President Obama on Tuesday made a forceful case for gender
and religious equality in India and used examples from his own life —
including claims that he’s secretly a Muslim — to make his point.
Speaking at the government-run Siri
Fort Auditorium in New Delhi, the president said India
must learn to treat both women and religious minorities equally. India
is nearly 80 percent Hindu but also has significant Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist and
Christian populations.
Mr. Obama said his own life offers an example of
how some view one religion more favorably than others and seek to divide people
along lines of faith.
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do as we say, not as we did
“There were moments in my life where
I’ve been treated differently because of the color of my skin,” he said. “There
have been times where my faith has at times been questioned by people who don’t
know me, or they’ve said that I adhere to a different religion, as if that were
somehow a bad thing.”
Mr. Obama and first lady Michelle Obama are Christians, though
unsubstantiated rumors that they are Muslim still persist.
In his final public appearance in India
on Tuesday, Mr. Obama offered his message on religious and
gender equality after meetings with India’s
new Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, who took office last May.
Mr. Modi in 2005 was denied a a visa to the U.S.
after religious riots resulted in the deaths of more than 1,000 Muslims in the
state where he was the highest elected official.
He has denied any wrongdoing in connection
with the riots and since taking power has spoken about the need for equality,
particularly for women. Mr. Obama encouraged the Indian leader to make
full and complete equality a reality for all the Indian people.
“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
the respect and dignity that she deserves,” the president said, referencing the
2012 gang rape of a woman on a New Delhi bus.
“If nations really want to succeed in
today’s global economy than they can’t simply ignore the talents of half of
their people,” he added.
Mr. Obama left India
on Tuesday and will travel to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he and other top U.S.
officials will pay respects to the late King Abdullah, who died last week
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