Obama’s Wise Decision Not to Mention India in State of the Union Address

Days before he is expected to arrive in India, President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address made no mention of the world’s largest democracy.

In the annual speech delivered late Tuesday in Washington D.C., Mr. Obama spoke about Pakistan, China and Afghanistan but the only reference to India was tangential.

“We’re partnering with nations from South Asia to North Africa to deny safe haven to terrorists who threaten America,” Mr. Obama told U.S. lawmakers.

The U.S. president is due to arrive in India late Sunday to attend that nation’s annual Republic Day parade on Monday as guest of honor before giving a speech titled “India and America: The Future We Can Build Together” on Tuesday.

This will be the second time Mr. Obama has visited India during his presidency, a first for a serving U.S. head of state.

For sure, the speech also failed to mention a number of other powerful economies, including Germany, the United Kingdom, and Brazil. But the lack of a shout out to India was interpreted as a snub by some on Twitter.

Tunku Varadarajan, the former editor of Newsweek tweeted: