EAM S Jaishankar pointed out the Oxford racism issue in the Upper House
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New Delhi, March 15: Taking a stand for Rashmi Samant who, was abused and vilified for being a Hindu in the UK, Union minister S Jaishankar raised the issue of racism issue in the parliament. BJP leaders said the matter is being monitored closely and will be taken up with the UK when required.
It comes after the Ashwini Vaishnav, a BJP Rajya Sabha brings this issue in the parliament saying, "Samant, 22, was the first Indian woman to be elected as the president of the university's student's body. Her diversity should have been celebrated but instead of that she was cyberbullied to the point that she had to resign and even the Hindu religious beliefs of her parents were publicly attacked by a faculty member and that also went unpunished."
He questioned, "If this is the kind of treatment that happens at the highest institute like Oxford what is the message that goes out to the world?"
Responding to this S Jaishankar pointed out, "India cant turn our eye away from racism" particularly in a country where we have such a large diaspora." Talking in the parliament, S Jaishankar said, “As the land of Mahatma Gandhi, we can never turn our eyes away from racism. Particularly so when it is in a country where we have such a large diaspora.” He added, “We’ve strong ties with the UK. We’ll take up such matters with great candor when required.”
He further stated the government will always champion the fight against racism and it will also raise the issue when required. He said, “We will monitor these developments very closely. We will raise it when required and we will always champion the fight against racism and other forms of intolerance.”
Also read: #DeshKiBeti does it! Well, what led Rashmi Samant to make history win Oxford University SU elections?
Rashmi Samant is the first Indian woman was elected president of the Oxford University Students Union, on 11 February. However, she was forced to resign after some intellectuals abused her for being racist with her anti-Semitic posts. Besides this, she has also been targeted for her Hindu roots and over her views against colonisation. . Even some so-called members of the university also pulled her parents into the matter. They also targeted them for having a Lord Shri Ram display picture on their social media accounts while alleging that Rashmi’s student council elections were funded by Prime Minister Modi.
