R 231046Z JAN 09
FM AMCONSUL KOLKATA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 2244
INFO AMCONSUL CHENNAI 
AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 
AMEMBASSY DHAKA 
AMCONSUL MUMBAI 
AMCONSUL HYDERABAD 
AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 
AMCONSUL KOLKATA

UNCLAS KOLKATA 000017 
 
 
SCA/INS,  SCA/PPD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL SCUL KISL KPAO IN
SUBJECT: KOLKATA MUSLIMS SING PRESIDENT OBAMA'S PRAISES, BUT WATCH 
CLOSELY FOR SIGNS OF CHANGE 
 
¶1. Summary. Kolkata area Muslims came together at the American 
Center on Inauguration Day to perform songs and recite poetry in 
honor of the incoming U.S. President Barack Obama. The 
spontaneous display of welcome for a new American president was 
unprecedented in Kolkata PAS' experience. The poets and 
musicians recited and performed original works praising Obama's 
message of change. Still, some area Muslims remain distrustful 
of U.S. intentions. End Summary. 
 
¶2. The Kolkata American Center was the setting for an evening of 
celebratory poetry and music on January 20, Inauguration Day. 
Several weeks earlier, the Maulana Azad Students' Organization, 
a local secular NGO of mostly Muslim former rather than current 
students, contacted the Kolkata Public Affairs Section (PAS) to 
say that it would like to welcome the new U.S. president on his 
inaugural day with a special cultural event, or "mushaira," 
featuring the best of Kolkata's Urdu-language literary and music 
scene. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
"A New Sun Will Rise Named Barack Obama" 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
 
¶3. Working with Moulana Azad, Kolkata PAS invited area poets and 
musicians for the event. On Inauguration Day, they entertained 
an enthusiastic audience of more than 170 guests in the American 
Center's Lincoln Room. Following the performances, a buffet 
dinner was served, giving the attendees a chance to mingle with 
the performers and to get to know each other. The audience was 
mixed, with Muslims in the majority but also many Hindus present 
to enjoy the entertainment and expansive mood of the evening. 
Among the attendees were literary and cultural figures, 
students, local sports people, and past participants in PAS' 
International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). The General 
Secretary of the All-India Sufi Council, Mr. Peerzada Shibli 
Qasim, traveled all the way from Ajmer in Rajasthan to attend 
the event. 
 
¶4. In his opening remarks, Dr. Liaquat Ali, Secretary of the 
Orissa Urdu Academy, paid tribute to Obama's message of hope and 
change. He also noted forcefully that Muslims hope the new U.S. 
administration will reconsider Middle East policy and adopt a 
new approach to the Arab-Israeli question. He specifically 
mentioned the recent fighting in Gaza as an issue which angers 
Muslims. However, Dr. Ali ended on an upbeat note, stating that 
the inauguration of Mr. Obama "reminds me of the famous words of 
Dr. King: 'I have a dream'!" 
 
¶5. Following Dr. Ali's remarks, seven Urdu-language poets 
recited in turn their recent work in honor of President Obama. 
Their poems' central theme was optimism and hope, and that 
change will happen because Obama is, in the words of one poet, 
an ambassador for change. Another poet was even more forthright: 
"Now we see dawn; the new sun will rise, and that sun's name is 
Barack Obama." The poetry reading was followed by a musical 
performance, mostly in the traditional ghazal form of Urdu 
poetry set to music. Most of the songs performed were 
traditional, although the lead singer began with a musical poem 
of tribute to Mr. Obama that he had composed himself for the 
occasion. 
 
¶6. The mushaira received extensive, positive media coverage in 
three languages (English, Bengali, Urdu), with large stories and 
photos in newspapers and TV coverage of the performances, 
including interviews with Kolkata Consul General and Public 
Affairs Officer. 
 
---------------------------------- 
Optimism, But Distrust Lingers 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Meanwhile, there are continuing signs that, despite 
optimism among many in Kolkata's Muslim community about the new 
American president, Muslims remain wary about U.S. intentions. 
Earlier on January 20 a small group of madrasa students, 
numbering about fifty, demonstrated near the American Center. 
They protested U.S. and Israeli "aggression" in Gaza, and 
demanded that the American Center cancel the mushaira scheduled 
for that evening. The editors of two Urdu-language newspapers, 
both of whom had planned to attend the mushaira, cancelled their 
attendance due to the protest. While one editor privately noted 
that the demonstration was being organized by fringe elements 
within the community, he feared being branded an American 
supporter and financial repercussions for his paper if he were 
the only newspaper editor in attendance. He admitted that the 
Gaza issue resonates with his readership. Earlier in January, 
two important Imams had disinvited ConGen to visit them at their 
mosques, because of perceived U.S. connivance in Israeli actions 
in Gaza. 
 
¶8. Comment: The fact that the Moulana Azad Students' 
Organization spontaneously approached Kolkata PAS with its 
request to honor the incoming American president with a mushaira 
is unprecedented in our experience. The sincerity evidenced by 
the poets and musicians was not feigned and was picked up by the 
audience. The performances became interactive, as the audience 
responded to particularly beautiful passages with cries of 
"bahut khub!" (very beautiful!) and sighs of approval. It was 
clear that both performers and audience, a majority of which 
were Muslim, are very hopeful about the possibility of change in 
U.S. policy towards issues that concern them, particularly 
Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan. However, Mr. Obama's honeymoon 
period may be short, as Kolkata Muslims are paying close 
attention to how the new administration deals with issues of 
interest to their community. 
 
 
PAYNE