 "Rajan defends speech, reiterates fringe groups should calm down")
Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan defended his speech calling for multi-ethnic, multi-religious India to embrace open public debate after it sparked a political fight.
Speaking at his office in Mumbai, Rajan said he gave the October 31 speech to new graduates so they would understand the importance of cultivating an environment of free speech. He also emphasized that India's democracy is its greatest strength and said everyone across the political spectrum should "calm down a bit in order to foster healthy debate."
"It wasn't a speech about 'here and now,'" Rajan said in the interview. "It was more about where is the dialogue going and how are we going to maximize the advantage we already have. For that we need to keep this an open society and we need to resist all attempts at closing it down."
"You cannot have a debate by screaming at one another," said Rajan, who was appointed by the previous government and whose term expires next year. "Let the ideas fight each other but let's not prevent each other from saying what we think."
Rajan said India would be "crazy to lose" the biggest advantage it has over countries at a similar stage of development. He called the speech "an exhortation to support a fundamental future underpinning for growth."
"It's very important, that both fringes, extreme left and extreme right, don't say I'm going to shut you off if you don't say what I want to hear," Rajan said. "It has to be a genuine debate. You have to preserve that environment. Thankfully, the mainstream is well and truly supportive of this."
In an interview this week in New Delhi, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said he couldn't comment on whether Rajan would get an extension to his term. Rajan also declined to answer when asked if he wanted one.
Speaking at his office in Mumbai, Rajan said he gave the October 31 speech to new graduates so they would understand the importance of cultivating an environment of free speech. He also emphasized that India's democracy is its greatest strength and said everyone across the political spectrum should "calm down a bit in order to foster healthy debate."
"It wasn't a speech about 'here and now,'" Rajan said in the interview. "It was more about where is the dialogue going and how are we going to maximize the advantage we already have. For that we need to keep this an open society and we need to resist all attempts at closing it down."
Also Read
While Rajan didn't refer to any specific incidents in the speech, it provoked a response from both the ruling party and the Opposition.
"You cannot have a debate by screaming at one another," said Rajan, who was appointed by the previous government and whose term expires next year. "Let the ideas fight each other but let's not prevent each other from saying what we think."
Rajan said India would be "crazy to lose" the biggest advantage it has over countries at a similar stage of development. He called the speech "an exhortation to support a fundamental future underpinning for growth."
"It's very important, that both fringes, extreme left and extreme right, don't say I'm going to shut you off if you don't say what I want to hear," Rajan said. "It has to be a genuine debate. You have to preserve that environment. Thankfully, the mainstream is well and truly supportive of this."
In an interview this week in New Delhi, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said he couldn't comment on whether Rajan would get an extension to his term. Rajan also declined to answer when asked if he wanted one.