US President Donald Trump’s visit to India was, amongst other reasons, to give himself a political boost at home. He was preparing to commence his re-election campaign with a successful visit to India — the world’s most populous and diverse democracy. The visit was, in fact, to be showcased in his address to a massive and cheering crowd in Ahmedabad in the largest cricket stadium in the world.
Things, however, did not quite work out the way Trump wanted, as communal tensions were getting out of hand and increasingly violent in Dehi just when he was arriving. He was pilloried on his return to Washington as being insensitive to democratic freedoms and not speaking out against alleged violations against freedom of minorities in India. But Trump did not budge from justifying his visit. He recalled assurances that he received from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had stated that he was personally committed to respecting the religious freedoms of all citizens in his country.
