Obama's victory-A milestone in human progress

“Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step towards the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals”

Above words were uttered by Martin Luther King Jr way back in 1963. 45 years after this speech by King, the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals have led to a great leap forward insofar as human progress is concerned. Barrack Obama, an African American- a community which did not enjoy even the voting rights not long ago, has come to occupy the most powerful post in the world, the decisions of which have the largest impact any human institution can have on humanity. Only time will tell whether Obama will live up to the expectations of so many people, but the victory of Obama is indeed the triumph of humanity at large as it has concluded the debate on race forever and has proved beyond doubt that the colour of ones skin is just incidental to human personality, the core of which remains the content of one’s character. While we rejoice the Obama victory, we should also be mindful of the fact that it was an outcome of the sacrifices and struggle of hundreds of thousands of common people. Just like any other achievement of humanity, this victory is also caused by the sacrifice of many unsung heroes whose name we do not know and who have silently left this world but not before contributing for the cause of human justice.


The next generation of Americans may find it very obvious to accept the notion of racial equality, but this equality has been preceded by the untold sufferings of blacks in America where they had been denied the basic human rights in their own country. This transformation has been made possible because of the right thinking people who believed in the ideals of equality and justice remained committed to them despite all odds and despite all the cynicism and skeptism.

We Indians also need to learn a lesson or two from this transformation in the human evolution. Indian society is also ridden with numerous inqualities and discriminations of which the caste based discrimination is the most acute, most exploitative and most ancient one. Indian democracy also needs an Obama like figure who could settle all the caste prejudices once and for all. Some intellectuals in India have compared Mayawati with Obama. But this comparison is unfair as Obama has won not only because of his racial and underprivileged background but also on his own merit which has appealed the cross section of people. Besides, Obama has displayed impeccable integrity so far and transcended the racial barriers. Indian democracy has a long way to go before it can produce a leader belonging to underprivileged section and yet acceptable to all the sections of society. But taking cue from American experience, this human progress in Indian context would require the “tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals” of current generation who remain committed to the ideals of equality and justice despite all odds. Hopefully, such a change will come to India in our life time.