The final speech of the President of America, Barack Obama gave the right message to those who were present in the Town Hall as well as to those who watched it on television in their homes. Many listeners likened Mr Obama to a rock star and expressed their views on what he said, about empowerment of women, religious freedom, and opportunities to make progress in our lives even though we are not coming from privileged societies. The President was humble enough to reveal that he himself, who rose to become the President of the United States of America, is the grandson of a cook who served the British in Kenya. The President’s speech received a thumbs up from all those who heard him in the Town Hall and elsewhere.
Mr Obama rightly said that India can progress if it is not split on religious lines. Are our Members of Parliament, Hindutava leaders such as Maharaj and Sadvhi listening? As it is written umpteen times in our social media and in the press, it need not be repeated a million times over. People with common sense and wish for peace and progress in India must not make controversial statements and hurt the sentiments of religious minorities in this country.
Recently the Municipal Schools in Gujarat were forced to offers prayers to Saraswati, Hindu Goddess of Knowledge, despite opposition from minorities. Even a learned BJP leader was quoted as saying that the students belonging to minority community can keep quiet if they do not like to recite the prayers. He might say that he has right to free speech to voice his opinion. It is not the right to free speech but right speech that is required to keep all the controversies at bay and waste our time and energy in endless discussions in the media.
In this age of digital media any view expressed by our leaders goes viral and even trial by media is not impossible. Our PM is a great communicator, but in certain matters of importance like statements of religious nature by the leaders of his own party or associates, he seems to deliberately prefer to keep silent. If an American President can do so during his trip to India, what makes our own PM remain silent?
