Washington: Lecturing India on human rights is unlikely to work, Indian-American lawmakers have said, as they prefer talks with the country's leaders to raise concerns over the issue.
Congressman Ro Khanna, who is also co-chair of the Congressional India Caucus, along with three other Indian American lawmakers – Mr. Thanedar, Pramil Jayapal and Dr. Ami Bera – discussed the issue during a panel discussion during the "Desi Decides" summit. But talked. Indian American influence on Thursday.
The MPs belonging to the Democratic Party reiterated that they will continue to raise the issue of human rights in India with their leadership. “India was colonized for more than 100 years. So, when we are having a conversation about human rights, and you are having a conversation with (External Affairs Minister S) Jaishankar or anyone else, you have to understand that it is coming from the perspective of just lecturing on India.Khan told members of the Indian-American community, when they say that we have colonia powers who have been preaching to us for hundreds of years, it will not be useful.
The panel discussion was moderated by ABC's national correspondent Zoharin Shah, who asked him about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's relations with the Muslim community.
Khanna said, "Having a dialogue (with India) saying what are the flaws in your democracy, what are the flaws in your democracy and how can we collectively advance democracy and human rights, I think that would be more constructive." Bera said he agreed with Khanna. “I have told the (Indian) Foreign Minister also the same.If India loses its secular nation, it changes who it is as a country and how the rest of the world views it,” he said.
He also said that Trump becoming President is not necessarily the same as Prime Minister Modi being in power.
“Because we (America) still have a vibrant democracy here. We have a vibrant opposition in the Democratic Party. We still believe in freedom of the press and these are all things that worry me about the future of India,” he said ahead of the November 2024 US presidential election, in which Democrat Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump, a Ready to face the Republicans..“You see what is happening to the freedom of the press. You don't really see a viable opposition party or it is being decimated. A vibrant democracy does not have all these things, freedom of speech, freedom of the press and the ability to withdraw. I hope you never see another Trump presidency. But if that were the case, you would see that our democracy would survive for the first time, yet, and our democracy would survive.I certainly hope that India's democracy will survive,” Bera said.
India has been maintaining that it is a democratic country, committed to the rule of law and promoting and protecting the human rights of its people.
Jayapal said he agreed with both Bera and Khanna. “The only thing I would add is that I think we should be able to criticize the flaws of our country and the flaws of any other country. That's really our job in Congress.We should not lecture, I agree with Roe (Khanna) but we have to think about all the interests of the United States. That's definitely economic," she said.
Jaipal said that India is an important partner for America.
“It is an important partner because of other regional dynamics as well as global dynamics,” he said. “It is also important for us to think about our values.Just like we criticize the Chinese government for its treatment of the Uyghurs or any other country in the world, we have to be able to pay attention and pay attention to what is happening in India as well,” she said.
Jayapal said she was called a "bad Indian" for raising these issues.
"But I would just say that I'm not going to back away from it because these are the values of the United States of America. These are my values. I don't think that means that you don't appreciate or like the partnership between India and Don't do or want."And the legitimate concerns raised by the United States about freedom of religion, freedom of the press and all the other things that we are seeing in India, as much as I raise them here, means that we are bad Americans, no," Jayapal stressed. "It is our goal to move toward a more perfect union in the United States and with all of our global partnerships," Thanedar, who is also a Democrat, said he favors stronger India-US relations.
“We need a stronger US-India relationship. India has historically been playing on both sides of Russia and America.But now the time has come for India to commit to a stronger friendship with the United States and I want to work on this. The United States must recognize India's economic power and that India is the best solution to counter China's aggression. So, I am just working on stronger India-US relations,'' he said.
Congressman Ro Khanna, who is also co-chair of the Congressional India Caucus, along with three other Indian American lawmakers – Mr. Thanedar, Pramil Jayapal and Dr. Ami Bera – discussed the issue during a panel discussion during the "Desi Decides" summit. But talked. Indian American influence on Thursday.
The MPs belonging to the Democratic Party reiterated that they will continue to raise the issue of human rights in India with their leadership. “India was colonized for more than 100 years. So, when we are having a conversation about human rights, and you are having a conversation with (External Affairs Minister S) Jaishankar or anyone else, you have to understand that it is coming from the perspective of just lecturing on India.Khan told members of the Indian-American community, when they say that we have colonia powers who have been preaching to us for hundreds of years, it will not be useful.
The panel discussion was moderated by ABC's national correspondent Zoharin Shah, who asked him about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's relations with the Muslim community.
Khanna said, "Having a dialogue (with India) saying what are the flaws in your democracy, what are the flaws in your democracy and how can we collectively advance democracy and human rights, I think that would be more constructive." Bera said he agreed with Khanna. “I have told the (Indian) Foreign Minister also the same.If India loses its secular nation, it changes who it is as a country and how the rest of the world views it,” he said.
He also said that Trump becoming President is not necessarily the same as Prime Minister Modi being in power.
“Because we (America) still have a vibrant democracy here. We have a vibrant opposition in the Democratic Party. We still believe in freedom of the press and these are all things that worry me about the future of India,” he said ahead of the November 2024 US presidential election, in which Democrat Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump, a Ready to face the Republicans..“You see what is happening to the freedom of the press. You don't really see a viable opposition party or it is being decimated. A vibrant democracy does not have all these things, freedom of speech, freedom of the press and the ability to withdraw. I hope you never see another Trump presidency. But if that were the case, you would see that our democracy would survive for the first time, yet, and our democracy would survive.I certainly hope that India's democracy will survive,” Bera said.
India has been maintaining that it is a democratic country, committed to the rule of law and promoting and protecting the human rights of its people.
Jayapal said he agreed with both Bera and Khanna. “The only thing I would add is that I think we should be able to criticize the flaws of our country and the flaws of any other country. That's really our job in Congress.We should not lecture, I agree with Roe (Khanna) but we have to think about all the interests of the United States. That's definitely economic," she said.
Jaipal said that India is an important partner for America.
“It is an important partner because of other regional dynamics as well as global dynamics,” he said. “It is also important for us to think about our values.Just like we criticize the Chinese government for its treatment of the Uyghurs or any other country in the world, we have to be able to pay attention and pay attention to what is happening in India as well,” she said.
Jayapal said she was called a "bad Indian" for raising these issues.
"But I would just say that I'm not going to back away from it because these are the values of the United States of America. These are my values. I don't think that means that you don't appreciate or like the partnership between India and Don't do or want."And the legitimate concerns raised by the United States about freedom of religion, freedom of the press and all the other things that we are seeing in India, as much as I raise them here, means that we are bad Americans, no," Jayapal stressed. "It is our goal to move toward a more perfect union in the United States and with all of our global partnerships," Thanedar, who is also a Democrat, said he favors stronger India-US relations.
“We need a stronger US-India relationship. India has historically been playing on both sides of Russia and America.But now the time has come for India to commit to a stronger friendship with the United States and I want to work on this. The United States must recognize India's economic power and that India is the best solution to counter China's aggression. So, I am just working on stronger India-US relations,'' he said.
