Barack Obama is Criticized For Comments He Made Regarding Muslim rights in India
Barack Obama, a former president of the United States, has received harsh criticism for his comments towards Muslims in India.
Obama had previously warned that if minorities’ rights were not upheld, the nation might “start pulling apart.”
The ex-president of the United States was responding to a query about how Joe Biden, the current president, ought to interact with “illiberal democrats.”
However, at the time of Mr. Obama’s remark, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on a state visit to the United States.
A formal welcome to the White House, a sumptuous state supper, and the signing of many significant agreements all highlighted Mr. Modi’s three-day visit.
Additionally, the prime minister spoke before a joint meeting of the US Congress.
But Mr. Obama’s comments, which he delivered in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour and which was broadcast before to the address to Congress, were widely covered in India.
Before referring to Mr. Modi as one, Ms. Amanpour discussed the “threat to democracy” posed by so-called “illiberal democrats.”
She stress further saying “How ought a President to interact with those leaders, either in naming them or in dealing with them?”
It was described as “complicated” by Mr. Obama, who then spoke about his own interactions with allies with whom he had to maintain cordial connections despite the fact that their governments may not have been “ideally democratic.”
He continued by saying that it was “appropriate” for the president of the United States to speak out against “trends that are troubling” when it was practicable, whether in public or privately.
“The preservation of the Muslim minority in a predominantly Hindu India is something worth emphasizing if the president meets with Prime Minister Modi.
The former U.S. president stated, “If I had a talk with Prime Minister Modi, whom I know well, one of the things I would say is that there is a good chance that India at some point starts falling apart if you do not defend the rights of ethnic minorities in India.
However, Mr. Obama has come under fire from the leaders of India’s ruling party for these remarks.
The Indian finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, who is also a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), stated that she was “shocked” by Mr. Obama’s remarks.
“A former US president was speaking about Indian Muslims when Mr. Modi was campaigning in the US, and by campaigning I mean speaking about India,” Ms. Sitharaman added.
While Mr. Obama was president, the U.S. targeted nations with a majority of Muslims, like Yemen and Syria, she continued.
In addition, Rajnath Singh, India’s defense minister, responded on Monday, claiming that his country has never practiced religious discrimination.
“People should try to understand India’s secular character,” Mr. Rajnath remarked.
When discussing India’s minority rights, he advised commenters to “also think about how many Muslim countries they have attacked.”
The comments have not been addressed publicly by Mr. Obama or the American administration.
In response to a question about the rights of Muslims and other minorities in India, Mr. Modi also claimed that there’s “no space for any discrimination” under his administration during a combined conference that Mr. Biden attended.
