(Image source from: sikhsiyasat.net)

Navtej Singh Sarna, Current Indian ambassador to United States has alleged that American media picks up unusual content to negatively portray India while disregard the development news.

The remarks by Sarna were made during his speech at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies while involved in a panel discussion during the open conference of, “U.S. and India: From Estranged Democracies to Natural Allies,” organized by CSIS.

“There is tendency to look at the social exception, there is a dowry case, there is a caste issue, so pick it up and splash it. But if there is a start-up story for instance, that happens everywhere. Frankly it bothers me, but I do not lose sleep over it anymore, I used to worry,” a report in Indian media quotes top diplomat.

He stated that American media by such a antagonistic portrayal of India, was doing an iniquity.

Referring to his previous four-year stint at Indian Embassy when he was its spokesperson, he said, “This is what I tried correcting them but failed miserably. It is extremely important for us, but I think it's important for the United States as well to get a correct picture of, even if I was not in India and I would say of a very important country in the world. Unfortunately, I can't tell you, I can guess at the reasons.

Mr. Sarna said, “The negative pieces just sound like oddities. They show narrow mindset of the journalists, of the editor and marginalize them rather than marginalize anymore. If American media want to survive and remain relevant, they should move on.”

By Sowmya Sangam