Commentary on American Politics

It is hard not to take note of what is happening in American Politics.

While the Republican nomination for the next president went the conservative way, there was a two-fold revolution happening in the Democratic Nomination. First, it was the novelty of the possibility that there could be, after all, a woman president. America has taken too long, in fact, to reach this stage in its political evolution. Sen Hillary Clinton was expected to be the Democratic Nominee for the next president, and that indeed, is a revolution for the U.S. Not so, for several other nations, which have had woman presidents or prime ministers. India, Israel, Sri Lanka, and a host of other nations have had woman leaders. The current Chancellor of Germany is a great example of a powerful woman leader in the Western world itself. So, it is no great story outside the United States. But, in America, yes it is a big story. Given the situation that Sen Clinton was almost destined to win, it was turning out to be a big story.

The other facet of the Democratic Party elections was Sen Barack Obama, the first time a coloured person has achieved the status of even getting recognized as a lead contender in the race for the Democratic nomination. But, Sen Obama did it - he won the votes required for the nomination, and won over an experienced, well-established contender in Sen Clinton. It is indeed the “American” story of the underdog winning ultimately. Great stuff, and difficult to achieve in most countries around the world.

Well, the fight is still not finished. Sen Obama has a tough fight against the GOP nominee, Sen McCain. It could turn out any way - hard to forecast at this point in time.

However, looking from India’s perspective, a Democratic winner for President of the United States could be bad news. It could be bad news for the free market philosophy as well.

India has had great support from President Bush and the Republican Party over the last few years. The U.S. recognized India’s value and commitment to democracy right after 9/11. Finally, America realized that India is one of the few countries in the world worst hit by internal and external terror. It also needed a counter-balance to China in the emerging world order. Even after the Iraq war and the countless scandals involving Iraq and Afghanistan, America was fortunate to have been ranked as the most preferred country by Indians in general. And, this is in a country where American brands and soap operas do not dominate - yet. Overall, the U.S. has had a very positive image in India. I believe that this strong image helped the Indian Government in its move towards better relationship with the world’s most powerful democracy. Ofcourse, there are always other compulsions - geopolitical, military, power, etc., but India’s approach towards America improved dramatically to the extent that both the militaries have conducted a huge number of joint exercises in the past 8 years or so. Confidence has been built up on top of the good will gestures from both sides.

The U.S. has gone to the extent of offering India exemption from its very strong nuclear non-proliferation regulations. India will be the only such country in the entire world. It is India’s fate that we are not able to consummate the nuclear deal due to petty politics, but that again drives home the strength of the noisy Indian politics which cannot be taken hostage without an extensive public debate on the pros and cons. The U.S. is also offering its latest fighter jets in the USD 10B tender for 126 fighter jets by the Indian Air Force. So, finally after 60 years, India and the U.S. are really coming close on a shared platform of values and democratic ideals/credentials.

This would not have happened under a Democratic President, who would not take any risks when it comes to “adjusting” U.S. statutes to accommodate even an “emerging” power like India. On the other hand, Republican Presidents have been more aggressive (both for and against India in the past), and India always knew where it stood when it came to such presidents. With President Bill Clinton, it was never sure - atleast this is my reading.

While I have no personal interest in any party (domestic or American !), it becomes critical for each world citizen to understand the impact of a not-so-good-for-the-rest-of-the-world choice by the American people. An American President exerts enormous influence on the free world, and so it is not appropriate to ignore the elections in America as an internal affair. If not influencing it in any manner, one should atleast have due concern about the outcome.

While “American Dream” fulfilled in the case of Sen Obama sounds too good to be ignored, I think the Democratic Party / Government would become protectionist in nature, in the interest of safeguarding American jobs. It would also take a tough stand on the environment, non-proliferation, flow of dual-use technologies, and surely, the trade policy. There could be some damage to the outsourcing business in India. I do not believe it would take extra care to insure positive growth momentum for the world’s emerging economies - India, China, Brazil and Russia. While China might need less of America, India needs more and more of America. Hence, it may not turn out to be a great news for India if Sen Obama wins the American Presidency. If he does win, which is a distinct possibility, then India should lose no time in establishing quick bridges with the new President and build a strong rapport, earlier than other countries.

