'Enjoying Curry & Doing Yoga Doesn't Qualify...': Indian Anchor Roasts Norwegian Journo Helle Lyng Who Questioned PM Modi

Norwegian journalist Helle Lyng, who is all over the internet for attempting to ask questions on press freedom to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Norway visit, has been giving interviews to media houses after going viral.

Now, a clip of her interview to an Indian mainstream news channel has gone viral on social media, with netizens saying she was “demolished” by the Indian journalist with tough questions.

Sharing the clip, defence analyst Abhijit Iyer-Mitra wrote, “Total demolition of alleged journo Helle Lyng by @GaurieD. Q: ‘Informed journalism requires deep study of the subject. What do you know about India?’ A: ‘Yoga and curry’.”

Mitra shared an eight-minute and 43-second clip of the interview in which NDTV anchor Gaurie Dwivedi asked Helle Lyng some tough questions about the Norwegian press.

“Whether press freedom in Norway means a blanket licence when it comes to racial stereotyping?” the anchor asked while referring to a controversial cartoon published in one of the Norwegian newspapers.

Responding to the question, Lyng appreciated the journalist, saying, “You are asking a really good question.” However, she refused to answer the question related to “another newspaper’s cartoon”, saying, “I haven’t read enough about it.”

Dwivedi then asked, “You are the one who is talking about press freedom and speaking truth to power. What do you think of that cartoon?”

Lyng, who has given interviews to many news publications as a commentator on press freedom, was also asked how many books she had read about Indian democracy, how she had formed her opinion about India and what her studied opinion was about the Indian political landscape.

She gave a vague answer to the question, saying she loves Indian food and yoga.

The anchor then said, “Enjoying Indian curry and doing yoga does not qualify you as knowing India.”