Delhi elections: AAP, Congress object to BJP #39;s #39;Obama card #39;
Prior to Delhi elections, AAP and Congress object to BJP using the #39;Obama card #39; to garner votes. After his visit, Kiran Bedi and newspapers have taken to praising Modi for Obama #39;s visit to...
By: Aaj Tak
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Delhi elections: AAP, Congress object to BJP's 'Obama card' - Video
Mann ki Baat: Going to tell my daughters that India is magnificent, said Obama
For the first time, #39;Mann ki Baat #39; included questions from the show #39;s listeners and featured everything - from save the girl child to Modi #39;s trip to the US to Obama #39;s daughters. Follow us:...
By: Headlines Today
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Mann ki Baat: Going to tell my daughters that India is magnificent, said Obama - Video
President Obama urged support for religious tolerance and human rights in a speech Tuesday in New Delhi, drawing on the American experience and his own personal ones to soften a message with the potential to give offense to his Indian hosts, especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
American society isnt immune from intolerance and violence, Obama said, recalling the 2012 attack on Sikh worshipers at a temple in Wisconsin as an example of the darkest impulses of man.
In his own life, the president said, his Christian faith has been questioned by people who dont know me, a reference to lingering suspicions among some about his Islamic heritage on his fathers side.
Every person has the right to practice their faith how they choose, he said, or to practice no faith at all, and to do so free from persecution and fear.
The speech was the first Obama has delivered on his three-day trip to India without Modi at his side. The two leaders have displayed a concerted effort this week to emphasize the shared interests of their countries and the personal amity between the two of them, and Obama had not previously raised his concerns about human rights in a direct and public way.
But his final set of remarks on the way out of the country came as reformists are hoping Modi will mute the divisive agenda of his militant Hindu-nationalist supporters and turn the countrys attention more squarely to economic reform.
Hindu militants have recently run campaigns of mass conversion to bribe or force Muslims and Christians to change their religion, including in Modis home state of Gujarat.
Though Indian courts found no evidence of Modis involvement in deadly religious rioting there when he was the states the top elected official, Muslims and Christians are still wary of his right-wing party.
Modis Bharatiya Janata Party grew out of a right-wing Hindu nationalist movement, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, whose leaders believe that India is a fundamentally Hindu nation. The South Asian nations 1.2 billion people are 78% Hindu, with Muslims making up the largest religious minority at 14%, according to 2011 census figures.
In recent months, the RSS, for which Modi worked as a volunteer before entering politics, has announced mass camps to reconvert Muslims and Christians to Hinduism, claiming their forefathers were forced to change their religions. Hindu fundamentalists also have accused Muslims of marrying Hindu girls for the sole purpose of converting them to Islam, a practice dubbed love jihad.
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Obama urges religious tolerance, human rights in India
President Obama dashed from India to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday in a hastily planned trip aimed at setting out on the right foot with the new leader of a key ally.
Obama cut short a visit in India to be one of the first world leaders to meet with King Salman since the death Friday of his half brother King Abdullah, who was 90. Obama arrived in Riyadh with a large bipartisan delegation of U.S. dignitaries and officials.
King Salman, a sword-bearing guard and members of the royal family greeted the president at the airport.
The trip served as a reminder of the importance of the U.S. relationship with the kingdom. Despite a boon in domestic fuel production and major shifts in the geopolitics of the Middle East, the Saudis are still viewed as a linchpin to U.S. goals in the region, including a nuclear deal with Iran, a credible coalition in the fight against Islamic State and counter-terrorism efforts in a rapidly destabilizing Yemen.
It is important for us to take into account existing relationships, the existing alignments within a very complicated Middle East, Obama told CNNs Fareed Zakaria in an interview aired Tuesday.
Obama was close to King Abdullah, deputy national security council advisor Ben Rhodes told reporters on the way to Riyadh.
It will be important for the president to establish that relationship with King Salman, Rhodes said.
The president was joined by a 29-member delegation of current advisors as well as officials from earlier administrations who worked closely with the royal family, the White House said. The list included three former national security advisors and two former secretaries of State, James A. Baker III and Condoleezza Rice.
Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), as well as House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) also made the trip, as did Obamas secretary of State, CIA director, national security advisor and the head of U.S. Central Command.
Obama and Salman made no public comments before their private meeting, a break from typical White House practice. There was no public toast at the lavish dinner of lobster soup, grilled lamb and French pastries for the U.S. delegation. Obamas only comment to reporters following him on the trip was to thank them, a signal that a photo opportunity had ended.
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Obama, senior delegation meet with Saudi Arabia's King Salman
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia President Obama defended the U.S. government's willingness to cooperate closely with Saudi Arabia on national security despite deep concerns over human rights abuses, as he joined an array of current and former American statesmen Tuesday in paying respects following the death of King Abdullah.
Saudi Arabia's status as one of Washington's most important Arab allies has at times appeared to trump U.S. concerns about the terrorist funding that flows from the kingdom and about human rights abuses. But Obama said he has found it most effective to apply steady pressure over human rights "even as we are getting business done that needs to get done."
"Sometimes we need to balance our need to speak to them about human rights issues with immediate concerns we have in terms of counterterrorism or dealing with regional stability," Obama said in a CNN interview in advance of his arrival.
King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud Salman formally greeted Obama and the U.S. delegation at the Erga Palace on the outskirts of Riyadh, where dozens of Saudi officials filed through a marble-walled room to greet the Americans under massive crystal chandeliers. After a three-course dinner of grilled meats, baked lobster and Arabic and French deserts, Obama and Salman sat down for their first formal meeting without making any comments to reporters covering the visit.
Ahead of his arrival, Obama suggested that he would not be raising U.S. concerns about Saudi Arabia's flogging of blogger Raif Badawi, who was convicted of insulting Islam and sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes.
His first flogging took place in early January in front of dozens of people in the Red Sea city of Jiddah, though a second round has been postponed after a doctor said his wounds from the first lashes had not yet healed.
"On this visit, obviously a lot of this is just paying respects to King Abdullah, who in his own fashion presented some modest reform efforts within the kingdom," Obama said.
Stepping off the plane earlier in Riyadh, the president and first lady Michelle Obama were greeted by Salman and a military band playing both countries' national anthems. Some of the all-male Saudi delegation shook hands with Mrs. Obama while others gave her a nod as they passed by. Mrs. Obama wore full-length clothing but no headscarf, as is typical for many Western women in Saudi Arabia, despite the strict dress code for Saudi women appearing in public.
Obama cut short the final day of his trip to India to make the four-hour stop in Riyadh. Further underscoring the key role Saudi Arabia has long played in U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East was the extensive delegation that joined Obama for the visit.
Secretary of State John Kerry joined Obama in Riyadh, along with former Secretaries of State Condoleezza Rice and James Baker III, both of whom served Republican presidents. Former White House national security advisers Brent Scowcroft, Sandy Berger and Stephen Hadley also made the trip, as did Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a frequent critic of Obama's Mideast policy.
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Obama defends US ties as he pays respects in Saudi Arabia - VIDEO: Obama to meet with new Saudi ruler