The Hindu : National : Bush at his charming best

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Saturday, Mar 04, 2006

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National

Bush at his charming best

New Delhi: Addressing a select gathering from the ramparts of Purana Qila on Friday, U.S. President George W. Bush launched a charm offensive; he opened his speech with "namaste" and made special mention of Kalpana Chawla and Sania Mirza.

The flavour of his 25-minute televised speech wrapping up his three-day visit was distinctly Indian, with references to Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru as well as prominent contemporaries.

``Tonight we stand on the ruins of an ancient city that was the capital of an Indian kingdom thousands of years ago. Today it is a part of a modern Asian city that is the capital of one of the world's great nations.

``At the heart of the civilisation that helped give the world mathematics, cutting edge businesses ... that now give us the technology of tomorrow."``When you come to India in the 21st Century you are inspired by the past and you can see the future,'' he said.

He fondly remembered India-born astronaut Kalpana Chawla and said the U.S. would always be proud of her.

He recalled with pride and gratitude the contributions made by the two million American Indians.

Referring to the shared responsibility of both the nations to ``bring the light of freedom to the darkest corners of our earth,'' Mr. Bush quoted from the works of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Rabindranath Tagore.

``There is only one history — the history of man,'' he said quoting Tagore and signed off saying the U.S. and India "go forward with faith in those words." — PTI

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