Joe Biden is wrong to roll out the red carpet for Narendra Modi

On taking office, Joe Biden promised a new approach to foreign policy based on prioritising democratic values and human rights. The US president spoke of ‘the battle between democracy and autocracy’ as the defining struggle of the time, effectively dividing the world into two clear and opposing camps. Now Biden is having to eat his own words by playing host to Narendra Modi, the prime minister of India. It would be a stretch to describe Modi as a standard bearer for human rights or Western democratic values. 

Even so, Modi is being given the red carpet treatment in Washington, including the honour of making an address to a joint session of Congress. The state visit for the Indian leader is only the third Biden has held during his presidency. This is quite a turnaround for a politician who was once denied entry to the United States because of concerns over alleged human rights violations.