Barack Obama, a former US president, warned India on Thursday that country risks “pulling apart” if the Muslim minority is not respected, and he urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address the problem.
Obama warns India: Obama stated in an interview with CNN as President Joe Biden cordially greeted the Hindu nationalist prime minister for a state visit and emphasised the value of “religious pluralism.”
During a visit to Greece, where he is hosting a weeklong session for aspiring world leaders, Obama openly acknowledged that discussing human rights with allies is always a “complicated” matter.
The first African-American president stated, “I think it is true that if the president meets with Prime Minister Modi, then the protection of the Muslim minority in a majority-Hindu India, that’s something worth mentioning,” in an interview with CNN International anchor Christiane Amanpour.
Obama added that if he had a chat with Prime Minister Modi, whom he knows well, “there is a strong possibility that India starts pulling apart at some point if you do not protect the rights of ethnic minorities in India.”
“We’ve seen what happens when those types of significant internal disagreements arise. Therefore, that would be against both Hindu and Muslim India’s interests, he argued.
During a significant portion of Obama’s presidency, the country prohibited Modi from visiting due to the 2002 religious riots, which primarily claimed the lives of Muslims.
India has implemented a contentious citizenship law and eliminated Kashmir’s special status since Modi assumed power in 2014.
US State Department Report Highlights BJP Remarks and Violence Against Minorities in Annual Religious Freedom Assessment
In addition to citing provocative remarks made by BJP members, the US State Department also mentioned police and vigilante violence against minorities in an annual report on religious freedom.
In his 2020 autobiography “A Promised Land,” Obama painted a positive picture of Manmohan Singh, Modi’s center-left predecessor and a genial economist.
However, In his autobiography “A Promised Land,” Obama, who succeeded by Donald Trump, presented Singh’s cautionary advice regarding a visit to New Delhi. Singh warned that politicians could potentially exploit such situations, emphasizing that the allure of religious and ethnic solidarity can be intoxicating, not just in India but anywhere else.