Faith, Oath and Obama

In a historically important occasion, Barrack Hussein Obama, a born Muslim and a practising Christian, took oath of office as the 44th and the first ever African-American President of the United States of America.

Obama,
the man of the moment having faith in God, was able to gain the faith
of millions of Americans, black, brown and white, who voted him to
power with huge hopes on him.

The fact that the inaugural ceremony was attended by 2 million
people braving the chill weather with forty thousand security personnel
guarding him at a huge cost of over $170 million is enough to mark the
significance of the occasion.

Such an expensive ceremony at a
time when the country’s economy is in a bad shape may be a matter of
concern, but the historical importance attached to it has overshadowed
that concern.

Obama did not take the oath on the ‘Constitution’ of USA, but on the ‘Bible’ once used by Abraham Lincoln. 
Being a practicing Christian and belonging to a country of Christian
majority, his act of taking oath on the Bible must be welcomed and
appreciated and this act is a symbolic assertion of his inner
convictions.

Obama confirmed this faith and unity, when he
conveyed his message to the terrorists by saying, ‘our spirit is
stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us and we will defeat
you’.

While warning the terrorists and terror sponsoring nations, he also sent a subtle, but strong message to Muslim world saying that he would seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect.

Even
while asserting his Christian faith, he has not forgotten to embrace
the ‘other citizens’ of America and said, ‘we are a nation of
Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus and nonbelievers’.

He
was so balanced in his speech that he focused on the ‘remaking’ of a
‘united’ America! Even with regards to ‘racism’ he had just made a
passing mention and left it at that.       
 
Obama, after conveying a customary thanks to the outgoing president,
has not minced any words in attacking him for the present sordid state
of affairs. He was extremely critical of the previous administration,
particularly with regards to foreign policy, economic policy and the
usage of energy.  

Obama has attained power by
promising ‘change’ for America, a change for progress, a change for
profit and a change for performance! But what change will he bring for
India-US relationship cannot be speculated now.

India
has to wait and see and the same for the rest of the world as well. The
arrival of the ‘black’ Barrack ‘Hussein’ Obama is a ‘breaking’ point in
US’s ‘white-Christian’ history and it can be hoped that it would
‘change’ for the better in future also.

Not only his swearing in ceremony, but also his inaugural speech
will be marked in history and remembered for years. His swearing in,
oath taking and faith asserting are indeed lessons to India, its
politicians and its people.

Any country, which respects the
majority community and embraces the minorities, without deviating from
its cultural heritage and religious traditions, will certainly prosper
and the downfall starts the day when it neglects the majority.

India’s progress may perhapsl commence, when its Prime Minister takes oath on the ‘Bhagwat Gita’ and asserts on India’s cultural heritage.