India Celebrates Barack Obama Win

It is much more than celebration time in India. Barack Obama’s victory in the US presidential election has brought palpable relief among general public as well as political parties of all hues (Surprise…Surprise!!!…Including the Left parties).

However, a few policy experts have some reservations about Obama.

IANS writes: “Obama, 47, who has promised to renew American diplomacy to meet the challenges of the 21st century by rebuilding alliances and expressed a willingness ‘to meet with all nations, friend and foe, to advance American interests’, has said that India will be ‘top priority’ in his presidency.

“Obama is an ardent admirer of Mahatma Gandhi, the pioneer of Satyagraha – resistance to tyranny through mass civil disobedience.

” ‘In my life, I have always looked to Mahatma Gandhi as an inspiration, because he embodied the kind of transformational change that can be made when ordinary people come together to do extraordinary things,’ he wrote in an article.

” ‘That is why his (Gandhi’s) portrait hangs in my Senate office; to remind me that real results will not just come from Washington, they will come from the people’.

“Obama believes that ‘India is a natural strategic partner for America in the 21st century and that the US should be working with India on a range of critical issues from preventing terrorism to promoting peace and stability in Asia’.

“A former aide told IANS that Obama has a soft corner for the Indian-American community and learnt tales of the Indian epic Mahabharata from his mother who has visited South Asia. He is also believed to like Indian food.” More here…

India’s leading TV channel, NDTV, says: “Not all are so enthusiastic about the Obama presidency in India though. The diplomatic establishment and strategic circles are treading cautiously, especially after Obama’s recent remarks on Kashmir, which they see as a throwback to American postures 10 years ago.

In an interview last week, Obama had said: “We should probably try to facilitate a better understanding between Pakistan and India and try to resolve the Kashmir crisis so that they can stay focused not on India, but on the situation with those militants.”

” ‘It is ill-advised and outdated and reflects his advisers have not kept up with the times,’ said Arundhati Ghose, a former Indian diplomat who represented India in the UN, while advising a wait and watch policy towards the Obama administration.

“K Subrahmanyam, a defence analyst, counseled that India should not overreact. ‘Obama is a flexible intellectual. Let’s wait and watch’.” More here…

Photo above courtesy AFP: Indians avidly followed the US presidential election results on the TV.