Protection of Muslim minority in Hindu dominant India is important: Barack Obama
WASHINGTON, June 24 (SABAH): Former United States president
Barack Obama has 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 Indian PM Nardenra Modi, ‘then protection of the Muslim minority in a majority-Hindu India, is worth mentioning’. Barack Obama said that the protection of Muslim minority in Hindu dominant India is important.
Barack Obama 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”.
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,” Barack Obama said.
“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.
During the interview, Barack 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 Joe Biden 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.
“If President (Joe Biden) meets with Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi, the protection of Muslim minority in a majority Hindu India is something worth mentioning,” said former American President.
Obama was responding to a question how Biden should engage with leaders such as Chinese President Xi Jinping and PM Modi, who is considered “autocratic… illiberal democrat”.
Obama said, “The POTUS has a lot of equities and when I was POTUS, I would deal with figures, in some cases who were allies, who, if you would press me in private, do they run their governments and their political parties in ways that I would say are ideally democratic… I would have to say no.”
But, he added, “You would have to do business with them because they are important for national security reasons, because they are a range of economic interests. I dealt with China and PM Modi to get the Paris Accords done because climate change transcends any momentary issues.” However, he remarked that it would be appropriate for Biden, “to uphold those principles and to challenge, whether behind closed doors or in public, trends that are troubling”.