Obama's Siri Fort speech showed US is not ignorant of Sangh Pariwar agenda

By Pawan Khera The high optic visit of President Obama has ended. The outcome of the visit in terms of tangible achievements for both sides will only be known once the heat, dust and gush of reports on the colors of Modi’s attire make way for a threadbare analysis of the three day visit. [caption id=“attachment_2067055” align=“alignleft” width=“380” class=" “]  US President Barack Obama speaking at Siri Fort. AP image[/caption] The government would like us to measure the success of the visit from the friendly banter, the ‘Chai Pe Charcha’, the countless times both leaders addressed each other by their first names and above all from the reaction of Pakistan and China. In diplomacy the mirror shown to you comes with several images to confuse you and soften the impact of the reflection you are condemned to see. Through his speech at Delhi’s Siri Fort auditorium, President Obama was holding that mirror. Through his speech Obama balanced what he knew with what he was being shown. Through his speech, Obama made it amply clear that he was not a mere tableau at the Republic Day parade to be shown to a mushy audience; that he could see what was hidden behind the regalia of Lutyens’ glitter; that while a short public memory may have brought Modi to power, and the US may have deleted his name from the Religious Freedom Reports in July 2014, America has neither forgotten 2002 nor is ignorant of the aggressive agenda being pursued by the Sangh Pariwar. Through his speech, Obama was commenting on the terrain Modi belongs to and is unable to get rid of. Social Media and Internet have made the concept of short memory a thing of the past. While Modi as Prime Minister is a result of a short memory of a nation, Obama’s presidency is a careful resurrection and preservation of a long memory - the memory of violent exploitation and the discrimination that generations belonging to his race have gone through. By resorting to quote from nothing short of the Constitution of India, Obama acknowledged the lack of a clear condemnation by Narendra Modi of the radical affiliates of the Sangh Pariwar. The fiction, rumor or hope of Modi’s unhappiness with these elements carried as ‘reports from sources’ does little to counter the facts of the loud narrative on Ghar Wapsi, Love Jihad, four children, haramzada etc. Why has there been no clear condemnation of this narrative from a PM so happy to communicate? Why did it take an Obama to remind us about Article 25 of our Constitution? Obama had to quote from Gandhiji to Vivekananda, from Martin Luther King to the Constitution of India to legitimize the handshakes and the hugs with a man who did little to allay the fears of the liberal society at home and abroad. He made a reference to the brilliant performance of women of the armed forces in the Republic Day parade only to remind us of the status of women in the Republic. For those who understand diplomacy, this was Obama’s expression of outrage at the horrifying tales of what women go through - a reminder to us that the reality of the condition of Indian women in the janpads cannot be covered by showcasing women’s power on the Rajpath. President Obama reminded us that there is a difference between finding ourselves in global situations and actually becoming global in our outlook and our approach towards women, diverse social groups and belief systems. Pawan Khera is associated with the Congress party. All views expressed here are personal.