‘India will start pulling apart', Obama warns Modi over minorities’ rights

• We’ve seen what happens when we see such large internal conflicts, says Obama.
• 'Concerns about Indian democracy must enter diplomatic conversations'.
• Obama's comments come as Narendra Modi is in US on state visit.

As Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is spending his time in Washington DC on a state visit, former US president Barack Obama has warned New Delhi that if it does not “protect the rights of ethnic minorities”, then the country “at some point starts pulling apart”.

The former president passed the remarks during a wide-ranging interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on several issues on Thursday.

The former president said that meeting with dictators or other anti-democratic leaders is part and parcel of the US presidency. He also added that he would have to speak to them even if he did not agree with them.

“Look, it’s complicated. The president of the United States has a lot of equities. And when I was president, I would deal with figures in some cases who were allies, who, you know, if you pressed me in private, do they run their governments and their political parties in ways that I would say are ideally democratic? I’d have to say no,” Obama added.

The Indian prime minister has been criticised widely for his abysmal human rights record and India’s drift toward authoritarianism during his tenure. However, despite these challenges, the US is allying with India to counter China’s growing influence.

“I do think that it is appropriate for the president of the United States, where he or she can, to uphold those principles and to challenge —whether behind closed doors or in public — trends that are troubling. And so I’m less concerned about labels than I’m concerned about specific practices,” he went on to say.

Obama acknowledged that he also worked with Modi on climate change and other areas. But he said that raising concerns about Indian democracy must also enter into diplomatic conversations.

“Part of my argument would be that if you do not protect the rights of ethnic minorities in India, then there is a strong possibility India at some point starts pulling apart. And we’ve seen what happens when you start getting those kinds of large internal conflicts.”

Obama's warning to the Indian prime minister came as President Joe Biden rolled out the White House red carpet for Modi as part of his effort to jump-start a stronger US-India relationship and counter China's global influence with a series of defence and trade agreements.

Biden treated Modi to a colourful White House South Lawn arrival ceremony before some 7,000 people in the morning, before the leaders gathered for Oval Office talks ahead of a glittering state dinner in the evening.

"The challenges and opportunities facing the world in this century require that India and the United States work and lead together, and we are," Biden said during the ceremony.

Washington wants India to be a strategic counterweight to China and sees India as a critical partnership, although some analysts and former officials question India's willingness to stand up collectively to Beijing over issues such as Taiwan. Washington has also been frustrated by India's close ties with Russia amid Moscow's war in Ukraine.

Modi is seeking to raise the influence that India, the world's most populous country at 1.4 billion, has on the world stage in the wake of strained ties with neighbouring China.

"This grand welcome ceremony at the White House today is an honour and pride for the 1.4 billion people of India," Modi said, speaking mostly in Hindi. "This is also an honour for more than 4 million people of Indian origin living in the U.S. For this honour, I express my heartfelt gratitude."

Both leaders noted that their country's constitution started with the same three words, "We, the people."

The festival-like opening ceremony featured violinist Vibha Janakiraman and a cappella group Penn Masala performing renditions of songs by the American group Maroon 5 as well as from movies featuring Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan.

With additional input from Reuters.