Kamala Harris gently presses Indian PM Narendra Modi on human rights during US meeting
- The US vice-president cited her Indian heritage as she said it was imperative to defend democratic principles and institutions
- Harris also stressed the importance of a free and open Indo-Pacific. Modi will later meet President Joe Biden and also take part in a Quad meeting
Harris, during public remarks at her ceremonial office before the closed-door session, told Modi that as democracies around the world are under threat “it is imperative that we defend democratic principles and institutions within our respective countries”.
“I know from personal experience and from my family of the commitment of the Indian people to democracy,” she said, “and the work that needs to be done [so that] we can begin to imagine, and then actually achieve, our vision for democratic principles and institutions.”
The remarks marked a subtle change from the Trump administration’s unquestioned fidelity to the populist Modi, who has presided over an increase in religious polarisation in his country, with more laws targeting religious minorities, including its large Muslim population, as well as attacks on non-Hindus.
