Presidential echoes
WONDER if when Mr. Barack Obama took time out from official engagements he perused the Republic Day message from President Pranab Mukherjee -- there is an uncanny commonality with the undertones of his farewell speech at the Siri Fort “town hall.” The festivity that bridged the physical distance between the White House and Raisina Hill was a veneration of the Indian Constitution -- hence both presidents were morally bound to exhort the upholding of its sacred tenets, many of which are also enshrined in the American statute. And who dare deny that recent months have witnessed a series of assaults (a vicious campaign its victims allege), targeting India's minority communities: thus justifying the shared presidential concerns and pleas. Concerns that include precious little action by the NDA government to “authenticate” the spirit of the prime minister's Red Fort address on Independence Day. President Obama's assertion that “India will succeed so long as it is not splintered on sectarian lines” harmonises perfectly with Mr. Mukherjee's quoting the Mahatma that religion is a force for unity and “we cannot make it a cause for conflict” and adding that “unity is strength, dominance is weakness.” Well said, Sirs. To be sure, had the Obama visit not captured so much public “space” Mr. Mukherjee's message would have sent out mini-shock waves: though he has made the point before, with limited impact.
It is important to perceive President Obama's comments in a larger context of domestic troubles, the religious divide that has provoked an undeclared war across West Asia, as well as the long-standing American commitment to upholding human rights everywhere (perhaps no longer quite valid after 9/11 and the Patriot Act). A pathetic mindset was betrayed by the “saffron” spokesman who contended that he had bowed to the diktat of Christian evangelists. No less petty was the manner in which opposition parties sought to exaggerate those comments, seeking in them ammunition for guns they are incapable of firing. And, of course, the traditional Indian prickliness to any “external” criticism of its internal affairs. Yes, Mr Obama made a point forcefully, but did it negate the many other positives of his visit? India must learn to roll with the punches -- such as Mr. Narendra Modi's back-slapping references to “Barack” eliciting the staid response of “Mr Prime Minister.”
The spin-doctors will be working overtime to articulate the many potential gains of the Obama trip. A reality remains that along with the world noting India's economic progress, development on the social, human rights and secular fronts will also be scanned. Gujarat in 2002, Delhi in 1984, Kandhamal in 2008 etc, and even the torching of a church in the capital's suburb of Dilshad Garden will just not “go away.”
© The Statesman. All rights reserved. Reprinted by arrangement with Asia News Network.
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