India Rejects Dutch Media Query on Rights Concerns
MEA says concerns raised during PM Modi’s Netherlands visit show “lack of understanding”
New Delhi: India on Sunday rejected allegations of declining media freedom and erosion of minority rights, stating that such concerns reflected a “lack of understanding”.
The response came after Dutch journalists referred to a purported statement by Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten expressing concern over media freedom and minority rights in India during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the Netherlands.
Addressing a media briefing in Amsterdam, MEA secretary (West) Sibi George said, “We faced this question basically because of a lack of understanding by the person who asked it.” He clarified that he had not seen any such statement by the Dutch Prime Minister and was responding to a media query.
“We (India) are one-sixth of the total population of the world, but not one-sixth of the problems of the world. This is the beauty of India, which makes us proud. Every minority thrives When we became independent, the minority population was 11 per cent, now it is more than 20 per cent," he said.
George said India is a “vibrant democracy” that guarantees free speech and highlighted its cultural, religious and linguistic diversity.
“India is a country of 1.4 billion people — the most populous nation in the world," he said, adding that several major religions originated in India and continue to flourish.
“Look at India, how beautiful it is. There is no other country in the world where so many religions have originated — Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. These religions originated in India and continue to flourish,” he said.
He added, "India is perhaps one of those very few countries where the Jewish population never faced any persecution. This is the beauty of India."
“Christianity came to India immediately after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and continues to flourish in India. Today, more than 30 million Christians are in India. Christianity came to India much before it came to Europe. Islam came to India during the time of Prophet Muhammad himself and flourished in India."
Citing recent Assembly elections, George said peaceful transfer of power reflects India’s democratic strength and added that economic progress has been achieved without compromising democratic principles.
“We did not go for violence to eliminate poverty. We went through the democratic process to eliminate poverty,” he said.
On a separate query regarding the abduction of a Dutch child of Indian origin from Amsterdam to India, George said the issue had been raised during discussions but declined to comment further, stating that the matter is sub judice.