I may be completely wrong, but I have seen no positive references to India anywhere in his selected speeches that I have read. Whereas, Sen Hillary Clinton does nurture a positive image of India (may be also because of President Bill Clinton, who is involved in various aid initiatives in India). Ofcourse, I know nothing about Sen McCain, except to state that he would most likely continue the Bush Government’s policies. Some of which, have very positively impacted India, and helped both governments to come closer together.

These are views waiting to be disputed and argued against vigorously, I am sure !

Have a great weekend,

Best Regards

Vijay Srinivasan
7th June 2008
Mumbai

The Wily Dictator

It is not a least bit surprising that Pakistan declared emergency rule, actually a martial law yesterday. Nobody could have missed it coming, not the least the U.S. Government which always has had a ringside view of what’s going on in Pakistan, and what exactly is going to happen as well.

It is ironic that what is happening in Pakistan, while not good for its citizens and the country as such, is apparently good for the U.S., and may be even for India. This has been the case since 1999 when the general captured power in a bloodless coup from a democratically elected government. It is clear that the general brings stability to the region though not as effective lately as he was after 9/11. While he is driven by his perceived need for stability of Pakistan as a whole, it is also very evident that he is not convinced of the effectiveness of democracy in a country which is largely feudalistic in nature and riven by factionalism. Combined with the fundamentalist agendas of several leading factions and religious fanatics, it is not difficult to see what the general saw before declaring martial law.

Surely, this is not good for the democratic development of Pakistan which would now increasingly slide back into extremism that even the general population would support since they would now lose confidence that democracy would ever succeed in Pakistan. I had hopes when Mr Shauqat Aziz, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, was appointed. He was a successful Citibanker, and I thought that he would fix the general and ease him out using corporate warfare techniques. President Musharraf proved to be too wily for that, or Aziz bought into his vision for the future of Pakistan. Foreign investment poured in and the stock market was booming, but politicking and factionalism have always been the bane of the violent political scene of Pakistan.

India and even the U.S. are maintaining a studious silence, apart from mouthing some inanities. The U.S. government is selfish when it comes to defending its interests, and I am absolutely sure that it would continue to fund the dictator and his plans. There are many secret ways to fund and defy the U.S. Congress, and everything can be justified in the “Global War on Terror”. After all, U.S. has always declared that Pakistan is a “key ally” in the war on terror, and it cannot go back on that statement. Any stoppage of funding would ensure that Pakistan goes slow on the terror fight, which would be a threat.

From the Indian perspective, there is no one better than President Musharraf to rule Pakistan, ironically the same general who caused the embarrassing war of Kargil, in which hundreds of Indian armymen lost their lives and the surprise element caught the Indians totally unprepared. It appears very strange that India likes to deal only with Musharraf, but India constantly worries about the stability quotient in the region, and would not be in a position to deal with a fundamentalist president or prime minister who chooses to go back in time and history, rather than work out the future. The good outcome of the Kargil war was the enhanced cooperation with Israel and increased defence spending by the Indian government. However, something strange happened in the aftermath - there was pressure by the Americans towards a detente, and the general turned positive on India’s demands to stop infiltration by extremist elements across the Actual Line of Control. Ofcourse, the Israeli fencing helped enormously in the process.

Over the past couple of years, there have been many positive noises between India and Pakistan, and there was a possibility that the general would give up his uniform and would become a democratically elected president. That would have eased the conscience of both the Indians and the Americans.

Now, this slide into anarchy which started yesterday, is actually not good for anyone even in the short term. The United Nations should condemn the development, and the U.S. government should allow that - atleast it would be a proxy to what the U.S. State Department would have liked to state publicly apart from the mild noises made by the Secretary of State who has increasingly become ineffective. And, India should send a message to the general to follow the Indian democratic model which works even amidst chaos all around the country. Given that basically the peoples are the same between the two countries, the only issue is apparently the religious extremism and fundamentalism spawned by the Taliban. India often is at the receiving end of terrorist attacks, but has learnt to take quick actions in following through with the leads, and has further taken actions to stop future attacks on its soil. While on the overall scorecard India comes short on its speed of reaction, and proactive planning, the system is resilient enough to survive and adapt itself to the new demanding environment. Brute force is not the solution, as Americans are learning in a very costly manner both in Afghanistan and Iraq. Counter infiltration is one way, convincing the general population is another way. Both do not work for the Americans as is evident from the situation in Iraq - trust of the local population is key to rapproachement and building a mutually beneficial solution.

