One of the highlights of President Barack Obama’s visit to Mumbai was a visit to St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, founded by German Jesuits in 1869. Obama seemed so much at ease with the students, and so communicative, that one wonders whether he should have been a professor or a diplomat instead of being a politician/president, a task some say he should have perhaps left to Ms Hillary Clinton!!!
India’s leading TV channel, NDTV, is ready with the full transcript of Obama’s interaction with the students. It is said that the interaction at St. Xavier’s was better than many of the press conferences that Obama has addressed.
Barack Obama’s introductory remarks: “Tomorrow, I’ll meet with PM, many other leaders. It is a privilege to address the Indian Parliament. There will be specific announcements on terror, environment change and development of democracy around the globe.
“I believe that India has already risen. Taking its rightful position in Asia, world. It is good for the world and for the US. India’s future won’t be determined only by CEOs.
“You are future leaders, future educators, entrepreneurs and future electors. More than half of all Indians are under 30 years old. It is a great statistic. Every single child holds promise of greatness.”
The students of St Xavier’s, Mumbai, asked him the following questions:
Question: What is your opinion on jihadis?
Q: In today’s world there is more of materialistic frame of thought among the new generation. What do you believe is a possible methodology that your government or government’s around the world can adopt, to basically incorporate the core human values of selflessness, brotherhood over the materialistic frame of thought that people work by today?
Q: You’ve mentioned Gandhi a lot. How do you implement his values in your day to day life and how do you expect people in US to apply his values?
Q: You used the word ‘change’ a lot. After your mid-term elections, seems people have asked for change. How will that affect young India?
Q. Why is Pakistan so important an ally to America that so far America has never called it a terrorist state?
Q. My question relates to your Afghan policy. In light of your recent statements that troop withdrawal would start in 2011. There have been recent developments that would indicate that US has been in talks with Taliban so as to strike out a stable government in Afghanistan. Does it point to the inability of the US to take a military control of the tumultuous southern region?
For Obama’s answers to these questions see here…
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.