Indian democracy is powered by its freethinking citizens: Blinken

Democratic values and free citizenry define India, said U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken here on Wednesday.

At a press conference after holding bilateral talks, Secretary Blinken said the United States views India through the prism of common democratic values and that there are challenges that can be ‘ugly’ that need to be dealt through “corrective mechanisms”. Mr. Blinken also warned the Taliban not to attack civil liberties of the Afghan people.

“Our shared values and democratic traditions were part of our conversation. The relationship is so strong because it is a relationship between two democracies. Americans admire Indians’ commitment to rights, democracy and pluralism. Indian democracy is powered by its freethinking citizens. I approach this with humility. U.S. has challenges too. The search is for a more perfect union which means we are not perfect. Sometimes, the challenges can be painful, even ugly,” said Mr. Blinken to a question about ‘backsliding’ of democratic values in India. Mr. Blinken pointed at the free press and independent judiciary as part of the “corrective mechanism” that can repair challenges to democracy.

The issue of the condition of human rights and apparent democratic erosion has been a prominent part of bilateral conversation at the official level since the Biden administration arrived in January. The State Department had announced that Mr. Blinken would raise the issue during his visit here especially in the context of shrinking of democratic space and pressure on the free media.

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In response to the American points, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar said the quest for perfect democracy applies to the U.S. as much as it does on India. “We had a good conversation [on this]. There is a moral obligation to right historical wrongs and our policies fall in that category,” said Mr. Jaishankar.” Don’t equate freedoms with non-governance or lack of governance.”

Both sides also spent considerable time on Wednesday discussing the situation in Afghanistan where the United States is about to complete its withdrawal of forces.

Mr. Jaishankar talked of ‘consequences’ to follow because of the U.S. withdrawal. “As the U.S. pulls out after two decades, there will be consequences. Good or bad, we deal with what we have. Broad consensus for peace among almost all the regional countries,” said Mr. Jaishankar who obliquely pointed at Pakistan as an ‘exception’.

Elaborating on the American position on Afghanistan, Mr. Blinken said the future of Afghanistan cannot be written with violence and denial of basic liberties to its people.

“It’s deeply troubling to see Taliban actions as it advances on city centres. We are supportive of Afghan government and the Afghan forces. The leader of the Taliban wants to travel across the world and there is only one way of doing that. Taking country by forces is not the path for the Taliban to reach its objectives,” said Mr. Blinken.

Both the dignitaries also highlighted India-U.S. cooperation in the Quad front where India has joined Japan, U.S. and Australia to create a rules-based architecture in the Indo-Pacific region. Mr. Jaishankar urged critics of Quad to acknowledge that countries cooperate on the basis of self and global interest.

“In a globalised world, India’s interests are far beyond borders, we have interests in the Indo-Pacific. It’s not unusual for groups of countries to work together. BRICS is an example of this. Other countries should get over the idea that a grouping is against them.”