President Obama Leaves Indian Parliament Spellbound

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Mon Nov-08-10 02:27 PM
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President Obama Leaves Indian Parliament Spellbound

Edited on Mon Nov-08-10 02:40 PM by bigtree

Monday November 8, 2010

President Barack Obama delivers a speech at Parliament House in New Delhi, India, November 8, 2010 (REUTERS/Jim Young)

An effective communicator that he is, US President Barack Obama today cast his spell from the moment he entered the majestic Central Hall of Parliament with members clamouring to shake hands with him.

As regards the larger canvas, Obama sang paeans to his 'hero' Mahatma Gandhi.

"I am mindful that I might not be standing before you today, as President of the United States, had it not been for Gandhi and the message he shared with America and the world," he said.

In his 35-minute address, Obama also recalled Swami Vivekananda's address in his hometown of Chicago over a century ago where he had said that "holiness, purity and charity are not the exclusive possessions of any church in the world, and that every system has produced men and women of the most exalted character".

The first African-American to become the US President, Obama also paid tribute to Dr B R Ambedkar. "We believe that no matter who you are or where you come from, every person can fulfill their god-given potential, just as a Dalit like Dr Ambedkar could lift himself up and pen the words of the Constitution that protects the rights of all Indians", he said.

read: http://news.outlookindia.com/item.aspx?700442

(REUTERS/Jason Reed)

'Bahut dhanyavad'. This is how US president Barack Obama thanked people of India for the warm welcome and hospitality he and American First Lady Michelle Obama received during their India visit. The 'thank you' in Hindi during his 35-minute address at the Central Hall of Parliament was received with a thunderous applause by the law makers which included Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and top BJP leader LK Advani. The American President wound up his speech by saying 'Jai Hind' which was also received by the MPs with cheers.

"At every stop, we have been welcomed with the hospitality for which Indians have always been known. So to you and the people of India, on behalf of me, Michelle and the American people, please accept our deepest thanks. Bahut dhanyavad," he said.

"We believe that when countries and cultures put aside old habits and attitudes that keep people apart, when we recognise our common humanity, then we can begin to fulfil the aspirations we share.

"It's a simple lesson contained in that collection of stories which has guided Indians for centuries�the Panchtantra," he said.

He also mentioned in his speech about the inscription seen at the entrance of the Central hall which read "That one is mine and the other a stranger is the concept of little minds. But to the large-hearted, the world itself is their family."

read more: http://www.hindustantimes.com/Bahut-dhanyavad-says-Obama-on-the-warm-welcome/Article1-623579.aspx

(REUTERS/Jim Young)

excerpt from President Obama's speech to the Joint Session of the Indian Parliament in New Delhi, India:

____ For me and Michelle, this visit has, therefore, held special meaning. See, throughout my life, including my work as a young man on behalf of the urban poor, I�ve always found inspiration in the life of Gandhiji and his simple and profound lesson to be the change we seek in the world. (Applause.) And just as he summoned Indians to seek their destiny, he influenced champions of equality in my own country, including a young preacher named Martin Luther King. After making his pilgrimage to India a half-century ago, Dr. King called Gandhi�s philosophy of non-violent resistance �the only logical and moral approach� in the struggle for justice and progress. (Applause.)

So we were honored to visit the residence where Gandhi and King both stayed �- Mani Bhavan. And we were humbled to pay our respects at Raj Ghat. And I am mindful that I might not be standing before you today, as President of the United States, had it not been for Gandhi and the message he shared and inspired with America and the world. (Applause.)

An ancient civilization of science and innovation; a fundamental faith in human progress -- this is the sturdy foundation upon which you have built ever since that stroke of midnight when the tricolor was raised over a free and independent India. (Applause.) And despite the skeptics who said this country was simply too poor, or too vast, or too diverse to succeed, you surmounted overwhelming odds and became a model to the world.

((AP Photo/Jim Young, Pool))

Instead of slipping into starvation, you launched a Green Revolution that fed millions. Instead of becoming dependent on commodities and exports, you invested in science and technology and in your greatest resource �- the Indian people. And the world sees the results, from the supercomputers you build to the Indian flag that you put on the moon.

Instead of resisting the global economy, you became one of its engines �- reforming the licensing raj and unleashing an economic marvel that has lifted tens of millions of people from poverty and created one of the world�s largest middle classes.

Instead of succumbing to division, you have shown that the strength of India �- the very idea of India �- is its embrace of all colors, all castes, all creeds. (Applause.) It�s the diversity represented in this chamber today. It�s the richness of faiths celebrated by a visitor to my hometown of Chicago more than a century ago -� the renowned Swami Vivekananda. He said that, �holiness, purity and charity are not the exclusive possessions of any church in the world, and that every system has produced men and women of the most exalted character.�

And instead of being lured by the false notion that progress must come at the expense of freedom, you built the institutions upon which true democracy depends �- free and fair elections, which enable citizens to choose their own leaders without recourse to arms -- (applause) -- an independent judiciary and the rule of law, which allows people to address their grievances; and a thriving free press and vibrant civil society which allows every voice to be heard. This year, as India marks 60 years with a strong and democratic constitution, the lesson is clear: India has succeeded, not in spite of democracy; India has succeeded because of democracy. (Applause.)

Now, just as India has changed, so, too, has the relationship between our two nations. In the decades after independence, India advanced its interests as a proud leader of the nonaligned movement. Yet, too often, the United States and India found ourselves on opposite sides of a North-`South divide, estranged by a long Cold War. Those days are over . . .

(REUTERS/Jim Young)

read entire speech: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/11/08/remarks-president-joint-session-indian-parliament-new-delhi-india