US President Barack Obama today backed India for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), but wanted New Delhi not to ‘shy away’ from important international issues.
In his much-awaited speech in Parliament, Obama said he looked forward to a “reformed UN Security Council that includes India as a permanent member”. But he reminded that India’s aspiration for increased power needed to have ‘increased responsibility’ as well.
“When peaceful democratic movements are suppressed – as in Burma – then the democracies of the world cannot remain silent. Faced with such gross violations of human rights, it is the responsibility of the international community – especially leaders like the United States and India – to condemn it. If I can be frank, in international fora, India has often avoided these issues. But speaking up for those who cannot do so for themselves is not interfering in the affairs of other countries. It's not violating the rights of sovereign nations,” Obama said.
This was the only part of Obama’s half an hour speech that made Members of Parliament (MPs) uneasy. Otherwise, the packed house in the Central Hall was happy to hear when Obama said, “We will continue to insist to Pakistan's leaders that terrorist safe-havens within their borders are unacceptable, and that the terrorists behind the Mumbai attacks be brought to justice.”
Parliamentarians had started taking their seats two hours before Obama entered Parliament. Latecomers like Vijay Mallya didn’t find a good vantage and some of them had to stand through the event. Many of them chose to stand near the entrance and shook hands with Obama. While other MPs leaned to greet Obama, the US president took the first initiative to shake hands with Rahul Gandhi — twice and that too, after the formal exchange of Namaskars from both sides.
There were several rounds of applause, but the thunderous ones came when Obama, using a teleprompter for his speech, used Hindi words. It started with “Lok Sabha” and “Rajya Sabha”. After a few minutes, a more confident Obama, known for his oratory skills, even said, “Bahoot Dhanyavad”.
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Obama also quoted Rabindranath Tagore’s poem and Swami Vivekananda’s speech made in Chicago. He mentioned Delhi’s Chandni Chowk and frequently referred to Mahatma Gandhi. He might have asked the Manmohan Singh government to be more pro-active and play a bigger role, keeping in mind security in Afghanistan and the rise of China, but he remembered to mention that the Right to Information Act was a landmark step in creating transparency in government business.
The main theme of Obama’s speech was his vision of partnership between India and the US as the two largest democratic forces of the world. He also recognized India’s economic power and said, “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 from poverty and created one of the world's largest middle classes.”