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‘India may start pulling apart if… ’ Barack Obama to PM Modi on rights of ethnic minorities
Barack Obama expressed concerns over the protection of rights of ethnic minorities in India during a media interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour. He also said that if a US president meets with PM Modi, ‘then protection of the Muslim minority in a majority-Hindu India, is worth mentioning’.
Former US President Barack Obama during a media interview made statements on protection of the rights of ethnic minorities in India. He added that if rights of minorities in India are not protected, there is a strong possibility of the country "at some point starts pulling apart".
His remarks came during an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour. He added that if a US president meets with PM Modi, "then protection of the Muslim minority in a majority-Hindu India, that is something worth mentioning."
Also read: PM Modi US visit: ‘Democracy is in our spirit..’, Modi replies to questions on Muslim rights in India
During the interview he said, "By the way, if I had a conversation with Prime Minister Modi, who I know well, part of my argument would be that if you do not protect the rights of ethnic minorities in India, then there is a strong possibility that India, at some point, starts pulling apart. And we have seen what happens when you start getting those kinds of large internal conflicts. So that would be contrary to the interests not just of Muslim Indians but also Hindu Indians. I think it is important to be able to talk about these things honestly. Things are not going to be as clean as you like, because the world is complicated," Obama told CNN.
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“The president of the United States has a lot of equities. And when I was president, I would deal with figures in some cases who were allies, who, you know, if you pressed me in private, do they run their governments and their political parties in ways that I would say are ideally democratic? I’d have to say no,” he said as quotes by CNN.
Also read: From Sanjay Mehrotra to Tim Cook: Here are top American CEOs who will meet with PM Modi in US
During the interview, Obama also said that when he was the President he had worked with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Paris accords to deal with climate change.
He also added that it is important for the US president to say that if China is sending Ughurs to mass camps and they are being "re-educated, that's a problem and a challenge to all of us" and there is a need to pay attention to it.
During the joint sitting of the US Congress, PM Modi highlighted 'India's unity in diversity.' "India is the home to all faiths in the world and we celebrate all of them. In India, diversity is a natural way of life, today the world wants to know more and more about India," PM Modi said.
He also stoutly defended his government's record on democracy and human rights, asserting democracy is "in our spirit...and flows in our veins" and that there was no discrimination against minorities.
Meanwhile, reacting to Obama's comments, Bharatiya Janata Party Vice President Baijayant Jay Panda slammed him and said it is preposterous to see the former US President "pander to the anti-India crowd, lecturing India in the same breath as China for its atrocities in Xinjiang".
Panda in a tweet noted that Obama's remarks came when PM Modi is in Washington and two sides are lavishing attention to bilateral ties.
"While @pewresearch finds 98 per cent of India's Muslims say they're free to practice their religion without hindrance, it is preposterous to see @BarackObama pander to the anti-India crowd, lecturing India in the same breath as China for its atrocities in Xinjiang. This, when President @JoeBiden is hosting PM @narendramodi & lavishing attention on the US-India relationship. And by a former President on whose watch race relations exploded in his country. Tsk, tsk, talk about hypocrisy and false narratives," he wrote.
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Business NewsNews‘India may start pulling apart if… ’ Barack Obama to PM Modi on rights of ethnic minorities
First Published:23 Jun 2023, 06:57 AM IST
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