Violence against Muslims in India is a ‘fallacy’, says Nirmala Sitharaman
2 min read . Updated: 11 Apr 2023, 07:43 AM IST
Premium‘Have the deaths been disproportionately high in any one particular community?’ asked Nirmala Sitharaman.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has defended India’s treatment of Muslim minority. FM Sitharaman, during a virtual panel discussion organised by the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIE), disputed the unfavourable impressions of India held by the Western media and stated that foreign investors should visit India to see the country's development for themselves.
Adam S. Posen, the president of the PIIE, questioned Sitharaman on reports that MPs from the opposing party had lost their status and the alleged victimisation of Muslim minorities in India. She inquired as to whether the number of Muslims in India had decreased and whether any community had seen an unusually high number of deaths since 2014. She contrasted the situation in India with that in Pakistan, where minorities' living conditions are deteriorating and their population is shrinking.
“Between 2014 and today, has the population dwindled? Have the deaths been disproportionately high in any one particular community? So, I would rather invite these people, who write these reports, to come to India. I host them. Let them come to India and prove their point," she said.
Sitharaman was questioned on reports that MPs from the opposing party had lost their status and the alleged victimisation of Muslim minority in India by Adam S. Posen, president of the PIIE. She asked if there were fewer Muslims in India and if any minority had seen an exceptionally high number of fatalities since 2014. She compared the state of affairs in India and Pakistan, where the population of minorities is declining and living circumstances are getting worse.
Sitharaman further asserted that minorities in Pakistan were subjected to serious accusations that may result in punishments including the death penalty. In Pakistan, she claimed that even some Muslim sects had been wiped out, but in India, Muslims were doing better and there was no evidence of a noticeable drop in their population.
Sitharaman asked the World Trade Organization to be more forward-thinking and to listen to all nations, giving room for views from nations with varied perspectives.
She claimed that "developing markets" like India had a heavy burden as such and required every company to seek assistance or contribute positively to any situation. She emphasised that despite catastrophes at home, Indians were able to rise to the occasion and succeed in their companies because of their tenacity.
(With ANI inputs)