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Obama Ends Visit With Challenge to India on Climate Change
Obama Ends Visit With Challenge to India on Climate Change
(about 11 hours later)
NEW DELHI — President Obama pressed India on Tuesday to do more to curb the pollution that is choking its capital and contributing to global climate change, as he wrapped up a visit that yielded no meaningful breakthrough on the issue.
NEW DELHI — President Obama concluded his three-day trip here Tuesday with a tough-love message to his hosts as he vowed to be “India’s best partner” in taking its place in the ranks of the world’s great powers but urged it to do more to protect human rights and fight climate change.
While India and the United States agreed to cooperate in promoting cleaner energy, Mr. Obama left after three days without the sort of specific commitment to curbing greenhouse gases that he won in China last year. Instead, he used a farewell speech before his departure to argue that India had an obligation to step up, despite its economic challenges.
In a pointed message wrapped in the language of friendship, Mr. Obama said India needed to combat human trafficking and slavery, elevate the status of girls and women in society, promote religious and racial tolerance and empower young people. He also argued that India had an obligation to curb greenhouse gases despite its economic challenges.
“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,” Mr. Obama told an audience of 1,500 mostly young Indians at Siri Fort Auditorium on the final day of his trip here.
Mr. Obama’s speech was aimed partly at his newfound friend, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has been criticized for not doing more to protect political dissent, to guard against sectarian discrimination and conflict. While the two shared a warm visit, Mr. Obama in effect was saying that their developing partnership did not mean Mr. Modi would get a free pass.
“But here’s the truth,” he added. “Even if countries like the United States curb our emissions, if countries that are growing rapidly like India with soaring energy needs don’t also embrace cleaner fuels, then we don’t stand a chance against climate change.”
“America can be India’s best partner,” he told an audience of 1,500 mostly young Indians at Siri Fort Auditorium before departing the country. “America wants to be your partner as you lift up the lives of the Indian people and provide greater opportunity.”
The president’s remarks came during a speech with a broader tough-love message, lavishing praise on India and pledging friendship while challenging it to cut back on human rights abuses. He urged India to protect the rights of girls and women, combat human trafficking and slavery, promote religious and racial tolerance, and empower young people.
Mr. Obama spoke forcefully about India’s responsibility to stop treating women as second-class citizens. “Every girl’s life matters,” he said, as his wife, Michelle Obama, watched from the audience. “Every daughter deserves the same chance as our sons. Every woman should be able to go about her day — to walk the street or ride the bus — and be safe and be treated with respect and dignity. She deserves that.”
“America can be India’s best partner,” he said to applause, and he repeated his support for India to become a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. “But as I’ve said before, with power comes responsibility.”
In a country where human rights groups say tens of millions of people are subject to forced labor, Mr. Obama added that India needed to crack down. “Together, we can stand up against human trafficking and work to end the scourge of modern-day slavery,” he said. But he did not mention the case of an Indian diplomat who was arrested in New York after being accused of exploiting her housekeeper, an episode that roiled the countries’ relationship for months.
It was a notably pointed speech at the end of a trip dominated by displays of affection. But Mr. Obama had come under pressure from advocacy groups at home not to leave India without delivering a strong appeal for human rights in a country proud of its democracy.
Mr. Obama called for religious tolerance in a nation that, like the United States, is home to a wide array of beliefs. “India will succeed so long as it is not splintered along the lines of religious faith — so long as it’s not splintered along any lines, and is unified as one nation,” he said.
Just before the speech, in fact, he met with Kailash Satyarthi, the Nobel Peace laureate who has long fought child slavery in India. Mr. Satyarthi told the president that there were still five million child slaves worldwide.
It was a notably sharp speech at the end of a trip dominated by displays of affection. But Mr. Obama had come under pressure from advocacy groups to deliver a strong appeal for human rights in a country proud of its democracy. Just before the speech, in fact, he met with Kailash Satyarthi, the Nobel Peace laureate who has long fought child slavery in India. Mr. Satyarthi told him there were still five million children living as slaves worldwide.
