Barack Obama remark row: Ex-US Prez's statement on Muslim Rights triggers backlash in India
Barack Obama remark row: Former US President Barack Obama's recent remarks about Muslims in India have been criticised by leaders of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Obama stated in an interview last week that if minorities' rights are not protected, India may "start pulling apart." At the time, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on a state visit to the United States.
During a media interview, former US President Barack Obama mentioned the rights of ethnic minorities in India, saying that if these are not protected, the country may "at some point start pulling apart."
During an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour, Obama stated that if President Joe Biden meets with Prime Minister Modi, "the protection of the Muslim minority in a majority Hindu India is something worth mentioning."
In response to a question about India and China, Obama stated that he has worked with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Paris climate accords.
"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," CNN quoted Obama saying.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman slammed former US President Barack Obama on Saturday for his remarks about Indian Muslims, claiming that the US bombed six Muslim-majority countries during his tenure.
"It was surprising that when the PM was visiting the US and telling people about India, a former US President (Barack Obama) was making a statement on Indian Muslims...I am speaking with caution, we want a good friendship with the US, but they comment on India's religious tolerance. Perhaps 6 Muslim-dominated countries were bombed due to him (Obama)... More than 26,000 bombs were dropped," Nirmala Sitharaman said while addressing a press conference in Delhi.
"Honorable prime minister himself during the press conference in US has said how his government works on 'Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas' principle and doesn't discriminate against any community whatsoever but the fact remains that repeatedly when people join in in this debate and highlight issues which are non-issues in a way because if there are issues in states which are to be raised they are being raised at the state level," Sitharaman added.
On Monday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh responded to former US President Barack Obama's remark about Muslims in India.
“Obama ji should not forget that India is the only country which considers all the people living in the world as family members... He should also think about himself as to how many Muslim countries he has attacked”, the minister said.
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- With inputs from agencies
