New York: Not many Indians approve of the way Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s handling of relations with Pakistan, a recent survey by American think tank Pew Research Centre says.
The survey, released on Thursday, says PM Modi is highly popular in the country and a majority of Indians (60 per cent) approve of his approach toward Kashmir. But when it comes to handling relations with Pakistan, only 21 per cent of the people covered by Pew Research Centre approve of the Prime Minister’s ways, and the situation has remained constant since 2015. Most of the youth – those in the age bracket of 18-29 – approve of Modi’s management of Kashmir situation than the older lot, the survey says.
Pew also says that the Indian population has grown increasingly negative in their views of Pakistan. A staggering 72 per cent of the people who participated in the Pew survey see Pakistan unfavourably. Out of those, almost 64 per cent have a very unfavourable view of Pakistan, the highest level recorded since Pew Research Center began measuring in 2013. And the dislike cuts across the party lines.
Only 10 per cent of respondents see Pakistan favourably, Pew survey says.
An overwhelmingly high number of Indians say the government should use more military force that it is using now to deal with the Kashmir situation. Sixty-two per cent of respondents said the situation in Kashmir is a “very big” problem.
In a survey released last month, Pew had said that PM Modi with 88 per cent vote share is “by far” the most popular figure in Indian politics. The same survey had said that Modi is way ahead of Rahul Gandhi (58 per cent) and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal (39 per cent).
