US President Barack Obama has said that the acts of intolerance experienced by religious faiths of all types in India in the past few years would have shocked Mahatma Gandhi.
The US President, who has just returned from India, was referring to violence against followers of various religions in India in the past few years.
However, Obama did not name any particular religion and said the violence is not unique to one group or one religion.
In his remarks at the high-profile National Prayer Breakfast, Obama said, humanity has been grappling with these questions throughout human history.
In a US-style Town Hall address in New Delhi on January 27, the last day of his India trip, Obama had made a strong pitch for religious tolerance, cautioning that India will succeed so long as it is not splintered along the lines of religious faith.
The White House yesterday strongly refuted allegations that Obama’s remarks on religious tolerance was aimed at the ruling BJP, saying the speech in its entirety was about the “core democratic values and principles”of both the US and India.