As UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, under fire at home for partying with his cabinet colleagues during strict Covid restrictions in his country,  is set to offer India knowhow to build its own fighter jets and fast-track deliveries of defence equipment as he meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi Friday to consolidate ties that he thinks are of "vital importance" for the future.

In his first visit to New Delhi as prime minister, Johnson will discuss with Modi measures to boost trade and security ties with India as the West seeks to wean it away from overreliance on Russian military hardware that has inhibited it from joining the West-led chorus of global condemnation of Russian invasion of Ukraine.  

"The world faces growing threats from autocratic states which seek to undermine democracy, choke off free and fair trade and trample on sovereignty," Johnson said in a statement after visiting Modi's home state of Gujarat on Thursday in his first stop on his two-day trip.

"The UK's partnership with India is a beacon in these stormy seas. Our collaboration on the issues that matter to both our countries, from climate change to energy security and defence, is of vital importance as we look to the future."

He was expected to discuss "support for new Indian-designed and built fighter jets, offering the best of British know-how on building battle-winning aircraft", the statement said.

But Johnson's trip ran into trouble with human rights advocates as he visited a JCB factory in Halol, Gujarat, a day after the ruling BJP-controlled municipal authorities razed homes and businesses, allegedly targeting the minority Muslim community in Jahangirpuri, a working-class area of Delhi. JCB is a UK-headquartered heavy equipment maker.

The Supreme Court had to intervene twice to stop the drive after it took cognizance of a petition filed by Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind against the demolition in an area rocked by communal violence following a Hindu religious procession from where, eyewitnesses said, provocative slogans and gestures were directed at a mosque. 

Reacting sharply, Amnesty India tweeted, "In the backdrop of Municipal Corporation of Delhi using JCB bulldozers to raze down shops of Muslims in Northwest Delhi's Jahangirpuri yesterday, UK Prime Minister's inauguration of a JCB factory in Gujarat is not only ignorant but his silence on the incident is deafening."

It said the UK government must not remain a mute bystander. "It must bring human rights to the discussion table. India cannot wait another day for justice."

According to the Scroll, as 'bulldozer politics' dominated discussions in India, images of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson clambering onto an excavator led to outrage and incredulity in India and the United Kingdom.

India is a huge, but elusive, trade prize for the politically beleaguered Boris Johnson, with The Guardian saying that "of all the deals that Boris Johnson could sign with countries outside the EU to lift UK trade, one with India is the among the biggest prizes".

During his visit to the JCB factory on Thursday, Johnson appeared to raise expectations of a FTA by saying “we're hoping to complete another free trade agreement, with India, by the end of the year, by the autumn.” 

(SAM)