It may not be difficult to understand why some folks active on social media in India, owing allegiance to BJP have suddenly started attacking the 44th US President, addressing him as Hussain Obama, specifically pointing out that he is a Moslem. This group includes a present Chief Minister. No doubt his full name is, indeed, Barack Hussain Obama. It is also true that he ordered bombing of multiple Moslem countries and was also instrumental in getting Osama Bin Laden assassinated in Abbotabad of Pakistan. All this may be fine but while being aggressive, these people should not forget that it was Obama who was the only POTUS to have backed India for a seat at the UN Security Council. Obama was the President of the US of A for 2 terms, a country where systems work like in most other democratic countries, unlike India. It is noteworthy that during the recent US visit of Prime Minister Modi, the former president had appealed President Biden to enquire about the state of minorities in India from the visiting PM. That single action seems to have upset the BJP supporters.
The BJP’s reaction, as voiced by Finance Minister N Sitharaman sounds very worried. The argument of Sitharaman that Obama had ordered bombing of Moslem countries is in no way similar in nature to violence against minorities within India. While this may not be construed as supporting any group against any other, it is to be clearly understood that American foreign policy is irrevocably in favour of its own interests. The robust systems functioning in the US do not falter or get cowed down by the comings and goings of political heads of state. Unlike India, American foreign policy has been consistently in the interest of that country and its business alone. The robustness of the American system was proven when then President Donald Trump, unwilling to quit the presidency, was forced out of the White House in spite of the 6 January revolt.
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BJP’s reaction to Obama is only expected as adverse remarks on Modi and his rule coming from a prominent figure in US politics seems to have punctured the balloon of the PM’s diplomatic and economic narrative on the world stage which that the party seeks to turn into a major plank of its campaign for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. For, Obama has hurt the BJP where it hurts most – communal polarisation – that forms the core of its ideological moorings and electoral strategy, which it refuses to acknowledge on the global stage.
In a way, Obama’s comment during a TV interview stating when President Joe Biden met PM Modi, “the protection of Moslem minority in a majority Hindoo India is something worth mentioning,” is rather unusual. It struck a discordant note when the diplomatic establishment of India with help from the US was busy turning the visit into a propaganda hype of sorts. Obama was clear about the fact that such things are normally not spoken at the time of high level engagements between two countries for various lucrative deals. “You would have to do business with them because they are important for national security reasons, because there are a range of economic interests,” he said.
Obama was brutally honest in raising the burning internal issue of India that has already tarnished the nation’s democratic credentials in the international arena. Question may be asked why he made such comments when the US has economic stakes while clinching defence and high value business deals with India. He seems to have given the answer himself when he told the interviewer an incumbent President is so handicapped by mutual economic interests that he often cannot afford to touch on issues that may jeopardise business deals.
This seems to be the reason why Biden may have left this task to Obama. To be noted is that Biden was Vice President during Obama’s presidency. The fact that both belong to the Democratic Party also tends to make it clear that the concerns expressed by Obama were also what President Biden cannot articulate in public. Biden only told the media that he had taken up the issue with Modi. But, his remark was rather vague compared to Obama’s categorical statement that the Modi government’s policies might bring about the disintegration of
democratic India.
The worst part of Sitharaman’s response is that she even sought to hold the Congress and its leader Rahul Gandhi responsible for “maligning Modi abroad.” By this statement, she seems to communicate to Indians that Rahul Gandhi has been very successful in tarnishing Modi’s image abroad. This tiny example is proof enough that careless and short-sighted utterances from senior government office holders could have very bad diplomatic impact on the country as a whole.
