Washington Post carries Obama-Modi editorial

Joint effort by India and the US will help shape international security and peace for years to come, wrote Barack Obama and Narendra Modi in their joint-editorial on Washington post. 

The President and the Prime Minister showcasing their digital diplomacy spoke about the common bound of their commitment to democracy, liberty, diversity and enterprise.

Calling ties between the US and India as rooted in the shared desire of its citizens for justice and equality, they spoke of Swami Vivekananda and how he presented Hinduism as a world religion, doing so at the 1893 World’s Parliament of Religions in Chicago. 

They also drew out examples from Martin Luther King Jr. and his fight to end discrimination and prejudice against African Americans which was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s nonviolent teachings. While Gandhiji himself drew upon the writings of Henry David Thoreau.

Speaking on the current partnership, the two called it a “robust, reliable and enduring” one which revolved around bilateral collaboration “not just at the federal level but also at the state and local levels, between our two militaries, private sectors and civil society.” 

They also wrote on the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, also a BJP leader, who declared that the two countries were natural allies.

On the growing cooperation, the two wrote, “On any given day, our students work together on research projects, our scientists develop cutting-edge technology and senior officials consult closely on global issues. Our militaries conduct joint exercises in air, on land and at sea, and our space programs engage in unprecedented areas of cooperation, leading us from Earth to Mars. And in this partnership, the Indian American community has been a vibrant, living bridge between us. Its success has been the truest reflection of the vitality of our people, the value of America’s open society and the strength of what we can do when we join together”.

Hailing the advent of a new government in India as a “natural opportunity to broaden and deepen” the relationship, they went on to write about a reinvigorated level of ambition and confidence to go beyond modest and conventional goals.

They discussed partnership in business, science and governance to improve the “quality, reliability and availability of basic services, especially for the poorest of citizens”. 

Modi’s agenda to clean India was also backed in the editorial with them writing of “an immediate area of concrete support” for the campaign.

The shared efforts, the two wrote, is to benefit the people. “While India benefits from the growth generated by US investment and technical partnerships, the United States benefits from a stronger, more prosperous India. In turn, the region and the world benefit from the greater stability and security that our friendship creates. We remain committed to the larger effort to integrate South Asia and connect it with markets and people in Central and Southeast Asia.”

The two leaders also committed to enhancing the homeland security by sharing intelligence, “through counterterrorism and law-enforcement cooperation, while we jointly work to maintain freedom of navigation and lawful commerce across the seas”. 

The two leaders also wrote on collaboration to tackle and combat the spread of Ebola, researching cancer cures and conquering diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria and dengue. “And we intend to expand our recent tradition of working together to empower women, build capacity and improve food security in Afghanistan and Africa.”

They ended the editorial with a “promise of a better tomorrow” which is not solely for “Indians and Americans: It also beckons us to move forward together for a better world. This is the central premise of our defining partnership for the 21st century. Forward together we go — chalein saath saath.”