Mr. Obama’s speech was aimed partly at his newfound friend, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has been criticized for not doing more to protect political dissent, guard against sectarian discrimination and tackle human trafficking. In effect, Mr. Obama was saying that their developing partnership did not mean Mr. Modi would get a free pass.
But as he often does, Mr. Obama couched his edged comments with an acknowledgment of American flaws, an effort to avoid seeming like he was lecturing. He cited his own experiences as an African-American. “Even as America has blessed us with extraordinary opportunities, there were moments in my life where I’ve been treated differently because of the color of my skin,” he said.
But as he often does overseas, Mr. Obama couched his sharp comments with an acknowledgment that the United States had its own flaws, an effort to avoid looking too much like he was lecturing. He cited his own experiences as an African-American. “Even as America has blessed us with extraordinary opportunities, there were moments in my life where I’ve been treated differently because of the color of my skin,” he said.
For many Indian listeners, Mr. Obama’s words on religious diversity were the most important — and the most delicate — part of his speech, said Siddharth Varadarajan, a veteran journalist in India, adding that the president’s warnings “will not go over well” with leaders in Mr. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.
Mr. Obama appeared particularly impassioned as he talked about the need to stop treating women as second-class citizens. “Every girl’s life matters,” he said, as his wife, Michelle Obama, watched from the audience. “Every daughter deserves the same chance as our sons. Every woman should be able to go about her day — to walk the street, or ride the bus — and be safe and be treated with respect and dignity. She deserves that.”
Since Mr. Modi’s election last year, right-wing Hindu groups have tried to convert members of religious minorities, arguing that Muslims or Christians, or their forebears, were originally Hindu themselves. One of Mr. Modi’s ministers recently asked an audience, in a play on words in Hindi, to “decide whether you want a government of those born of Ram, or those born illegitimately,” words interpreted as derogatory to Muslims.
In a country where human rights groups say tens of millions of people are subject to forced labor, Mr. Obama added that India needed to crack down on that problem. “Together, we can stand up against human trafficking and work to end the scourge of modern-day slavery,” he said. But he did not mention the case of an Indian diplomat who was arrested in New York after being accused of exploiting her housekeeper, an episode that roiled the countries’ relationship for a time.
Although Mr. Modi is said to have discouraged such rhetoric in private, he has so far made no public comment about them, though human rights activists have urged him to do so.
Mr. Obama tried to link India’s aspirations for its future to America’s own efforts to build a better society, noting similarities between the constitutions of the two countries and the diversity of large, multicultural societies.
“In as gentle and as diplomatic way as possible, Obama was drawing attention to something that is really, really important to India,” said Mr. Varadarajan. “In saying so, he has inadvertently drawn attention to Modi’s silence on the issue.”
“As Americans, we believe in the promise of India,” he said. “We believe in the people of India. We are proud to be your friend. We are proud to be your partner as you build the country of your dreams.”
For the last decade, Mr. Modi’s own relationship with the United States was dominated by human rights, a fact that both sides now downplay. The United States government denied him a visa in 2005 over allegations that he failed to stop religious riots in the state he led, where 1,000 people were killed, most of them Muslim. An Indian trial court ruled that there was no evidence that Mr. Modi was responsible.
That message was noticed beyond the auditorium. “Here is a world leader, who is the prime minister’s friend, and he is saying, ‘This will cost you if you don’t stop. You’re stepping up to the high table, and sitting at the high table requires you to play by certain rules,’ ” Praveen Swami, a journalist, said on the television news channel NDTV.
Mr. Obama was careful not to tread on any of Mr. Modi’s sore points such as mentioning the 2002 riots, said Mr. Varadarajan. “I don’t think the United States is going to take this further,” he said. “There is too much riding on the commercial side for this to jeopardize anything. But I suppose somewhere down the line, the message goes out that in this globalized world, what you do at home is taken note of by your friends abroad.”
