India on Sunday strongly pushed back against reported remarks by Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten over press freedom and minority rights in the country, with the Centre asserting that such observations stem from a “lack of understanding” about India’s democratic and civilisational character.
The response came during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the Netherlands, after a Dutch journalist raised questions about the absence of a joint press interaction and referred to concerns over media freedom and the rights of minorities, including Muslims and smaller communities.
Addressing the media at The Hague, Ministry of External Affairs Secretary (West) Sibi George said criticism of India often stemmed from inadequate knowledge about the country’s social and democratic fabric. “We face these kinds of questions basically because of the lack of understanding of the person who asks the question,” George said.
Defending India’s democratic credentials, George described the country as a vibrant and pluralistic society with a civilisation dating back over 5,000 years. “India is a country of 1.4 billion people, the largest populated country in the world. A country of civilisation of more than 5000 years old. It’s a diverse country – diversity in terms of culture, diversity in terms of languages, diversity in terms of food, diversity in terms of religion,” he said.
HIGHLIGHTS INDIA’S RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY
George noted that four major religions — Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism — originated in India and continue to flourish in the country. “There is no other country in the world where four religions have originated,” he said.
The diplomat also pointed to the long presence of other faiths in India, saying Jewish communities had lived in the country for over 2,500 years without persecution, while Christianity and Islam had also prospered for centuries.
“Christianity came to India immediately after the resurrection of Jesus Christ and continued to flourish in India. Islam came to India during the time of Prophet Muhammad himself and flourished in India,” he added.
‘VIBRANT DEMOCRACY’
George further cited India’s electoral process and peaceful transitions of power as evidence of the country’s democratic strength. “Recently, we had elections. You need to know what the level of participation was. More than 90 per cent of the electorate voted. This is the beauty of India,” he said.
Calling India a “vibrant democracy”, George said the country achieved economic progress and poverty reduction through democratic means without compromising on democratic principles. “We did not go for violence to eliminate poverty. We went through the democratic process to eliminate poverty,” he said.
He also argued that the growth in India’s minority population reflected coexistence and inclusivity. “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? You won’t find it anywhere other than India,” George said.
“This is the beauty of India. I would request you to learn more about India so that you will have more appreciation of what India is, and how it is progressing,” he added.
WHAT THE REPORT ON DUTCH PM SAID
The remarks came amid reports that Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten had expressed concerns over developments in India before his meeting with Modi.
According to Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant, Jetten said the Dutch government had concerns “not just about press freedom” but also about “the rights of minorities, which are under severe pressure there”, adding that such issues were “regularly raised” with the Indian government.
However, in a social media post after meeting PM Modi, Jetten said both India and the Netherlands attached “great importance to democracy, good governance and a world order based on rules and justice”.
He also referred to a long-running child custody dispute that has featured in earlier diplomatic engagements between the two countries.
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