India strongly defended its track record on religious pluralism, democracy and press freedom in The Hague, Netherlands, while responding to queries from a Dutch journalist during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit.
During the delegation-level talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counterpart Rob Jetten on Saturday, senior diplomats addressed a media briefing.
During the briefing, a Dutch journalist referred to Jetten reportedly raising concerns about press freedom and rights of minorities in India and sought an official response.
In response, MEA Secretary (West) Sibi George said, “We face these kinds of questions basically because of the lack of understanding of the person who asked the question.”
He further stated that four major religions – Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism – originated from India and continue to thrive in the country.
Besides, other major religions like Islam and Christianity also came to India thousands of years ago and have since grown.
“When we became independent, the minority population in India was 11 per cent. Now it is more than 20 per cent. Name a country where the population of minorities has gone up,” he stated.
On the question of press freedom, George strongly defended India’s record, saying everyone in the country has the right to express themselves freely.
“Everyone has the freedom of expression, freedom of press in the country. And that makes our democracy a very noisy democracy. And we are proud of that,” he said.
The MEA official further pointed to the recent Assembly elections in which, according to the Election Commission of India data, over 90 per cent of the electorate participated.
“This is the beauty of India,” he remarked.
George further invited the journalist who asked the question to visit India and “see for yourself how India lives, how thriving an economy it is, the vibrant democracy it is.”