I Asked Obama to Remind Modi of India's Commitment to Secularism in His 2015 Delhi Talk—Kaushik Basu

In a revelation that will take everyone completely by surprise whilst possibly annoying the Modi government but perhaps pleasing the Congress party, India’s former Chief Economic Advisor, Kaushik Basu, has revealed that he advised former US President Barack Obama to remind the Modi government of India’s traditional and well-established commitment to democracy and secularism during this visit as Chief Guest at the Republic Day Parade in 2015. In his speech at Siri Fort on the last day of his visit on the 27th of January 2015, this is what former President Obama said: “Around the world, we’ve seen intolerance and violence and terror perpetrated by those who profess to be standing up for their faith, but, in fact, are betraying it. No society is immune from the darkest impulses of man. And too often religion has been used to tap into those darker impulses as opposed to the light of God … our two countries (have always) reaffirmed a basic truth, as we must again today -- that every person has the right to practice their faith how they choose, or to practice no faith at all, and to do so free of persecution and fear and discrimination … Your Article 25 says that all people are “equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practice and propagate religion.” In both, our countries -- in all countries -- upholding this fundamental freedom is the responsibility of government, but it's also the responsibility of every person.”

Like our work? Click here to support The Wire: https://thewire.in/support

The founding premise of The Wire is this: if good journalism is to survive and thrive, it can only do so by being both editorially and financially independent. This means relying principally on contributions from readers and concerned citizens who have no interest other than to sustain a space for quality journalism. As a publication, The Wire will be firmly committed to the public interest and democratic values.
We publish in four different languages!
For English, visit www.thewire.in
for Hindi: http://thewirehindi.com/
for Urdu: http://thewireurdu.com
for Marathi: https://marathi.thewire.in
If you are a young writer or a creator, you can submit articles, essays, photos, poetry – anything that’s straight out of your imagination – to LiveWire, The Wire’s portal for the young, by the young. https://livewire.thewire.in/
You can also follow The Wire’s social media platforms and engage with us.
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/TheWire/
https://www.facebook.com/TheWireHindi/
https://www.facebook.com/TheWireUrdu/
https://www.facebook.com/TheWireMarathi/
Twitter
https://twitter.com/thewire_in
https://twitter.com/thewirehindi
https://twitter.com/TheWireUrdu
https://twitter.com/TheWireMarathi
https://twitter.com/livewire
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/thewirein/
https://www.instagram.com/livewirein/
Don’t forget to hit the subscribe button to never miss a video from The Wire!

Видео I Asked Obama to Remind Modi of India's Commitment to Secularism in His 2015 Delhi Talk—Kaushik Basu канала The Wire