New Delhi: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned India not to backslide on democracy amid mounting criticism from rights groups that civil liberties are under attack.
Blinken, on his first visit to the country since joining US President Joe Biden’s administration, held talks on supplies of COVID-19 vaccines, security cooperation, China, and Afghanistan.
But the top US diplomat used his earlier meeting with civil society leaders to press the Indian government on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s human rights record.
“Both of our democracies are works in progress,” Blinken said. “Sometimes that process is painful. Sometimes it’s ugly. But the strength of democracy is to embrace it.”
“At a time of rising global threats to democracy and international freedoms — we talk about a democratic recession — it’s vital that we two world-leading democracies continue to stand together in support of these ideals,” he added.
What has the US said about India’s rights record?
The US State Department’s latest human rights report on India, the world’s largest democracy, released in March, cited a number of human rights abuses.
The report pointed to “unlawful and arbitrary killings, including extrajudicial killings perpetrated by police” and “restrictions on freedom of expression and the press” including the use of criminal libel laws to police social media.
Earlier this month, an 84-year-old priest and tribal rights activist, charged with terrorism offenses, died after nine months in custody.
It prompted international outrage including from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet. A recent religion-based citizenship law is widely seen as discriminatory towards Muslims.
The government denies cracking down on dissent and says people of all religions have equal rights. DW
