News Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday said the Indian Muslims will live and die for India and the Al Qaeda is "delusional" if it thinks Indian Muslims will dance to its tunes.
[Prime Minister Modi with tennis star Sania Mirza. Sania Mirza has recently been called by the Andhra BJP leaders outsider.]
In an exclusive interview to CNN's Fareed Zakaria, his first after becoming prime minister May 26, Modi said: "If anyone thinks Indian Muslims will dance to their (Al Qaeda) tune, they are delusional. Indian Muslims will live for India, they will die for India - they will not want anything bad for India."
He was responding to a question about Al Qaeda issuing a video and trying to create an Al Qaeda in India/South Asia unit.
Asked why the Indian Muslim community has remained "not as susceptible" to the Al Qaeda's exhortations, Modi said he is "not the authority for doing a psychological and religious analysis" on the issue.
"But the question is whether or not humanity should be defended in the world. Whether or not believers in humanity should unite. This is a crisis against humanity, not a crisis against one country or one race.
"So we have to frame this as a fight between humanity and inhumanity, nothing else."
To a question on whether it is possible for the US and India to "develop a genuinely strategic alliance", Modi said: "I have a one word answer, and with great confidence I say - yes."
He said there are many similarities between US and India and acknowledged that there have been ups and downs in the relationship.
"If you look at the last few centuries, two things come to light - America has absorbed people from around the world, and there is an Indian in every part of the world. This characterises both the societies. Indians and Americans have co-existence in their natural temperament.
"Now yes, for sure, there have been ups and downs in our relationship in the last century. But from the end of the 20th century to the first decade of the 21st century, we have witnessed a big change. Our ties have deepened. India and the USA are bound together, by history and culture. These ties will deepen further," Modi said, according to a transcript of portions of the interview that is to be telecast on Sunday 4.30 p.m. on CNN-IBN.
He was asked if ahead of his visit to the US whether he felt that there is a "genuine desire from Washington" to try and upgrade the relationship with India substantially.
Modi said that India-US ties "should not be seen within the limits of just Delhi and Washington. It is a much larger sphere. The good thing is that the mood of both Delhi and Washington is in harmony with this understanding. Both sides have played a role in this".
Comments
| Quick linksNews
National
International
Regional
Politics
Education & Career
Business
Science & Technology
Health
Views & Analysis
The Funny Side
© 2012 Awaz Multimedia & Publications. All rights reserved.
But wins a seat in West Bengal first time in fifteen years
The Congress and the Samajwadi Party, which suffered a rout in the general elections, bounced back Tuesday in the assembly bypolls in Rajasthan .... More
Also Read: Pravat Chowdhury of CPI-M wins Tripura seat with record margin
Ewan Wilson, head of Kiwi Airlines, believes Zaharie Ahmad Shah planned mass murder -- locking his co-pilot out of the cockpit, depressurising the cabin and shutting down all communication links before turning the plane around, Daily Mail reported Monday..... More
Irrespective of the fact that in such a propaganda few cases of marriage-conversion, the girls changing their version the boundary line between love and imposition being regularly breached, have been picked up as an example of Muslim men on a path to Jihad for conversion to Islam.... More
British Muslim women who wear a hijab (headscarf) generally have a more positive body image, are less reliant on media messages about beauty ideals and place less importance on appearance than those who do not wear a hijab, says. ... More