Umar Malick, the President of Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC)- the largest advocacy group of Indian American Muslims, said that Mr Obama’s extensive remarks on the need for India to uphold religious freedom represented the collective concern of the international community over the situation of minorities in India and that his organization welcomed it.
“It is imperative for all Indians to heed President Obama’s call to resist any divisions along sectarian lines,” Mr Malick said.
“The deepening relationship between India and the US will be strengthened further when human rights and religious freedom are included in the framework of the US-India Strategic Dialogue.”
Dominic Emmanuel, director of New Delhi-based Sadbhavana- Institute for Communication and Inter-religious Dialogue, said that as an activist working for the rights of the minorities he was “delighted” that Mr Obama addressed the issue of concerns of the religious minorities.
“In his speech he covered most of the important issues between the two countries, from business cooperation to clean energy, to women’s empowerment. The icing on the cake, however, was his rattling off of the Article 25 (1) of the Indian Constitution, reminding everyone around how religious freedom is the bulwark of a mature democracy,” Fr Emmanuel said.
“We have welcomed his speech as wholeheartedly as we welcome the truth from any corner of the world.”
Activists Appeal Obama
Before the US President boarded the flight for India, Christians and Muslims had urged him to raise the issue of growing Hindu extremism and the concerns of India’s religious minorities while he was in India.
Christians posted a petition for Mr Obama on the White House portal. And, on behalf on Indian Muslims IAMC wrote a letter to him directly.
Representatives from both communities narrated in their letters to Mr Obama how they are being targeted by the Hindu extremist groups in different ways in India.
Hindu activists are “forcibly” converting the Christians and Muslims, violently attacking the church workers and Muslims, and their leaders are openly threatening to turn India “100% Hindu”, the letters said.
The news of the Christian and Muslim appeals to Mr Obama was largely ignored by the mainstream media, notes an associate editor of a major national English lanuguage newspaper.
“Many, including some senior journalists, in India believed that Mr Obama, who was on a visit to strengthen the partnership between the two countries, would avoid a sensitive issue like the accusation of persecution of the religious minorities in India because the ruling national government is led by a Hindu nationalist party (of BJP),” the editor, who does not want to be identified, said.
Cautions on Religious Division
“Mr Obama proved them all wrong. In his parting shot he has not only noted that he was aware of the rising Hindu extremism in India, in a fine diplomatic way he has noted that Mr Modi was silent on the issue and sent out a suggestion to the Indian prime minister that he should act fast to rein in the divisive forces in the country.”
After two days of effusive praises of Mr Modi and evocations of India’s potential as a global power, on the final day of his three-day visit, while addressing a Town Hall even at Siri Fort Auditorium before 2,000 mostly young Indians, Mr Obama said that India needed to work to promote gender equality, fight climate change and do more to protect human rights.
“America can be India’s best partner. America wants to be your partner as you lift up the lives of the Indian people and provide greater opportunity,” he said.
He spoke forcefully about India’s responsibility to crack down on child labor and human trafficking, and to stop treating women as second-class citizens.
But most of the Town Hall audience was sort of surprised when he raised the issue of persecution of religious minorities. In his speech he hinted that he was concerned or at least aware of how growing Hindu extremism threatened Christian and Muslim minorities in India.
He cited an Article of the Indian Constitution that deals with a citizen’s Right to Freedom of religion to highlight the point that India should let every citizen practise his faith freely.
“Your Article 25 (1) [of the Indian Constitution] says all people are equally entitled to the freedom of conscience and have right to freely profess and practise and propagate religion. In both our countries, in all countries upholding with freedom of religion is the utmost responsibility of the government but also the responsibility of every person,” Mr Obama said.
He called for religious tolerance in a nation that, like the US, is home to citizens following a wide array of faiths and cautioned that none should be allowed raise divisive forces.
“We have to guard against any effort to divide us on sectarian lines,” he said.
Gharwapsi Takes Persecution to New Height
Although persecution of Muslims have taken place in Hindu-majority India for many decades with many thousands of Muslims losing lives in scores of anti-Muslim riots, Christians too have been violently targeted by Hindu extremism in recent years.
With many of their leaders claiming that they would turn India “100% Hindu”, in recent months the Hindu right wing groups in recent months have stepped up their drive to convert Muslims and Christians in a controversial Hindu Gharwapsi (Homecoming) or “reconversion” program across the country.
As Christians and Muslims raised voices of protest against the Hindu Gharwapsi programs, the news of the allegedly forcible reconversion to Hinduism by the Hindu groups have found space in the international media.
Shillong-based North Eastern Hill University professor Prasenjit Biswas said Mr Obama’s comment on preserving religious tolerance and the matrix of harmony between religions in India “is a clear hint at recent atmosphere of majoritarian religious violence by the far right”.
“Obama held the present central government responsible for violation of religious freedom of minorities especially the Muslims. His caution against misuse of religion bears positive impact on strengthening India’s liberal-secular traditions,” Prof Biswas, who is also known as human rights campaigner, said.
Noting that Washington recently lifted the visa ban on Modi to open up the possibility of greater inter-religious understanding as part of America’s appreciation for the democratic verdict in favour of Modi, Prof Biswas cautioned that intolerance will effect economic growth of India by creating multiple social and economic rifts both at home and internationally.
“India’s dependence in energy sector on the Gulf nation will be its first casualty. It will also create home grown terror that would cost more lives than the country can ill afford,” he said.
“Obama Wants Hindutva Forces Reined in”
Editor of New Delhi-based Urdu newspaper Asia Express and member of advisory council of Jamaat e Islami Hind, Mujtaba Farooq said that as a global leader Mr Obama is “concerned with the growing violence against religious minorities in the largest democracy of the world”.
“After Muslims were massacred in Gujarat Riots, the US took note of it and so Mr Modi, who was Gujarat’s chief minister faced the American visa ban. Now the US administration has been aware of the ongoing aggression unleashed by the Hindutva groups,” Mr Farooq said.
“So, in a softer way Mr Obama has asked Mr Modi to rein in the Hindutva goons…we are thankful to the US president for addressing our concerns.”
Mr John Dayal, spokesperson of India’s United Christian Forum for Human Rights, said that Mr Obama’s speech was significant for many reasons.
“It’s important firstly because it comes in the context of Mr Obama’s official talks on India’s economic and nuclear cooperation with the United States and his witnessing of India’s growing military strength in the Republic Day parade and, secondly, because, he now knows it well how the vicious hate campaign and violence by members of the (RSS family) Sangh Parivar has targeted Muslim and Christian communities in India,” Mr Dayal, who is also a member of Indian government’s National Integration Council, said.
Mr Obama made it obvious to Indian government and the country’s political leaders that the world is watching this country as it stakes claim to be a member of the elite global economic and strategic clubs, Mr Dayal said.
“Mr Obama has also made it clear that the world is also concerned about the rising divisive forces that are threatening to disintegrate India.”
