Never mind Anil Vij and KVIC, Obama still finds inspiration from Gandhi

Professor-president says books helped him survive presidency, names Jhumpa Lahiri among favourites

GN Bureau | January 18, 2017


#Jhumpa Lahiri   #Anil Vij   #KVIC   #literature   #politics   #Barack Obama   #Mahatma Gandhi   #Narendra Modi  


Haryana minister Anil Vij believes Gandhi is a not an impressive brand (Modi is), and Khadi and Village Industries Commission believes Gandhi on its calendar and diaries won’t be inspiring enough (Modi will be). But this wisdom is yet to reach Barack Obama.

In the last week of his presidency, Obama sat down with the chief book critic of the New York Times, Michiko Kakutani, and discussed books. He says he survived the trying times by seeking solace from literature.

Asked about difficult circumstances like a series of mass killings and financial meltdown, Obama says, “I think that during those periods, Lincoln’s writings, King’s writings, Gandhi’s writings, Mandela’s writings — I found those particularly helpful, because what you wanted was a sense of solidarity.

“During very difficult moments, this job can be very isolating. So sometimes you have to hop across history to find folks who have been similarly feeling isolated. Churchill’s a good writer. And I loved reading Teddy Roosevelt’s writing. He’s this big, outsize character.”

India has had a few leaders who hopped across history – or geography – and found folks whose writings very helpful. Nehru of course was an accomplished writer too. PV Narasimha Rao, who arguably has been the second-most influential prime minister after Nehru, was a voracious reader, devouring fiction and non-fiction alike in a close to dozen languages.

Obama, via Martin Luther King, has a special fascination for the Mahatma. At the start of the presidency, in an interview with the same publication, he had named Gandhi among his inspirations. In his address to the joint session of India’s parliament in November 2010, he had famously said, “And I am mindful that I might not be standing before you today, as President of the United States, had it not been for Gandhi and the message he shared and inspired with America and the world.”

He also said, “India not only opened our minds, she expanded our moral imagination. With religious texts that still summon the faithful to lives of dignity and discipline. With poets who imagined a future ‘where the mind is without fear and the head is held high.’ And with a man whose message of love and justice endures-the Father of your Nation, Mahatma Gandhi.
 
“For me and Michelle, this visit has therefore held special meaning. Throughout my life, including my work as a young man on behalf of the urban poor, I have always found inspiration in the life of Gandhi ji and in his simple and profound lesson to be the change we seek in the world. And just as he summoned Indians to seek their destiny, he influenced champions of equality in my own country, including a young Martin Luther King.”

In the latest interview, he also speaks about his late night readings (including works of Indian-origin Jhumpa Lahiri) and giving his daughter Malia a lot of books on the Kindle (including “One Hundred Years of Solitude”).
 

Comments

 

Other News

Revamp BMC Engineering Department for better governance, says think tank

Calling for reforms in the Engineering Department of BMC, Mumbai Vikas Samiti, a not-for-profit organisation has said that less than optimum performance of Engineering Function has added to the woes of citizens and deterioration in the quality of life in the metro. In its recently released r

NGO hails Maharashtra move to amend Insecticide Act

Hailing the Maharashtra government for introducing a bill to amend the Insecticide Act, 1968, Pesticide Action Network (PAN) India has called the amendments ‘very  focussed’ and urged the state to expand their scope to address other challenges. The bill, introduced in the a

‘Garba of Gujarat’, now a Unesco Intangible Cultural Heritage

`Garba of Gujarat` has been inscribed in the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) of Humanity by UNESCO, under the provisions of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage during the 18th meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of t

Cyber frauds helpline has helped save Rs 930 crore

Since its inception, Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System has witnessed more than 12.77 lakh complaints registered (till November 15, 2023), and has saved more than Rs. 930 crore in more than 3.80 lakh complaints. This was stated by minister of state for home affair

COP28 discusses climate resilient development in Himalayas

Impacts and implications of Climate Change Vulnerability in the Himalayan Region and ways of creating ‘Climate Resilient Development in Indian Himalayan Region by making mountain communities green and resilient were discussed the side event hosted at the India pavilion at the UN Climate Conference CO

Air Pollution: What needs to be done to tame the silent killer

Air pollution in Delhi has been in headlines, as every year in recent times. Mumbai too has suffered from air pollution, despite being a coastal city. Apart from many other metros such as Bangalore and Kolkata, tier-I and -II cities and rural areas also have high pollution levels. Every year reports and st

Visionary Talk: Amitabh Gupta, Pune Police Commissioner with Kailashnath Adhikari, MD, Governance Now


Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter