He calls it “biggest setback” to open societies

Billionaire philanthropist George Soros has called out the actions of the Narendra Modi-led government as the “biggest and most frightening setback” to the survival of open societies worldwide, specifically mentioning the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the shutdown of Kashmir.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday, Mr. Soros said that the rise of nationalism across the globe was the great enemy of open society.

“The biggest and most frightening setback occurred in India where a democratically elected Narendra Modi is creating a Hindu nationalist state, imposing punitive measures on Kashmir, a semi-autonomous Muslim region, and threatening to deprive millions of Muslims of their citizenship,” he said.

He also mentioned Brexit, a humanitarian and environmental crisis in South America and the global rise of authoritarianism as major challenges. “The strongest powers, the U.S., China and Russia remained in the hands of would-be or actual dictators and the ranks of authoritarian rulers continued to grow,” he said.