New Delhi (SunstarTV Bureau): India will take up the matter of racism against Indian students with the United Kingdom (UK) when required, informed the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in Rajya Sabha on Monday.
“We will raise it whenever required and we will always champion the fight against racism and other forms of intolerance,” said the Minister.
Jaishankar’s response came after a question raised by an Odisha BJP MP Ashwini Vaishnaw where he expressed shared global concerns about racism. According to Vaishnaw, “appears to be a continuation of attitudes and prejudices from the colonial area especially in the United Kingdom.”
The Odisha MP further alleged that Rashmi Samant, a student from Karnataka and former President-elect of Oxford University Student Union, was “Cyberbullied to the point that she had to resign from the post.”
“Even the Hindu religious beliefs of her parents were publicly attacked by a faculty member,” he said.
In an reply, Jaishankar said that, “As land of Mahatma Gandhi, we can never ever turn our eyes away from racism wherever it is. Particularly so when it is in a country where we have such a large diaspora. As a friend of the UK, we also have concerns about its reputational impact.”
Pertaining to mention here that, the comments came a day after India summoned British High Commissioner over an ‘unwarranted discussion’ in the British Parliament on agricultural reforms in India.
