World

Minorities ‘better’ in India than in Pakistan: Sitharaman

Minorities in India are doing much better than those in Pakistan, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, on an official tour of USA, said on Tuesday. The minister defended the state of Muslims in India rejecting the reports on Muslim minorities in India being subjected to violence. Her remarks came during her address to a prominent American think-tank Peterson Institute for International Economics.

India has the second-largest Muslim population in the world, and that population is growing in numbers. If their lives were difficult or made difficult, will the Muslim population be growing more than what it was in 1947, she questioned.

Responding to PIIE President Adam’s question, Sitharaman spoke about the worsening condition of the minority community in Pakistan and their declining numbers. Minorities in Pakistan are severely charged with minor allegations, leading to punishments like the death penalty. Blasphemy laws are used in most cases to settle a personal vendetta. Victims are immediately presumed guilty even without proper investigation and holding the trial under a jury, she said.

Violence prevails against Mujahirs, Shia, and every other group not accepted by the mainstream, whereas in India you would find every strand of Muslims doing their business and their children getting educated. The government also offers them scholarships, she said.

She also replied to the negative perception of India by western media about the resilience and growth of the Indian economy. The answer for that lies with those investors who are coming to India. She further urged World Trade Organisation (WTO) to be more progressive, a lot more listening to all countries, and be fair. It has to give space to voices of the countries that have something different to say and not just hear, she added.

 

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