After a long three years, our president, Mr. Trump made an official visit to a country who is not hostile at all to Trump, rather the most favorite welcoming place in the world. The country is India, the largest democracy and the most tolerant country in the world.
Have you heard of any Indian arrested because of terrorist activities? Not even a Muslim from Indian origin. I am not Indian, but the majority of my family members lived in India and died there too. It is because India got independence from British empire in 1947 based on their religious faith. The British then drew a line based on religion, which Mahatma Gandhi didn’t like.
Right after the independence of the Indian subcontinent, two countries were created: India and Pakistan. Ironically, Pakistan became Islamic right away based on the population, and India became a non-religious liberal country, even though a majority were Hindu. The majority in the US were Christian but it is not a constitutionally Christian country, another example of the greatness of this country.
Thus, an excellent relationship has always existed between USA and India, regardless of which political party was in charge here. Currently, these two die hard nationalist countries are at the peak of their relationship. In reply to Trump’s tweet from Air Force One, Modi said, “The Guest is God.” The Modi government and the people of India thus showed their friend, Mr. Trump, the best of India.
The first day of Mr. Trump’s visit to India went superb, though our president had a difficulty in naming a certain person’s name, which could have been avoided if he practiced a couple of times. Do you think it is hard to pronounce Swami Vivekananda, Sachin Tendulkar or Virat Kohli? It happens to Indians too while they come to USA, but the Indians practice hard beforehand so that they don’t make any mistakes.
This is the first time we see no hostile tweets from Trump to the Indian leader or the Indian people. Maybe this visit of our President will transform his tweeting trend not to be offensive to anyone.
Indian hospitality, diverse culture, multi-languages, religious tolerance and unity among Indians in the world confirms what Indian poet D.L Roy wrote: You won’t find such a country anywhere.
My parents used to live in India, but after India was split, and then Pakistan, our home became Bangladesh. Most of the Hindu Bangladeshi migrated to India, but I with my family migrated to USA.
In our native country, the Banyan tree is an unthinkable size and its longevity runs to thousand years. It is considered a sacred tree in the ancient nature-religion. The US is like a Banyan tree in the world. We should never stop in giving shelter to the aspirant peace-loving people of the world who can contribute to human progress.
The US can’t ignore the contribution of Jewish people after world war II. In the same way, the Indian people’s contribution to the world is noteworthy too.
Think about the greatness of India! In fact, India never invaded any country in the world for the last 10,000 years. In 1971, India helped the Bangladeshi people earn their liberation from Pakistan. After victory, the Indian army went back home within a few months. Would you find any example like that?
On the other hand, India was invaded by other powers, one after another. The latest was obviously the British, and before that was the Mughal empire.
Think about Roman empire, Ottoman empire, Mughal empire, British empire and the Hitler empire, not to mention the Communist empire. All were invaders. What good came of it? Millions of people dead for no cause whatsoever.
Every country should learn from the past and should do whatever good they can for the entire people of the world. Look at how mighty the tiny corona virus is? Its now escalating around the world irrespective of race, color, and religion. Where is the global efforts to fight against this virus?
Jiben Roy, a native of Bangladesh, teaches chemistry and pharmaceutical sciences at Mississippi University for Women. His email address is royjiben@yahoo.com.
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