‘WE LOOK AT US HUMAN RIGHTS TOO’, INDIA’S SHARP RETORT TO WASHINGTON

Thu 14 April 2022:

S Jaishankar, India’s External Affairs Minister, responded to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s remarks on a “rise in human rights abuses” in India remarks on Wednesday (April 13).

In a fitting riposte to Antony Blinken, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar made it clear that India too has concerns about the human rights situation in the US. Addressing a press briefing after the 2+2 dialogue on April 11, the US Secretary of State had come under fire for saying, “We’re monitoring some recent concerning developments in India, including a rise in human rights abuses by some government, police, and prison officials”.

Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Jaishankar denied that the human rights situation was discussed in the meeting and indicated that the US’ views are influenced by certain lobbies. 

S Jaishankar remarked, “No, we did not discuss human rights. This meeting was primarily based on formal affairs and I gave you in detail what we raised. It is a subject that has come up in the past. It came up when Secretary Blinken came to India. In the press conference after that, I was very open about the fact that we had discussed it.”

Jaishankar said, “Look, people are entitled to have views about us. But we are also equally entitled to have views about their views and about the interests, and the lobbies and the vote banks which drive that. So, whenever there is a discussion, I can tell you that we will not be reticent about speaking out.”  

“I would tell you that we also take our views on other people’s human rights situation, including that of the United States. So, we take up a human rights issues when they arise in this country, especially when they pertain to our community. And in fact, we had a case yesterday…that’s really where we stand on that,” he added. 

Jaishankar’s reaction came a day after two Sikh men were attacked in the New York borough of Queens on Tuesday. A few days ago, reports had emerged that another Sikh man was assaulted in the same neighbourhood. 

Antony Blinken’s remark was not an isolated instance where the US has commented on the human rights situation in India. On Tuesday, the US Department of State released the 2021 edition of the ‘Country Reports on Human Rights Practices’ which made a slew of unwarranted remarks about India.