India, Dec. 7 -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking at the 23rd edition of the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, criticised attempts to link India's past economic performance with the Hindu faith, calling such interpretations an attempt to "malign the Hindu way of life."

"There is an attempt to malign the Hindu way of life by terming India's slow growth a few decades ago as the Hindu rate of growth," the Prime Minister said, adding that today's India projects confidence and resilience at a time when the global landscape is marked by uncertainty.

Reflecting on the first quarter of the 21st century, PM Modi noted that the world has endured multiple shocks, from financial crises to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Yet, India has distinguished ...