Trinidad and Tobago conferred India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the Caribbean nation's highest civilian honour on Friday, in a first for a foreign leader, but the decision sharply divided opinion.
While the move sparked celebrations among the Indian PM's supporters, it also drew strong objections from the country's largest Muslim organisation.
The moment was a highlight of the Indian leader's first official trip to Trinidad and Tobago — where more than a third of the population is of Indian descent — since he came to power over a decade ago.
However, the Anjuman Sunnat-ul-Jamaat Association (ASJA), Trinidad and Tobago's largest Muslim organisation, told The Guardian of plans to write to the prime minister's office and the Indian high commission to express concern over the honour being extended to a political leader they say has a widely criticised human rights record.
In a statement, the ASJA said it had "deep and principled concern" about honouring a figure they believe has emboldened religious intolerance in India.
The ASJA referenced the revocation of Kashmir's special status and also noted the 2002 Gujarat riots during Modi's time as chief minister of the state, during which more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed.
The ASJA also pointed to continuing criticism from international human rights groups.
On the other hand, Dr Devant Maharaj, a former UNC government minister and former executive member of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS), Trinidad and Tobago's largest Hindu organisation, hailed the decision.
"This moment means something profound," he was quoted as saying by The Guardian.
"It is not just about politics or diplomacy. It is about the reawakening of a people who were once scattered but never severed. For Indo-Trinidadian Hindus, Modi's India feels like a karmic realignment – a mother remembering her children, and the children looking homeward with both awe and affirmation."
Although Muslim communities and human rights advocates have criticised Modi's policies, he has also received state honours from several Muslim-majority countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.
The differing reactions also played out on social media, with opinions sharply divided between those advocating for stronger diplomatic ties and those questioning the appropriateness of the award.
Relations between India and Trinidad and Tobago find their roots in 1845, when indentured Indian laborers first arrived to work on sugar and cocoa plantations under British colonial rule as slavery ended.
Over 140,000 laborers settled in the Caribbean nation between 1845 and 1917.
The Indian prime minister is currently on a five-nation diplomatic tour, covering Ghana, Trinidad and Tobago, Argentina, Brazil and Namibia. He landed in Argentina late on Friday.
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