Secular activists in US welcome President Obama's speech in India

President Barack Obama’s speech asking India to keep its secular character was welcomed by many community leaders. India will succeed as long as it's not splintered along religious lines...nowhere is it more important to uphold religious freedom than in India,’ President Obama said while speaking at the Siri Fort auditorium.

‘President Obama's speech asking India to ensure it remains a true multi-religious nation, is a commentary on the recent troublesome activities of some sectarian and supremacist organizations in India,” said Kalim Kawaja, former president of Association of Indian Muslims of America.

“In my own visit to India in early January, I observed that many Muslims and Christians are very apprehensive of the substantially increased activities of the sectarian groups, and the lack of action of the government to control them.   

“In December a couple of Christian churches were set on fire. A prominent sectarian group organized forced conversion of poor Christians and Muslims and declared that they will continue it. They announced that they will spend 3 lakh rupees for converting a Christian and 5 lakh rupees for converting a Muslim.  In northeast India,  Muslims and Christians were subjected to organized violence that resulted in the deaths of several people and the destruction of their houses. In the midst of such mayhem Prime Minister Modi has been talking about development for all but he has refrained from taking any action against these people, who are continuing to intimidate the minorities.” 

Thinker and secular activist Mike Ghouse noted: “Obama is inherently a pluralistic individual who believes in respecting the otherness of others, and accepting the God given uniqueness of each one of us.  Obama is one of the inclusive individuals in the likes of Pope Frances, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and a few other great men and women.

“A majority of Indians have experienced discrimination in one form or the other, and he was appealing to both the discriminated and discriminators.   
“Invoking Article 25 was a reminder to the rabble rousers among the Sangh Parivar that India’s stability hinges on following the rule of law. India is a successful nation today because of that. Look at Pakistan, it wouldn't be where it is today if it had followed its secular charter. 
“His reference to his own experience being a minority was powerful! He gave hopes to the Dalits, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and other minorities.

His statement that every person has the right to practice their religion and beliefs and not practice it if they choose so without any persecution’ was a direct reference to the harassment Muslims and Christians face with stupid statements like ‘your holy place is not in India,’  ‘forced conversions,’ and ‘ghar wapsi’ among others.

“Let every Indian be free to breathe, drink, eat, wear or believe whatever he or she wants to. Invariably, what I wrote earlier comes out in his speech a few days later. I am glad it happened that way.”

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, legal advisor of Sikhs for Justice noted that “President Obama's direct reference to persecution of religious minorities in India, is consequence of the petition that SFJ filed with White House,” claimed attorney Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, legal advisor of SFJ. The petition signed by more than 125,000 people asked President Obama to question PM Modi about labeling Sikhs as Hindus in the constitution. “It is high time that India give a good hearing to US President's advice if India wants to avoid realigning of its boundaries on religious lines as mentioned by Obama.

“We respect the invaluable lesson on religious freedom to India by President Obama and commend him for being the voice of American Sikhs who had urged him through online petition to raise the issue of labeling of Sikhs as Hindus under Article 25(b)”.

 â€œPaying heed to President Obama’s hard hitting lesson on religious freedom, India must ensure that Sikhs of Punjab are granted the opportunity to exercise right to self determination through referendum.

“As a distinct religious minority, exercising the right to self determination is vital for Sikhs to freely profess, practice and propagate their religion.”.

George Abraham, chairman of the Indian National Overseas Congress, USA pointed out that ‘Obama’s statement on the religious freedom in India is not only significant in a political sense but could also prove to be a prophetic one if the current course of the Modi administration is not reversed.

“The President said ‘India will succeed as long as it is not splintered along the religious lines.’ It is only common sense that true economic development requires political tranquility. What BJP is pursuing is a dual strategy that is to exploit the religious sentiments of the majority to consolidate their own version of a ‘vote bank.’

“While RSS is doing the religious bidding, Modi appears to stay above the fray or keep his silence. Obviously, Obama is well briefed on the current undertones of the political dynamics in India and he has quoted the Article 25 of the constitution that provided the post-independence framework for religious tolerance.

Obama’s speech

‘India will succeed as long as it's not splintered along religious lines...nowhere is it more important to uphold religious freedom than in India,’ President Obama said while speaking at the Siri Fort auditorium.
‘Your Article 25 (of the Constitution) says that all people are 'equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practice and propagate religion.

In both our countries, in all countries, upholding this fundamental freedom is the responsibility of government, but it's also the responsibility of every person.’

His reference to his own experience being a minority as regards color and also accusations that he was a Muslim too added meaning to the speech.
‘There were moments in my life where I've been treated differently because of the color of my skin...

‘There have been times where my faith has at times been questioned by people who don't know me, or they've said that I adhere to a different religion, as if that were somehow a bad thing.

‘Every person has the right to practice their religion and beliefs and not practice it if they choose so without any persecution.’

Obama said no society is immune from man's darkest impulses, as he reminded the 2012 shooting at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin that killed six people. ‘In that moment of shared grief, our two countries reaffirmed a basic truth, as we must again today, that every person has the right to practice their faith how they choose, or to practice no faith at all, and to do so free of persecution and fear and discrimination.’

He quoted  Mahatma Gandhi, who said  the diversity in faiths in a country as beautiful flowers of the same garden and branches of the same majestic tree.
He said in India, like in the US, diversity is our strength and we have to guard against any division along sectarian or religious lines.

He also noted that those having ‘intolerance in minds and the terror perpetrated by those who profess to be standing by their faiths when in effect they are betraying it,’ considered as pointing to the Islamic State terrorists.

Obama also noted that the peace that we seek in the world begins in human hearts and one should rejoice in the beauty of every soul.
He also mentioned about the importance of keeping diversity in India. ‘Nowhere is it more important than in India... Nowhere is it going to be more necessary that the foundational value be upheld. India will succeed so long as it is not splintered along lines of religious faith, splinter along any lines and it is unified as one nation; and all Indians whatever their faith go to the movies and applaud actors like Shah Rukh Khan or athletes like Milkha Singh and Mary Kom.’