During his first official visit to India, US President Donald Trump addressed the âNamaste Trumpâ event at Motera stadium in Ahmedabad, toured the Taj Mahal in Agra and visited the Rajghat in Delhi. He also met Indian industry leaders and held a press conference.
While this was happening, Delhi witnessed violent riots in which at least 20 people have been killed. A journalist was shot and four others injured while reporting on the prevailing situation in northeast Delhi on Tuesday.
Several journalists also recounted being cornered and threatened by mobs reportedly made up of so-called âpro-CAA protestersâ, who have been holding rallies in support of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
Foreign media, which had anyway trained its spotlight on India because of Trumpâs visit, took note of the violence and pointed out how both Trump and Modi seemed âunaffectedâ by the tension as they continued with their engagements.
During his press conference on Tuesday, Trump was asked about the violence and Indiaâs new citizenship law. He said that the issues involving the CAA are up to India and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he wants people to have religious freedom.
âI donât want to say anything on CAA. It is up to India. I hope it will take the right decision for its people.â
When asked if he discussed the incidents of violence taking place during his visit, he said that he didnât discuss individual attacks and âthat is up to Indiaâ. Modi, unsurprisingly, stuck to his record of never having held an unscripted press conference during his tenure.
Hereâs how foreign media reported the events:
The New York Times
The first article on NYT, by Jeffrey Gettleman, was titled âNew Delhi streets turn into battleground for Hindus and Muslimsâ.
âIn other parts of New Delhi, Mr. Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi carried on with sightseeing and meetings, seemingly unaffected as the tension and protests that have roiled the capital over Mr. Modiâs Hindu-first policies exploded into rioting and gang fighting.â
Hours later, NYT published another report by Peter Baker, Michael Crowley and Jeffrey Gettleman.
They wrote, âIn the lush garden of Hyderabad House, President Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi celebrated their friendship and talked of a modern, diverse and unified India. Across town, an explosion of anger over Mr. Modiâs sectarian policies set a neighborhood on edge, leaving a trail of dead bodies and a widening religious rift.
The two sides of New Delhi on display on Tuesday underscored the disparity between the hopes of Mr. Trumpâs trip and the tensions outside the fortified environs of world leaders. Just miles from the pomp of a presidential visit, a mob of hot-tempered Hindu men wielding iron bars hunted their Muslim neighbors on streets littered with scraps of bricks.â
Vice
Titled âNew Delhi Is Burning as Modi Throws a Party for Trumpâs State Visitâ, the Vice piece noted how Trump had made no public comments about the unrest in Delhi by Monday or the citizenship law debate.
The Washington Post
Joanna Slaterâs piece said that Trump commended Modi for âworking very hard on religious freedomâ and refused to discuss the CAA. Trump has often called Modi a âgood friendâ and The Washington Post piece pointed out an outcome of the friendship between the two leaders.
âTrump declined to engage in anything that might be construed as criticism of Modi or his government, except on the issue of trade. The Modi government has made large strides in recent months toward its agenda of emphasizing Hindu primacy in India.â
Newsweek
The piece talked about how while Trump spoke of the need to promote âpeaceâ in his speech at the âNamaste Trumpâ event in Ahmedabad, âa very different scene was playing out in the streets of New Delhiâ.
âPrime Minister Narendra Modiâs government has promised to offer sanctuary to those with credible claims of fears of religious persecution under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
âHowever, with the bill excluding Muslims, critics have said the new rules are part of an agenda from the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to marginalize Muslims already in the country and bar others from entering India.â
MSNBC
MSNBCâs Chris Hayes had sharp words on the situation, reminding his viewers of the 2002 Gujarat riots, which happened under Modiâs watch, and the fact that the current Indian PM was denied entry into the US for years.
âAnd now, as prime minister, Narendra Modi has launched a full-scale assualt on the multi-religious principles India was founded on,â said Hayes, showing visuals of the riots in Delhi, which occurred even as Trump and Modi were merrily going on with their official programme.
Hayes ended his despatch by reporting, with some disbelief, that Trump praised Modiâs âreligious freedom agendaâ.
The Guardian
The Guardian said Trumpâs visit to Delhi has been overshadowed by deadly protests.
Politico
Politicoâs piece noted how Trump sidestepped questions on Indiaâs new citizenship law, but said he âconfronted Modi in private about his countryâs treatment of Muslimsâ.
Trump used questions about the law on Tuesday, it added, âto once again defend his travel ban, which he signed just a week into his tenure, causing massive, nationwide protests and prompting lawsuitsâ.
Der Spiegel
The German publication posted a report by its Bengaluru correspondent Laura Höflinger which was titled âShowing off outside, protest insideâ.
Agence France-Presse
âIndia rolled out the red carpet on Tuesday for US President Donald Trump on the second day of a visit high on spectacular optics, but deadly unrest exposed religious tensions that his host is accused of stoking,â AFP reported.