Indian PM Modi Not Trying To Change Muslims Into Hindus: Tibet President-In-Exile

At a time when a section of people want the Joe Biden administration to express concerns over the human rights issue in India with visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President of Tibetan government-in-exile Penpa Tsering has extended his support, saying "India is the most tolerant country in the world."

Speaking at the Press Club of Australia, he highlighted that due to specific incidents, individuals outside of India may perceive the situation there differently, but it is not reality.

"We live in India. I was born in India. It is not as drastic as it's being made out in the international media...of Modi's coercive policies. He is not trying to change Muslims into Hindus. There are some cow vigilantes overreacting to certain situations for which the government gets blamed. I think India is one of the most tolerant countries in the world. So diverse culture, so many religions, so many different kinds of people," Hindustan Times quotes Penpa Tsering as saying on asking about India and the 'Hindutva thrust'.

He said, "Troublemakers are everywhere. Just because of a few troublemakers you can not blame the whole community. I think India is a very resilient country and takes pride in its diversity," Penpa Tsering said. "Do you see the troublemakers from the Hindu side or the Muslim side?" Penpa Tsering was asked. "Both," he replied.

Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar shared the clip of his speech on Twitter and said, "India is the most tolerant country n most diverse country in the world -- where every citizen has equal rights."

Talking about the India-China issue, Tsering said, "When His Holiness is asked this question (on India-China dynamics shift), he used to say India is always over-cautious when it comes to China. Now I can say we can remove the 'over' part but still 'cautious'. Because of China's belligerence on the Indian border, India has become much more stronger. If there is one thing that we know as Tibetans having lived with the Chinese for so many centuries is to stand up for your values. If you don't stand up for your values or position, the Chinese will always use you like a pony and keep riding you."

Human Rights Criticism

Meanwhile, over 70 members of the US Senate and House of Representatives, legislators called sent a letter to the Biden administration to address human rights concerns in his talks with Prime Minister Modi, who is on "official state visit" to the United States.

"A series of independent, credible reports reflect troubling signs in India toward the shrinking of political space, the rise of religious intolerance, the targeting of civil society organizations and journalists, and growing restrictions on press freedoms and internet access," the letter states.

"We make our views known", but "we do so in a way where we don't seek to lecture or assert that we don't have challenges ourselves", he said.