barack obama
A Profile
One of the most eloquent speakers on multiple issues in Congress, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Il), is the only African American currently serving in the US Senate. Following a distinguished legal career, Sen. Obama entered public service full-time in 1996 when he was elected to the Illinois State Senate. He entered the nation's psyche with a powerful keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, MA. It was the first time that political pundits began talking about Sen. Obama as a serious presidential candidate for the future. Later that year, he was elected to the US Senate from Illinois with a landslide 70 per cent vote. He announced his candidacy for the 2008 presidential election on February 10 this year.
Senator Barrack Obama with USINPAC member
Latha Mangipudi (Chair, USINPAC, NH) with Senator Barrack Obama
Latha Mangipudi (Chair, USINPAC, NH) with Senator Barrack Obama
August 15th, 2007
India Independence Day Celebration
Letter of Welcome and Congratulations
Dear Friends,
This letter is to welcome all of you to the celebration of the 60th anniversary of India’s independence. I appreciate the opportunity to congratulate you on this milestone because America’s relationship with India is one of the most important, valuable, mutually beneficial relationships we have in an uncertain world. It is only natural that the world’s oldest and the world’s largest constitutional democracies should enjoy warm relations.
I support strengthening America’s relations with India because we share many common goals and interests. America is India’s largest trading and investment partner, both countries value the rule of law and cultural pluralism, and both are united in the fight to protect their values, their people and their way of life from terrorism and other threats. That’s why I support joint initiatives in fields from military cooperation to public health to energy and technology.
None of these accomplishments would happen without the active involvement of Indian Americans. Wherever they have settled around the country, Indian Americans have been strong contributors to their local communities. Balancing love of the homeland with a strong commitment to America, Indian Americans have put their knowledge, skills, and entrepreneurial spirit to work for the betterment of both countries. Their efforts have played a significant role in bringing the two countries closer and creating a blueprint for positive bilateral relations in the 21st century.
The events you are celebrating are especially relevant today, because the ideas of liberalism and representative democracy that powered the American Revolution and inspired Mahatma Gandhi to free a great people did not stop 60 years ago. Gandhi’s victory in turn inspired a generation of young Americans to peacefully wipe out a system of overt oppression that had endured for a century, and more recently led to velvet revolutions in Eastern Europe and extinguished apartheid in South Africa.
I believe deeply that peaceful organizing to bring about popular rule will continue to be a potent tool to free oppressed peoples in those last countries on this planet where the light of freedom does not yet shine. This enduring legacy is one of the great gifts of India’s revolution, and I join you in celebrating it. Thank you again for the opportunity to share these thoughts.
Sincerely,
Barack Obama