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” ‘It is ill-advised and outdated and reflects his advisers have not kept up with the times,’ said Arundhati Ghose, a former Indian diplomat who represented India in the UN, while advising a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.
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.