Thaindian News

New Delhi, Mar 18 (IANS) Former US vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin said Saturday that India and US, as the world’s largest democracies, should lead the world in this century, and expressed admiration for India’s economic success.

“The world’s largest democracies, not largest autocracies, will lead in the 21st century,” said Palin in her keynote address at the India Today Conclave.

She pointed out that India had gone for “clear common sense, pro-market reforms” in the 1990s, which had unleashed the entrepreneurial energy.

“People no longer speak of India as a struggling economy, which we would 30 years ago. Today, we speak of India as a dynamic and vibrant economy. What you did was empower individuals and in what you did, you reminded us of what made our country exceptional, entrepreneurship and free markets,” said Palin, who is also known as a maverick member of the Republican party.

Palin said that India-US relationship was key to the future of security and prosperity of the world. “I see it strengthening no matter who is (US) president.”

She said that there were “few limits to what India and US can do together to allow a more peaceful and prosperous world”, pointing to the commonalities of democracy, religious tolerance, multi-ethnicity and freedom of rights.

“It’s the struggle of those who defiantly dumped tea in the Boston harbour to protest the British tea tax and its the struggle who marched to the sea shore in defiance of British salt tax,” she said to an audience, which included BJP leader L.K. Advani and US ambassador to India Timothy Roemer.

When asked what is the biggest threat to global security, she said it was nuclear weapons in the hands of terrorists. She said that it important to ensure that “evil dictators” like Iranian President Ahmadinejad did not get nuclear weapons.

Answering a query on how she would handle a situation of Pakistani nukes in the hands of terrorists, Palin said that economic sanctions would be one way, without taking the military option off the table.

“Like President Ronald Reagan, I am a believer in peace through strength,” she said.

On Pakistan, she said that US had to work more to deal with “issues” in Pakistan, but added that there was no going back to the days of hyphenation of India and Pakistan in US foreign policy.

She said that India and US had to work together against terrorism.

When asked whether she was going to run for US presidential elections in 2012, she demurred, saying that there was no rush to go to a decision yet.

“It’s not impossible for a woman to be president of America. An I think it’s time that a woman is the president of America,” said Palin.

The former Alaskan governor said that her biggest takeaway from her presidential in 2009 Presidential was, “you cannot trust the mainstream media”.