Two months after prime minister Manmohan Singh told outgoing US president George W Bush that Indians loved him, the country reacted with absolute joy to Barack Obama’s election.
NEW DELHI: Two months after prime minister Manmohan Singh told outgoing US president George W Bush that Indians loved him, the country reacted with absolute joy to Barack Obama’s election on Wednesday as the 44th American president. The astounding victory and the way it was crafted came in for praise from the country’s political class.
Politicians of all hues hailed the win as a “historical event”. “It is without doubt an epoch-making event, history will record it as a day when the tide turned in the US,” Karan Singh, former minister and head of the Congress foreign affairs cell, said.
The BJP and the CPI(M) too were all praise. “Obama’s victory has raised many hopes in the country, more so because Mahatma Gandhi is one of his inspirations,” Yashwant Sinha, BJP’s former foreign minister, said.
The CPI(M) is not known for its love of anything American but it too described the victory as a significant event. “The election of the first black president is a significant event in the history of the US,” party general secretary Prakash Karat said.
He, however, could not resist taking a dig at Manmohan Singh for his undisguised soft corner for Bush. “I wonder where it will leave our prime minister because he has expressed profound love for George Bush,” Karat said.
“These elections have also shown how deeply unpopular Bush is after eight years of presidency.”
Alongside praise concern was also raised about how some policies of the Obama administration would affect India. “What policy directions it will take, we will have to wait and watch. Changes have been promised but we will have to see what kind of change,” Karat said.
Sinha was of the view that since Democrats had a very strong stand on non-proliferation, “we have to watch out with regard to CTBT and NPT and be vigilant that nothing comes against the country’s interest”.
GenNext politicos were greatly impressed by Obama. Sachin Pilot of the Congress felt his party should take a leaf out of Obama’s book and “reinvent itself”.
Pilot appeared particularly impressed by the manner in which Obama united people cutting across barriers of colour and class. “He rose above all this and proved to be the unifying factor at a time when communal forces are once again coming to the fore. The Congress is in a unique position to emulate Obama and unite the country,” he said.
Another former external affairs minister Natwar Singh felt there were several lessons for the Indian political class in the rise of Obama.
“We need to give the youth a chance, let people who have the vision and charisma come to the fore,” he said.
j_ansari@dnaindia.net
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