The Ministry of External Affairs on Monday strongly defended India’s record on press freedom and human rights, with MEA Secretary (West) Sibi George saying that many people misunderstand India after reading reports published by “ignorant NGOs”.
Addressing a press conference in Oslo, George engaged in a tense exchange with a journalist while highlighting the scale and diversity of India’s media ecosystem.
“You know how many stories are up here. We have how many breaking news coming every day in the evening. At least 200 TV channels in Delhi alone, in English language, in Hindi language and multiple languages. People have no understanding of the scale of India. People have no understanding. They read, you know, one or two news reports published by some godforsaken, ignorant NGOs and then come and ask questions,” he said.
George said India’s Constitution guarantees fundamental rights to all citizens and provides legal remedies in cases involving violations of rights.
He also underlined India’s democratic traditions and pointed out that women in India were granted voting rights at the time of independence.
“We have a constitution which guarantees the rights of the people, fundamental rights of the people. We have, you know, we have equal rights for the women of our country, which is very important. In 1947, we gave the freedom to vote for our women. We together, we won the freedom together and they won itself,” he said.
The MEA Secretary further said that India’s commitment to equality and democratic participation remained one of the strongest examples of human rights in practice.
“Many countries I know, the voting right for women came after several decades after India gave that freedom. You know, this, because we believe in equality, we believe in human rights. And what is the best example of human rights? The right to change government, the right to vote. And that is what is happening in India. We are so proud of that,” George added.
