International   

No caste system in the U.S.: Obama

Washington: Lauding the spirit of America, President Barack Obama has said his country recognised no caste system and it was a land where immigrants had not only found space but also made their way to the top on sheer hard work.

“There's no caste system in the United States of America. Anybody who is willing to make the effort can succeed,” Mr. Obama said at a Democratic party fund raiser at the residence of eminent Indian American couple Rajeev and Seema Sharma, in Rockville Maryland.

In his welcome address, which shifted the theme of the fund raiser to immigration issues, Mr. Sharma narrated the story of his parents and in-laws who had migrated to the U.S. from India.

Mr. Obama took up the topic. “Most of us here came from someplace else — or our parents came from someplace else, or our grandparents, our great grandparents came from someplace else. And they were inspired by a particular idea, this idea of America,” he said.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that each of us are endowed with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” said Mr. Obama.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

U.K. announces huge budget cuts
Iran optimistic ahead of N-talks
No caste system in the U.S.: Obama
Singaporean convicted of “conspiracy to aid LTTE”
Colombo plans radical electoral reforms
Farooq Leghari dead
Jail for prince
Turkey fails to resolve dispute over head scarves
One quarter of Afghan votes cancelled
Obama will focus on economy while in India

Copyright © 2010, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu