A communal India and a liberal US?

BARRACK HUSSEIN Obama will become the first black American president. He gave an answer to remarks from around the world that America would not tolerate a black man becoming its leader and silenced them. When Obama decided to compete at the presidential election, the first question that arose was, “Is America really ready to vote for a black president?” The notorious racial mentality of the Americans, especially the Ku Klux Klan’ brawls against the blacks for many years, gave rise to this question. Earlier, two people, describing themselves as neo-Nazis, were arrested for allegedly planning to murder Obama. They had targeted dozens of black people since they felt that the blacks were not suitable for ruling the country. This only strengthened the question if America was ready to vote for a black president.

The ancient relationship between America and the black community can be traced to the slavery business. So the American government denied the black people the right to vote in elections at the time. Now too a black man / woman can vote in U.S only if he / she is familiar with the country’s constitution. It is for this reason that most of the black people in the US don’t have an ID to vote.

There was also a section of Americans which had resolved never to vote for blacks. But when the election campaign kicked off, a survey conducted by TIME magazine found that most of the people belonging to the said section had changed their mind. This manifested itself in Obama’s speech during his campaigning. He said “Race will not affect the outcome, because while there are some whites who are unable to bring themselves to vote for an African-American, there are many thousands of Afro-Americans who are determined to make their votes count”. But now his view of the whites has changed thanks to the election results and according to them, “colour does not matter here in U.S; what matters more is moving the world forward with the right president in White House”. Reports say that 44 percent of white women and 56 percent of white men voted for Obama.

Some historians made the way clear for Obama by revealing that he was the 6th president with black ancestry. They underlined that former presidents Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Warren Harding and Calwin Coolidge had African ancestors which they kept under wraps for years. According to some poll findings, some blacks doubted that Obama would understand their problems. The hard-working man for the rights of blacks and Americans had the answer to it: “it is important that stories like mine are not used to say that everything is okay for blacks.”

Barrack Obama, a 47-year-old graduate of Columbia University, spent four years, heading a community development programme for poor blacks on Chicago’s northern side. His father was a finance minister in Kenya and his mother was an American anthropologist. Born in Hawaii, he spent most of his life for the welfare of the black and the poor. He is a democrat from Illinois and is the senate’s only black member.

A record turnout of around 130 million was forecast, suggesting newer and younger voters registering and that favoured Obama. It is quite clear that this younger generation created history by electing Obama. For them the most important problem was not racism but the economic crisis which had cut jobs and also led the country to be scoffed at by all the other countries. The country also wanted its soldiers to return from Iraq. So they didn’t mind Obama’s skin colour and religion (note his Muslim middle name, which is ‘Hussein’) but considered him as the right person to lead them. These changed the mindset of the Americans and ensured victory for Obama.

It should be a remarkable lesson for countries like India, which adhere to the motto ‘unity in diversity’.
Nowadays, regionalism, communalism and racism are the key words which decide the future of Indian politics. And of course communalism is at its worst in many states like Maharashtra, Jammu & Kashmir, Bihar and Jharkhand. As India gets communal, Americans are prepared to take a great leap forward – they are prepared to shed racism. Nations that still live under oppression and tyranny can find hope and motivation in USA’s commitment to liberty.

In conclusion, we can recall the Republican candidate John McCain’s statement, which he made after his defeat: “If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, tonight is your answer”. But it is not merely because America is a place where all things are possible. Now listen to Obama’s victory speech “It’s been a long time coming, but tonight ...changes have come to America”. Yes, the change has come and also a 40-year-old dream of Martin Luther King Jr has come true