"Senorita, bade bade deshon mein....”
No, we are not reciting SRK’s dialogue. In fact, these iconic lines were recited by the former US President Barack Obama during his India visit in 2017. FYI, Obama visited India twice – in 2015 and 2017. During his second visit, he began his speech with a ‘Namaste!’ and recited the filmy line from Aditya Chopra’s movie Dilwale Dulhani Le Jayenge while addressing the Townhall.
On the occasion of Barack Obama’s 58th birthday, here’s a look at Obama’s quotes on India.
During his first visit in January 2015, Barack Obama stressed on the significance of women’s rights, clean energy, and religious tolerance. Here are five quotes from his Townhall address at Siri Fort in South Delhi.
· In the US, we are still working to ensure our women get equal opportunities. In India, it is the wives and mothers who hold the family together.
· Even as we live in a world of wrenching inequities, we’re also proud to live in countries where even the grandson of cook can become president, even a Dalit can help write a constitution, and even a tea-seller can become prime minister.
· America wants to be your partner in igniting the next wave of Indian growth. As India pursues reforms to encourage more trade and investment, we'll be the first in line. We want to help India build bullet trains and smart cities.
· We will succeed as long as we empower our young. Here in India, most people are under 35 years old. So you, young Indians, are going to define the world.
During his December 2017 India visit, Obama talked about religious freedom and his equation with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The Former US President also said that he had a discussion with Prime Minister Narendra Modi about religious freedom, but chose not to disclose the personal conversation. Here are quotes from his 2017 India visit.
· If India and the United States work together, there is no problem that we can't solve.
· Questioned on his equation with Modi, the former US president said that he shares a great rapport with Manmohan Singh and Modi. “I like him (Modi) and I think he has the vision for the country. But I was also great friends with Dr (Manmohan) Singh.” “The unifying thing (between Modi and Singh) was that (they advocated) strong US-India relations were important.”
