India criticises Iran supreme leader's comments on treatment of Muslims

Ties may sour as New Delhi calls on Tehran to 'look at own record' regarding minorities

Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said Muslims are suffering in countries including Indian and Myanmar. Reuters

India criticised Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for saying Muslims in India were suffering, terming the statement "misinformed and unacceptable".

Mr Khamenei said on Monday that Muslims were also suffering in Myanmar and the Gaza Strip. He made the statement to mark the Prophet Mohammed's birthday.

“The enemies of Islam have always tried to make us indifferent with regard to our shared identity as an Islamic ummah," he said on X. "We cannot consider ourselves to be Muslims if we are oblivious to the suffering that a Muslim is enduring in Myanmar, Gaza, India, or any other place."

India’s Ministry of External Affairs described the comments as "misinformed and unacceptable”. “We strongly deplore the comments made regarding minorities in India by the supreme leader of Iran," it added.

New Delhi and Tehran have a cordial relationship, but the latest comments risk souring ties. “Countries commenting on minorities are advised to look at their own record before making any observations about others,” the ministry said.

About 210 million Muslims live in India, making the country home to the second-largest Muslim population in the world after Indonesia. They, however, remain in the minority because of India's population of 1.4 billion people.

Muslims have equal constitutional rights in the Hindu-majority country. But there has been a rise in cases of discrimination and religious intolerance, particularly under a government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.

Several rights groups have raised concerns regarding India's treatment of Muslims, including attacks by Hindu mobs. Authorities in India have also used punitive actions against the group, including the destruction of properties.

Mr Modi has also drew criticism for describing Indian Muslims as “infiltrators” and “baby producers” during the election campaign in April.

Right-wing Hindu groups have long accused Muslims of seeking to “increase their population” to turn India into a “Muslim nation". But India maintains that Muslims enjoy better living conditions and rights, compared with minorities in other nations.