Every democracy has to have the right balance: India after pro-Palestine protests in US universities
| 2024-04-25
MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal at the weekly media briefing in New Delhi on April 25, 2024.
Democracies are all judged by what we do at home and not what we say abroad, says MEA
Every democracy has to have the right balance between freedom of expression, sense of responsibility and public safety and order, India said on Thursday (April 25, 2024) as US authorities arrested scores of people during pro-Palestine protests at several major universities.
Responding to a question at the weekly media briefing, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal also stated that democracies were "all judged by what we do at home and not what we say abroad".
Several universities in the US, including Ivy League schools like Harvard and Yale, have seen pro-Palestine protests by students in recent weeks as deaths have mounted in Gaza following action by the Israeli military. The protestors have called for universities to cut ties with Israeli educational institutions; they also want the US administration to stop supplying weapons to the Israeli military.
"In every democracy, there has to be the right balance between freedom of expression, sense of responsibility and public safety and order, "Jaiswal said in response to the question. "Democracies in particular should display this understanding in regard to other fellow democracies. After all, we are all judged by what we do at home and not what we say abroad," he remarked.
Commenting on the safety of Indian students in the US, Jaiswal said Indian authorities are always in touch with them. "As and when there are issues which have to be resolved, we look into it," he stated.
Meanwhile, responding to a separate query on the recent US State Department annual report criticising India's handling of human rights issues, MEA Official Spokesperson Jaiswal said, “This report is deeply biased and reflects a poor understanding of India. We attach no value to it and urge you to do the same.”
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