The Australian authorities has refused to be drawn on human rights in India, prompting accusations that it has shelved uncomfortable points to spice up commerce and safety ties.

Human Rights Watch mentioned the “quiet diplomacy” method favoured by the west had did not have any seen impression on India and urged the Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, to lift human rights throughout his go to to the nation subsequent week.

BBC workplaces in India have been raided by tax department officials in February, simply weeks after the discharge of a documentary vital of the prime minister, Narendra Modi, which examined rising tensions between his Hindu nationalist authorities and the minority Muslim inhabitants.

The Indian authorities invoked emergency laws to block the documentary, which included particulars from a British Foreign Office report that alleged Modi was “directly responsible” for a “climate of impunity” that enabled lethal riots within the western state of Gujarat in 2002.

Modi, who was the chief minister of Gujarat on the time, denies the allegations. A spokesperson for India’s international ministry mentioned the documentary – launched in January – lacked objectivity and mirrored a “continuing colonial mindset”.

In the lead-up to his deliberate journey to India subsequent week, Albanese was requested concerning the Gujarat riot allegations and whether or not he would elevate up to date human rights considerations with Modi.

The prime minister didn’t interact with the substance of the query. He mentioned he was decided to construct a greater relationship between Australia and India and he appeared ahead to having “positive discussions” together with his counterpart.

“One of the things that my government has done also is to return to acting like a diplomatic government should,” Albanese advised reporters in Canberra on Tuesday. “We’ll continue to act in that vein to develop positive relationships. We always stand up for our values.”

The international affairs minister, Penny Wong, additionally didn’t go into element concerning the challenge throughout a press convention in New Delhi on Wednesday earlier than a G20 assembly.

Wong mentioned she understood the “specific issue” a journalist had raised concerning the Gujarat riots was “traversed through the Indian legal system and that’s a matter for the Indian legal system”.

That was a reference to a supreme court docket panel saying 10 years in the past that there was inadequate proof to prosecute Modi.

Wong added that Australia and India have been “close friends” and “comprehensive strategic partners” and “we engage on human rights issues regularly”.

Asked whether or not she was involved concerning the banning of the BBC documentary, Wong mentioned: “Obviously, we have engaged with the Indian system on those issues and on other issues.”

Pressed to stipulate Australia’s response to the next raids on the BBC, Wong mentioned: “Well, as I’ve said to you, we have engaged with the Indian system on those issues.”

Asked once more what she meant by that remark, Wong mentioned: “That’s what I mean. Those are the words I’m using and I’m not going to go into those matters any further.”

At one other press convention in New Delhi on Thursday, Wong mentioned Australia would “not walk away from our support for human rights”.

“Of course we engage with all countries appropriately about our support for human rights,” she mentioned. “I don’t believe that that engagement is always something that needs to go through media outlets.”

Elaine Pearson, the Asia director of Human Rights Watch, mentioned Albanese and Wong “should be unequivocal in raising human rights concerns with Modi during their visits to India, pointing out that how his government’s actions belie its international claims of upholding democratic principles”.

Pearson mentioned the Modi authorities had “adopted discriminatory laws and policies against Muslims and other religious minorities” and “attempted to curb independent institutions”.

“Independent journalists are forced to self-censor, while pro-government media edge on incitement to violence against minorities and critics, even justifying tax raids on the BBC following a critical documentary about Modi that aired recently,” she mentioned.

Pearson mentioned if Albanese and Wong have been “uncomfortable raising these concerns because they want closer trade and security ties with the Indian government, they should think long and hard about all the people who have been silenced in India who aren’t able to speak up because they fear being arrested or prosecuted”.

She mentioned the quiet diplomacy method had led to “led to growing sentiment that Australia is willing to overlook the plight of affected communities in India” as a result of it wanted India as an ally towards China.

Kanchan Gupta, an adviser at India’s ministry of data and broadcasting, last month denied there was a authorities crackdown on media. He mentioned the three-day go to by greater than 50 officers from the earnings tax division to the Delhi and Mumbai offices of the BBC was a routine test.

The Indian authorities has previously dismissed “ill-informed” assaults on the nation’s human rights file, saying it “values religious freedom and human rights”.