NEW DELHI - US President Barack Obama warned India Tuesday it would not succeed if it splintered along religious lines, sounding a note of caution after two days of mostly upbeat talks with the country’s Hindu nationalist leader.
Obama told an audience of mostly young Indians that everyone should be able to practise their faith without fear of persecution, recalling that the mainly Hindu country’s constitution enshrined freedom of religion. “Nowhere is that more important than India, nowhere is it going to be more necessary for that foundational value to be upheld,” he said.
“India will succeed so long as it is not splintered along lines of religious faith.”
India is a secular country, but its history is marked with outbreaks of religious violence, notably against its sizeable Muslim minority.
The issue of religious freedom has become particularly contentious since the election last year of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a fervent Hindu nationalist.
The United States blacklisted Modi following anti-Muslim violence that left at least 1,000 people dead in Gujarat, where he was state chief minister before winning last year’s election. Modi, leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), denies any wrongdoing and the Indian courts have cleared him of all charges.But the failure of his administration to control the violence and his refusal to apologise have left a legacy of distrust and suspicion.
Modi has also been heavily criticised for failing to speak out against a BJP lawmaker who recently called for Hindu women to have at least four children to “protect” their religion and supported a recent spate of ‘re-conversions’ to Hinduism.
In his address on Tuesday, Obama said the United States could be India’s “best partner”.
The US president reiterated that the relationship between Washington and New Delhi “can be one of the defining partnerships of this century” but warned the battle against climate change would be doomed unless India was fully on board.
The speech was the finale of a packed visit which has seen a dramatic upturn in an often troubled relationship, including the signing of a new “friendship” declaration between Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“India and the United States are not just natural partners - I believe that America can be India’s best partner,” said Obama after receiving a rapturous welcome from a group of around 1,500 people.
“Of course, only Indians can decide India’s role in the world. But I’m here because I am absolutely convinced that both our peoples will have more jobs and opportunity, our nations will be more secure, and the world will be a safer and more just place when our two democracies stand together.”
Obama’s speech was the final engagement on his visit, the centre-piece of which was his attendance as chief guest at Monday’s Republic Day parade - one of the biggest honours that India can bestow on a foreign leader.
Both Obama and Modi have been at pains to demonstrate their personal rapport during the visit and announced a breakthrough on a nuclear deal on Sunday that had stalled under India’s last government, although there have been few other substantive policy announcements.
Obama has said the “stars are aligned” to realise the ambitions he expressed when he last visited in 2010 for the two countries to become global partners.
The United States is looking to reinvigorate alliances in the Asia-Pacific as part of Obama’s “pivot” east, and has taken note of Modi’s more assertive stance towards China than his predecessor.
Obama also said that freedom of navigation must be upheld. “The United States welcomes a greater role for India in the Asia Pacific, where the freedom of navigation must be upheld and disputes must be resolved peacefully,” Obama said.
But Obama warned the world does not “stand a chance against climate change” unless developing countries reduce dependence on fossil fuels. “I know the argument made by some, that it’s unfair for countries like the United States to ask developing nations and emerging economies like India to reduce your dependence on the same fossil fuels that helped power our growth for more than a century,” Obama said. “But here’s the truth: even if countries like the United States curb our emissions, if growing countries like India - with soaring energy needs - don’t also embrace cleaner fuels, then we don’t stand a chance against climate change.”
India has balked at committing itself to major cuts in carbon emissions ahead of a UN climate summit in December, arguing that it will not set itself targets that undermine efforts to boost living standards in a country where many of the 1.2 billion population live in poverty.