US President Barack Obama has expressed the view that some acts of religious intolerance in India, an otherwise incredible country of magnificent diversity, would have shocked Mahatma Gandhi.
In a passing reference to the Indian situation during a National Prayer Breakfast address on Thursday, Obama said: “Michelle and I returned from India -- an incredible, beautiful country, full of magnificent diversity -- but a place where, in past years, religious faiths of all types have, on occasion, been targeted by other peoples of faith, simply due to their heritage and their beliefs — acts of intolerance that would have shocked Gandhiji, the person who helped to liberate that nation.”
Obama’s comments came close on the heels of his remarks on religious tolerance during his Siri Fort Auditorium address before leaving New Delhi last week — comments that were quickly interpreted by media and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s political detractors as a “parting shot” to the ruling BJP. The White House sought to clarify those remarks by signalling that they were not India-specific.