FORMER US president Barrack Obama is reported to have ‘privately’ told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that India should not be divided on sectarian lines. He is said to have emphasised how the Indian society needed to cherish that Indian Muslims identify themselves as Indians.

Is Mr Obama qualified to advise Mr Modi on India’s unity and diversity issues, since his track record in avoiding violence in the US during his eight years as president was abysmal? During the period when Mr Obama was president, many shootings took place and he could do nothing other than expressing his sadness.

When he was president, he could not show any particular leadership qualities. He made a racist appeal to blacks in the US to assert hemselves for their rights and privileges, while campaigning against MrTrump during the recent presidential election. He virtually asked the blacks to vote for his Democratic Party in view of their colour and he expected that his background as “not a white President” will make the blacks in the US vote for his party.

Given such background of Mr Obama, one wonders whether he has the credentials to advise Mr Modi about any issue relating to minorities in India.

J.S. Anand

United States

Published in Dawn, December 14th, 2017