WASHINGTON US President Donald Trump will raise the issue of religious freedom in India during his meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi next week, a senior administration official said, a sensitive subject for the Indian government. Modi’s government has faced large scale protests at home and criticism abroad for enacting a citizenship law that is seen as discriminating against Muslims and has deepened concerns his administration in undermining India’s secular traditions. That measure came months after the Indian government withdrew the special autonomy given to occupied Kashmir. It also jailed dozens and imposed a communications blackout. Trump, who is due in India on Monday, will talk about the two countries’ shared traditions of democracy and religious freedom, the senior administration official said in a conference call on Friday ahead of the trip. “He will raise these issues, particularly the religious freedom issue, which is extremely important to this administration,” the official said. Modi, who has built a personal rapport with Trump, is pulling out all the stops for the visit, which will kick off in his political hometown of Ahmedabad with a massive public reception. Soon after winning a second term in office last year, Modi had spoken about his government’s priority of inclusive growth for everyone, including religious minorities, the administration official said. “And I think that the president will talk about these issues in his meetings with Prime Minister Modi and note that the world is looking to India to continue to uphold its democratic traditions, respect for religious minorities,” the official said.—Reuters
