New Delhi: At a campaign reception in Washington D.C. Wednesday, US President Joe Biden called India a “xenophobic” country along with China, Russia and Japan, and pointed this as one of the reasons these countries are stalling economically as they “don’t want immigrants”.
“You know, one of the reasons why our economy is growing is because of you and many others. Why? Because we welcome immigrants. We look to — the reason — look (sic), think about it. Why is China stalling so badly economically? Why is Japan having trouble? Why is Russia? Why is India? Because they’re xenophobic. They don’t want immigrants,” said Biden on the first day of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
He added that immigrants are what makes the US “strong” because the country has an “influx of workers who want to be here and just contribute”.
Both India and Japan are members of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) along with the US and Australia. Japan is an important ally for the US and its Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was hosted by the White House last month for an official visit with a state dinner.
India has increasingly become an important partner for Washington D.C. with Prime Minister Narendra Modi being hosted for an official state visit between 21 and 23 June last year.
John Kirby, the White House national security spokesperson Thursday morning said that President Biden was referring to the US’ position on immigration.
“Our allies and partners know well in tangible ways how President Biden values them, their friendship, their cooperation and the capabilities that they bring across the spectrum on a range of issues, not just security related,” said Kirby as reported by the Associated Press.
The national security spokesperson emphasised that, with regards to the “xenophobic” comment by the US President, the countries understand how much Biden “values the idea of alliances and partnerships.”
The comments are the latest in a series by the US administration about India. On Wednesday, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) in its 2024 Annual Report recommended the government to impose “targeted sanctions” on Indian citizens and entities for “severe violations of religious freedom.”
The USCIRF further recommended that India be recognised as a “country of particular concern” (CPC) along with others, such as Afghanistan, China, Eritrea, Iran, Pakistan, North Korea and Russia.
Randhir Jaiswal, the spokesperson for the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, during a regular press briefing Thursday, called the USCIRF a “biased organisation with a political agenda” looking to “interfere” in the ongoing general elections in the country.
Similarly last week, the US Department of State in its annual human rights report highlighted “significant human rights abuses” in India with regard to the year-long ethnic conflict in Manipur. It also raised other issues such as the killing of Sikh extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada last year as well as obstacles faced by the Opposition in India.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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