Mr Barack Obama, the first African-American President of the world’s most powerful democracy, may have somewhat lost his “connect” with the American people ever since he took control of the White House. The veneer and the promise that he came with when he was swept into office about a year ago may have worn off a bit. But the 49-year-old President appeared to rock at least as far his address to a hallowed institution like the Indian Parliament on Monday evening is concerned as the gathered MPs applauded time and again and gave him a standing applause at the end of his address.
Mr Obama appeared to reach out to the huge gathering but to the Indian people at large not only by way of words of which he is an skilled user, but also his body language.
After all, when he strode into a packed Central Hall escorted by vice-president Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar around 5.30 pm, he didn’t confine himself to just a friendly hand-shake with the gathered MPs as he strode down the aisle.
Instead, the vey man who is being viewed as a somewhat distant figure by his countrymen and women chose to fold his hands in namaste to MPs before reaching out to shake their hands. He followed the same pattern once he had concluded his speech and was leaving the Central Hall — first a namaste and then a handshake. Many MPs stood throughout the speech owing to a paucity of seats.
He even reached out to the Indian people saying, “So I want to conclude by speaking directly to the people of India watching today... As you carry on with the hard-work ahead, I want every Indian citizen to know that: the United States of America will not be cheering you on rom the sidelines, We will be right there with you, shoulder to shoulder. Because we believe in the promise of India.”
Flanked by Ms Kumar on his left and Mr Ansari on his right, Mr Obama spoke after a brief welcome by the latter. Known for his oratorial skills, the President held the gathering in thrall in a speech that was sprinkled not only with references to Mahatma Gandhi of whom he is an ardent admirer but also other Indian leaders.
Indeed, as far as the Father of the Nation is concerned, President Obama said disarmingly: “And I am mindful that I might not be standing before you today as President of the United States had it not been for Gandhi and the message he shared with America and the world.” Speaking about Gandhiji, he acknowledged the profound influence he had had on him. “ I have always found inspiration in the life of Gandhiji and in his simple and profound lesson to be the change we seek in the world.”
The conclusion of his speech with a “Jai Hind” and a “Bahut dhanyavad” too drew appreciative applause from the gathering as also his reference to the Panchatantra and the “bylanes of Chandni Chowk”.
Swami Vivekananda too found mention in the US President’s speech as he recalled that he had visited his hometown of Chicago over a century ago.