The US President's comments on religious freedom were to meant to please Christian voters and human rights lobbyists at home
US President Barack Obama’s farewell shot to India, after his successful three-day visit, was marked by a cautious reference to the right to religious freedom. He noted that it was important for India, with its multiplicity of faiths, to uphold this fundamental right. Mr Obama’s thrust was that India will succeed as long as it’s not splintered on religious lines.
The US President made this gentle nudge at the only meeting where he was not accompanied by Prime Minister Narendra Modi or any other Government official, when he interacted with the public. Eyebrows are now being raised at the reference to religion amidst all the bonhomie, with some wondering if it was a snub to fringe elements in the BJP, made in the backdrop of the recent religious conversion controversy.
The New York Times called it a “tough love message to his host” and pointed out that “Mr Obama’s speech was aimed partly at his newfound friend, Prime Minister Modi, who has been criticised for not doing more to protect political dissent and to guard against sectarian discrimination and conflict. While the two shared a warm visit, Mr Obama in effect, was saying that their developing partnership did not mean Mr Modi would get a free pass.”
Was Mr Obama’s nudge an off-the-cuff remark or did the US President make a well-considered and calculated observation when he said what he saidIJ First, anyone who understands the American way of doing things will vouch for the fact that the President’s visits are planned carefully months in advance and, generally, not a word is meant to be out of place. Therefore, is it safe to assume that Mr Obama had chosen his farewell speech to make one or two points, which may not be music to the ears of the ruling party.
Second, Mr Obama, like many other articulate and intelligent world leaders, was also perhaps addressing his own constituency in the United States when he referred to religious freedom in India. Remember, not very long ago, the US had denied a visa to Mr Modi for alleged human rights violation, coming under pressure from the human rights groups. There is also a section in the US Congress, which supports these groups.
Third, the remarks were also a message to minorities, particularly Christians, in India, as well as to the majority of Christians in America. Remember when the Christian missionary, Graham Staines, was burnt alive in Odisha in 1999, US authorities had expressed concern to the then BJP-led Vajpayee Government. More recently, the images of arson at the St Sebastian Roman Catholic Church in New Delhi and accounts from Asroi in Uttar Pradesh of a torn Cross on a church wall have been played-up by the media in America’s south, which is deeply Christian.
The mass conversion controversy in India also has not gone unnoticed among Government officials in Washington, DC, and there were reports that Christian groups wereexpecting Mr Obama to voice his concern during his tour.
No one in the Obama Administration has publicly addressed the attacks on minorities in India so far. When US Secretary of State John Kerry visited Gujarat last month for an investor summit, there were hopes among Christian groups that he might make a statement but those did not materialise. US officials also made clear that before Mr Obama’s visit, religious issues should not be allowed to distract from the big-picture goals of strengthening economic and defence ties, consummating the civil-nuclear deal, and reaching an agreement on climate change and energy.
In this context, Mr Obama’s reference to his own religion is quite significant. The President observed at the Siri Fort meeting that, “In our lives, Michelle (Obama) and I have been strengthened by our Christian faith. Still, as you may know, my faith has, at times been questioned — by people who do not know me — or they’ve said that I adhere to a different religion, as if that were somehow a bad thing.”
Reportedly, Congress president Sonia Gandhi had mentioned a growing religious divide in India during her meeting with Mr Obama. The BJP has played down the episode and slammed the Opposition for reading too much into the remarks.