Important for India to retain stand as a secular democracy: Indian-American lawmaker

Referring to the Indian government’s revocation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status last year and the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), congressman Ami Bera said democratic institutions around the world are being tested even as there was “push back on some of this”.

Updated on: Feb 19, 2020, 23:35:39 IST

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | By Rezaul H Laskar

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Days ahead of US President Donald Trump’s visit to India, an influential Indian-American lawmaker said it is important for India to retain its standing as a secular democracy that sets it apart from other countries in the region.

Influential Indian-American lawmaker Ami Bera said it is important for India to retain its standing as a secular democracy that sets it apart from other countries in the region (Ami Bera/Twitter)

Referring to the Indian government’s revocation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status last year and the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), congressman Ami Bera said democratic institutions around the world are being tested even as there was “push back on some of this”.

Bera, a four-time Democratic Party lawmaker and chair of the subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and non-proliferation, told a small group of reporters: “Indian citizens are the ones that ultimately will control the outcome of where India heads...We can offer that what we admire about India...is it’s vibrant secular democracy and we would hate to see India lose or tarnish any of that reputation.”

He added, “We don’t want to see India lose that secular democracy, that’s what sets it apart from other countries in the region. That’s what makes it such a valuable partner with the US as we look at extending democratic values across the world.”

George Holding, the Republican co-chair of the India Caucus, and Bera were on a two-day visit to India to demonstrate bipartisan support for the bilateral relationship and to discuss key issues such as the situation in Afghanistan and maritime security with Indian interlocutors. Foreign secretary Harsh Shringla was among the officials they met.

Bera described the protests against the CAA as “democracy in action”. The tools of democracy in India “remain vibrant” and the country has an independent judiciary “which seems to be ruling on the constitutionality of some of these issues”, he said.

He added that is Democratic Party lawmakers were more critical about India, it was because “we really care about India, we care about that secular democracy and those values”. India derives its strength from a secular democracy where more than 800 million Hindus live side by side with 200 million Muslims and other minorities, he said.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rezaul H Laskar
Rezaul Hasan Laskar is Foreign Editor with the Hindustan Times, which he joined in 2015. He began as a journalist in his hometown of Shillong in northeast India and has worked in newspapers and wire services over the years. He moved to New Delhi in 1997 and initially focused on defence, national security, Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast, while also working of foreign policy and international relations. He has been part of the media delegation accompanying PMs on foreign visits and has reported from destinations ranging from Tibet to Ukraine. Between 2007 and 2013, he was the Press Trust of India correspondent in Pakistan, one of only two Indian journalists allowed to report from the country. He extensively covered Pakistan’s domestic politics and the life of the common people, as well as the fallout of the 2008 Mumbai attacks on India-Pakistan relations and the subsequent trial in Pakistan of the suspects involved in the attack. As part of his reportage in Pakistan, he travelled the breadth of the country, from the Swat Valley to Balochistan. Reza’s first gig in journalism was writing a weekly music column, and music – especially classic rock – remains a keen interest. He is also a movie buff and a keen photographer.Read More

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