingered.

Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota have said they will boycott Mr. Modi’s address on Thursday before a joint meeting of Congress. And a group of more than 70 lawmakers wrote President Biden this week calling on him to use his meeting with Mr. Modi to raise concerns about the erosion of religious, press, and political freedoms.

“It is an important country to me, and we must call out some of the real issues that are threatening the viability of democracy in all of our countries,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., who was born in India and helped organize the lawmakers’ letter. “If India continues to backslide, I think it will affect our ability to have a really strong relationship with the country.”

Mr. Biden and Mr. Modi have also had differences over Russia’s war in Ukraine. India abstained from voting on U.N. resolutions condemning Russia and refused to join the global coalition against Russia. Since the start of the war, the Modi government has also dramatically increased its purchase of Russian oil.

White House officials note that there are signs of change in India’s relationship with Russia, which has long been New Delhi’s biggest defense supplier.

India is moving away from Russian military equipment, looking more to the U.S., Israel, the United Kingdom, and other nations. Mr. Modi recently met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and has spoken out about his worries about the potential use of nuclear weapons by Russia.

State visits typically are reserved for America’s closest allies, but they also have been used in the past as a carrot to try to strengthen relationships with countries with which the United States has had complicated relationships.

President Barack Obama honored Chinese Presidents Hu Jintao in 2011 and Xi Jinping in 2015.

In 1977, President Jimmy Carter hosted Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the shah of Iran, and his wife for a state visit. That visit came about 15 months before the shah was overthrown in Iran’s Islamic Revolution.

Violent clashes between pro- and anti-shah demonstrators broke out just south of the White House, leading police to deploy tear gas as an official ceremony was underway on the South Lawn. The stinging tear gas wafted to the welcoming ceremony.

Carter later apologized to the shah for the “air pollution.”

Mr. Modi’s busy itinerary on Thursday includes an Oval Office meeting with Biden, his address to Congress, and a lavish White House state dinner hosted by Biden and first lady Jill Biden.

Mr. Modi, who hasn’t taken part in a formal press conference in years, has agreed to participate in one with Mr. Biden, according to the White House. Typically, state visits include a news conference in which the leaders take questions from two members of the U.S. press and two from the visiting press corps.

Mr. Modi is to be honored at a State Department luncheon on Friday hosted by Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. He also is scheduled to address members of the Indian diaspora before departing Washington.

“President Biden is invested in making sure we get this partnership between these two countries, between these two peoples, right,” Mr. Sullivan said, adding that this could “deliver benefits to both of our peoples and to the world as a whole in the decades to come.”

This story was reported by The Associated Press. AP writers Lisa Mascaro and Fatima Hussein contributed to this report.