A question aimed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi by a Norwegian journalist during a news appearance in Oslo snowballed into a tense exchange at a subsequent Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) briefing, where Indian officials were pressed on press freedom, trust and human rights in India.
The episode unfolded during Modi’s visit to Norway, where he appeared alongside Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre for a joint statement. As the two leaders concluded their remarks and began leaving the room, Norwegian journalist Helle Lyng called out a question to Modi over practice of not taking questions from the press during official appearances.
“Prime Minister Modi, why don’t you take some questions from the freest press in the world?” Lyng asked as Modi exited the hall alongside Støre.
Modi did not stop to respond and continued walking out of the venue.
The matter resurfaced later during an MEA media briefing addressed by secretary (west) Sibi George, where the same journalist again raised questions regarding press freedom and human rights in India.
“I am wondering as we strengthen our partnership, why should we trust you?” the journalist asked. She further questioned whether India could “promise to stop the human rights violation that goes on” in the country and asked if Modi would begin taking critical questions from the Indian media.
Responding at length, George defended India’s democratic credentials and global role, saying the country’s actions during major international crises had earned global trust.
“Let me give a background of what India is and why should the world trust India,” George said, before referring to the Covid-19 pandemic as an example of India’s contribution to the world.
“You asked why should a country trust India, let me answer that question,” he said. “India is a civilisational country which has something unique to offer to the world.”
George said India did not “hide in a cave” during the pandemic but instead supplied medicines and vaccines globally. He said India had provided vaccines to more than 100 countries and medicines to around 150 countries.
The senior diplomat also cited India’s initiatives during its G20 presidency, including outreach to developing nations through the Global South summit. According to him, India used such platforms to highlight the concerns and aspirations of countries from the Global South at the international level.
During the exchange, George appeared irritated when the journalist attempted to interrupt with a follow-up question.
“Please let me answer… these are my prerogatives. You ask a question, don’t ask me to answer in a particular way,” he said.
George further argued that despite accounting for nearly one-sixth of the global population, India did not contribute “one-sixth of the problems of the world”.
“We have a constitution which guarantees the fundamental rights of the people. We have equal rights for the women of our country, which is very important,” he said.
The MEA secretary also pointed to women’s voting rights in India since Independence, saying several countries granted such rights only decades later.
“In 1947 we gave the freedom to vote to our women. We got the freedom together and got the right to vote from day one,” he said. “We believe in equality; we believe in human rights. If anyone whose rights are violated, they have the right to go to court. We are proud to be a democracy.”
George also criticised what he called a limited international understanding of India’s media landscape.
“People have no understanding of the scale of India,” he said, adding that Delhi alone had hundreds of television news channels operating in English, Hindi and several regional languages.
He also took a swipe at non-governmental organisations and foreign reports critical of India’s record on press freedom and rights issues.
“People read one or two reports published by some godforsaken, ignorant NGOs and then come and ask questions,” he said.
When another journalist raised the issue of Modi not taking questions from the media, George said it was the responsibility of the visiting country’s officials to brief the press during such diplomatic engagements.
“As a country in charge of the visit, it is my responsibility to address the media. I have been doing that and I will continue to do that,” he said.
Later, Lyng said on X that she and a colleague had tried repeatedly to seek specific answers on human rights concerns but did not receive direct responses.
“My colleague and I asked questions tonight both on why we should trust India given the human violations rights, and also about the visit,” she wrote.
“I tried multiple times to get them to be specific on human rights, but I was unsuccessful. The representatives talked about India’s effort during Covid and also yoga, among other things,” she added.