'India Could Start Pulling Apart If...': What Obama Wanted Biden To Raise With PM Modi. Remarks Echo 2015 Speech

Former United States president Barack Obama said that concerns about Indian democracy must also enter into diplomatic conversations as he raised the issue of the rights of ethnic minorities in India.

File Photo: US President Barack Obama with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Oval Office at the White House on June 7, 2016, in Washington, DC. ( Image Source :Getty Images )

Former United States president Barack Obama opened up about his views on the state of democracy in the US and countries across the world in an interview where he said that concerns about Indian democracy must also enter into diplomatic conversations. His remarks on protecting the rights of ethnic minorities in India came amid Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to the US where he held bilateral talks with incumbent President Joe Biden. 

In his interview with CNN, Obama mentioned that he worked with PM Modi on climate change and other areas and opined that raising concerns about Indian democracy must also enter into diplomatic conversations. He also flagged a possibility of India at some point beginning to "pull apart" if the rights of ethnic minorities are not protected.

“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 India at some point starts pulling apart. And we’ve seen what happens when you start getting those kinds of large internal conflicts,” he said, as quoted by CNN.

In the interview, he mentioned that meeting with dictators or other anti-democratic leaders is just one of the complex facets of the American presidency and recalled how he dealt with many figures who he didn’t agree with during his time in the Oval Office.

“Look, it’s complicated,” 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 remarked.

Notably, he had used similar words in a speech during his visit to India as US President in 2015. Addressing a gathering at the Siri Fort auditorium in New Delhi, he had stressed the importance of religious unity for India to be able to succeed as a country.

“The peace we seek in the world begins in human hearts.  And it finds its glorious expression when we look beyond any differences in religion or tribe, and rejoice in the beauty of every soul.  And nowhere is that more important than India,” he had said. 

“Nowhere is it going to be more necessary for that foundational value to be upheld. India will succeed so long as it is not splintered along the lines of religious faith — so long as it's not splintered along any lines — and is unified as one nation,” he added.

Democracy Is In The DNA Of Both India And America: PM Modi 

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said there is no question of discrimination in India on the grounds of caste or religion because his government follows the Constitution, which is formed on the basic values of democracy.

Responding to a question at a joint press conference with US President Joe Biden after their comprehensive deliberations, PM Modi strongly defended India's record on democracy and his government's performance and human rights, saying that the basic foundation stone of his government has been 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, and Sabka Prayas' which means together for everyone’s growth, with everyone’s trust.

“India is a democracy. And as President Biden said democracy is in the DNA of both India and America. Democracy is in our spirit. Democracy flows in our veins. We live democracy. Our forefathers molded it in words, which we call the Constitution. Our government runs on the fundamental principles of this Constitution. We have proved that democracy can deliver. When I say deliver it means there is no place for discrimination on the grounds of caste, creed, gender, religion,” Modi said, as quoted by news agency PTI.      

“When you talk of democracy, if there are no human values and there is no humanity, there are no human rights then that is not a democracy at all. So when you talk about democracy and you accept democracy and when we live democracy, then there is absolutely no space for discrimination,” the Prime Minister asserted.

Existing Democratic Institutions In US ‘Creaky’: Obama

In the CNN interview, when asked about the state of democracy in the US, Obama said: “Our existing democratic institutions are creaky, and we’re going to have to reform them.” According to him, the situation is “less than ideal”.

“But the fact that we have a former president who is having to answer to charges brought by prosecutors does uphold the basic notion that nobody’s above the law and the allegations will now be sorted out through a court process,” he remarked, as quoted by CNN.