Narendra Modi: disagreement

Transcript context

…No, no, no. I barely know what I’m doing, Prime Minister. I’m not very good at this. Okay. You’ve been… through your career and through your life, you have seen a lot of difficult situations in the history of India. One of them, the 2002 Gujarat riots, they’re one of the most challenging periods of modern Indian history, when there was violence between Hindu and Muslim citizens of the Gujarat that led to over 1000 deaths. It revealed the intensity of religious tensions in the region. You were, as you mentioned, chief minister of Gujarat at the time. Looking back, what lessons do you draw from that time? And we should also say that India’s independent Supreme Court upheld twice, in ’12 and ’22, that you had no involvement in the violence of the 2002 Gujarat riots. But I was wondering if you could speak to the broad lessons you draw from that time? Look, regarding your first point, when you humbly said that you don’t know what you’re doing, that you’re not good at this, I disagree and personally feel you’ve put in tremendous care. You’ve done extensive research and have dived deeply into every small detail. So I think you’ve done very well, and all the efforts you’ve put in during our conversation and in all your conversations are appreciated. And rather than simply interviewing me, I feel you’re trying to deeply understand India. That’s why I strongly feel there’s genuine honesty in your sincere effort to uncover the truth. And for that sincere approach, I genuinely congratulate you. Thank you.…

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