C. Raja Mohan, an analyst speaking on the same channel, said the speech was a warning to Mr. Modi. “It’s a good caution to the ruling party: ‘Don’t think you can keep doing what you’re doing domestically and you won’t get a reaction from the international community,’ ” Mr. Mohan said.
Others, though, bristled at what they considered a hectoring tone. Chetan Bhagwat, a popular author, noted that Mr. Obama would not give such an address at his next stop, in Saudi Arabia, a country known for its repressive monarchy, a ban on women driving cars and a recent conviction of a blogger sentenced to 1,000 lashes and 10 years in prison for supposedly insulting Islam.
Mr. Modi has been careful to stay away from divisive rhetoric since he became prime minister, but he was an activist with a right-wing Hindu organization, Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh, before he went into politics. Right-wing groups campaigned very effectively for him, and since he was elected, they have pushed for a more activist agenda.
“He’s not even going to get a chance to give a speech like that there and he is much closer to them,” Mr. Bhagwat told the news channel NDTV. “To say the prime minister took it really seriously is to go a little too far.”
One group has announced a campaign to convert members of religious minorities to Hinduism, arguing that Muslims or Christians, or their forebears, were originally Hindu themselves. And one of Mr. Modi’s ministers recently asked an audience, in a play on words in Hindi, to “decide whether you want a government of those born of Ram, or those born illegitimately,” words interpreted as derogatory to Muslims.
On a morning when New Delhi was bathed in smog, the president’s remarks on climate change touched on a central priority of his visit. While he and Mr. Modi agreed to cooperate in promoting cleaner energy, Mr. Obama left without the sort of specific commitment to curbing greenhouse gases that he won in China last year. Instead, he used the farewell speech to press India to take on the issue more robustly.
Though Mr. Modi is said to have discouraged such rhetoric in private, he has so far made no public comment on these events, as human rights activists have urged him to do.
“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,” he said. “But here’s the truth: Even if countries like the United States curb our emissions, if countries that are growing rapidly like India with soaring energy needs don’t also embrace cleaner fuels, then we don’t stand a chance against climate change.”
“Because he is such a strong leader and such a prominent face in government, it always comes down to him, that he isn’t speaking,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, the South Asia director of Human Rights Watch. “Does that convey the leaning of the administration? Because that is why minorities begin to feel vulnerable.”
Beyond India’s domestic issues, Mr. Obama’s speech seemed aimed at encouraging the country to play a greater role on the world stage. Ms. Ganguly noted that India was a “chronic abstainer” from United Nations resolutions on human rights violations in places like Syria and North Korea.
“It’s an important message to say we welcome India to the club of countries that influence global affairs, but in that case you must influence it; you cannot abstain,” she said. “You have to accept the responsibility of it.”
On a morning when New Delhi was bathed in smog, the president’s remarks on climate change touched on one of the central priorities of his meetings with Mr. Modi. Although Mr. Obama and his team had recognized that they would not get the same sort of deal they got in China in November, they were mainly left to announce a series of smaller initiatives.
They took solace from a rhetorical commitment by Mr. Modi to support a United Nations process to develop a global climate agreement in Paris by the end of the year. But the test will be whether India eventually makes specific commitments to reduce the growth of its carbon emissions by a specific date. The president used his speech to push the Indians in that direction.
“With rising seas, melting Himalayan glaciers, more unpredictable monsoons, cyclones getting stronger, few countries will be more affected by a warmer planet than India,” Mr. Obama said. “The United States recognizes our part in creating this problem, so we’re leading the global effort to combat it. And today, I can say that America’s carbon pollution is near its lowest level in almost two decades.”
“We’ll continue to help India deal with the impacts of climate change because you shouldn’t have to bear that burden alone,” he added. “And as we keep working for a strong global agreement on climate change, it’s young people like you who have to speak up so we protect this planet for your generation.”
