Dear Mr Obama,

First of all, congragulations on becoming the first African-American president of the United States of America. You made history and I am honoured to be part of it.

Second of all, please do not start another war during your tenure as President, which I presume will be no less than eight years.

Following your journey from the time you announced your candidacy to the time you actually took oath of office, I have come to admire your achievements which started of with the audacity of hope, got empowered by ambition and went on to capture the collective imagination of the world by its humility.

I must admit here that I belonged to the Clinton camp at the beginning, but now, after knowing your ideas and views better, I have changed sides. Now, I am only glad that America chose wisely this time around and passed on the baton of leadership to you. 

You seem like an inspirational leader, who seems to know the virtues of being right and the fallouts of being wrong. I hope you will weigh all your decisions while in office on the scales of pragmatism and conscience. 

There is also one more quality in you that stands out. You show respect. 

My admiration for you grew when you included friends and former rivals in your team including Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Eric Holder, Robert Gates, Timothy Geithner and others in your team.

You have blended the old, the new, the young and the experienced of every ethnicity, gender and ideology into your White House. This has only excited an audience like me, who can not wait to see the results of this ambitious attempt of yours. 

You have also admirably blended the past with the present to move towards future. Following the footsteps of your idol Abraham Lincoln, you have imbibed the good from great leaders like Martin Luther King, George Washington, JFK and given respect where due to even George W Bush. Your entourage down Pennyslvania Avenue was followed by pioneers of equal rights movement which is only an acknowledgement of your roots.

So far, so very good. 

But now comes the tough part: Living up to the expectations you have set for yourself, and I will talk about only one such promise of yours. Withdrawal from Iraq and continuing the war on terror in Afghanistan and border regions of Pakistan. 

If you successfully withdraw from Iraq within 16 months, that will only mean one war less. Then Terrorism will be the only big threat facing the world, and I am sure help will come from all quarters to deal with this problem. 

Having said that, can we also expect you to not start another war during your tenure, and again make history by being the only US president to end wars and not start any? Can you be the president who initiated peace instead? For a 'change'? 

This will also be counted as another major achievement on your part. With that, you will not only  live up to your declaration that all are equal and all are free, and also that being powerful does not give anyone the right to act as they please.  But you will also change the course of the world – towards Oneness.

Responsibility, your mantra for Americans, should also apply to the Presidential office, where, if the man in charge takes credits for all the rights, he also takes the brickbats for all that went wrong in the past and strives to make them right in the future. 

Whether its Iran, North Korea, Somalia, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, Cuba or any other country, please treat all with your trademark quality: Respect. 

Let diplomacy be your only weapon, let friendship be your only condition, let peace be your only goal. No matter how bad things are, be the one to say 'No' to war and 'Yes' to peace. 

Be the first US president to give each member of this world their due, be the first US president to change path from hostile manoeuvres and walk towards peace, be the first President to treat the third world countries as young siblings who need encouragement not hegemonistic hand-holding. 

The world will then see the difference. A leader is not just to inspire, but to unite, not just to lead but show the right way and not just bring change but to bring change for the better. 

I urge you to be that leader. 

And I wish you all the best.