I do hope that phones have not stopped ringing in Islamabad though it is a Sunday.

Cheers

Vijay Srinivasan
4th November 2007
Mumbai

The Jaipur Letdown

I was in Jaipur for the past couple of days.

I got some shopping time yesterday afternoon and a couple of colleagues drove down to the heart of the city (the “Johari” area). We passed the famed “Hawa Mahal”, and what a huge let down it was. Most postcards of Jaipur proudly depict this Mahal and the other forts and palaces of Rajasthan state, the capital city of which is Jaipur. I was shocked to see the dilapidated status of the Hawa Mahal and its surroundings. It appeared that there was some construction going on - may be to keep the structure standing, I guess.

In any other country, such structures dating back to several centuries would be cordoned off from the public vandals and declared a heritage site. Not so in India. Unless the world (”UNESCO”) recognizes such sites, it appears that the government could not be persuaded to spend money on maintenance and preservation of cultural heritage. There were tens of shops under and around the structure, with hundreds of people thronging the area, with tonnes of fuel emissions from passing vehicles - hardly the way to maintain a heritage structure of which our ancestors were proud of.

I was told that there are some beautiful, well-maintained forts in Jaipur - but I did not have the time. I promised to myself that I would go back to Jaipur with my family for a vacation, simply to record a visit to the Pink City, if not anything else. When we drove around, it was difficult to miss the red stone buildings, and fortress like palatial entrances right in the middle of roads through which today’s horrible traffic passes through.

I had imagined Jaipur would be a nice, quaint city with beautiful architectural wonders all around. It was not to be - it was like any other overcrowded second-tier Indian city, with potholes (actually craters) in the middle of most roads, and pedestrians taking up exactly 40% of both sides of the road along with cars looking for the non-existent parking space.

Shopping was not bad - in fact, it was better than I had expected. I bought some silver jewellery which were decently priced. There were lots of foreigners shopping for all kinds of what they thought were inexpensive things. The textile shops were doing booming business, given the penchant for bright, multi-coloured costumes amongst Indian women especially from Rajasthan. Small specialized shops co-exist with bigger showrooms and there was enough traffic and business for both categories. I was surprised when the shop where I bought the jewellery refused to give any discounts, despite the fact that almost all in my troupe bought jewellery. They said “Sorry, Fixed Price” ! It was difficult to believe that, but given the shortage of time and patience, we proceeded with our respective purchases anyway !!

It was very warm - may be around 35 degrees Celsius in Jaipur, warmer than it was in Delhi the day before. It was a bit humid as well. We had some refreshments and proceeded towards airport road, when the policeman at an intersection stopped our car. He levied a fine since I was not wearing my seatbelt in the front seat of the car. He refused to negotiate, and insisted on following the rule book. I was happy to note that things are different and better in some parts of the country as compared to Mumbai, where the standard take happens in front of our eyes at every intersection.

The airport road ride was good and free of “craters” and the road was also quite wide on both sides. Better buildings were sighted all the way through, including some colleges and hospitals which also looked like palaces. Even the airport design appeared to be following the palace instincts of local architects.

It was an interesting experience - I was always thinking that I should visit Rajasthan someday. I was all right with the “dusty” experience that I got on the streets (most of Rajasthan is a vast desert), but not able to stomach the fact that the government of the day could be indifferent to the huge architectural assets of a famous kingdom at the edge of India. The state draws a lot of foreigners, no doubt, but the focus should have been on enhancing their experience by proper maintenance of the legacy, not let the assets waste away in disrepair.

Have a wonderful weekend, folks.

Cheers

Vijay Srinivasan
12 August 2007
Mumbai

Schindler’s List and A Beautiful Life

I happened to see Schindler’s List again. I have always wanted to avoid seeing it again, but it so happened it was running on Star Movies channel and I just chanced upon it. The movie is so riveting it is difficult to switch the channels.

Without going into a detailed commentary on the movie, I can only say it touches everyone’s heart, mind and soul. The sheer brutality of the German soldiers and the manner in which the stoic Jews deal with the same, and the methods of Schindler to save them in ingenious ways, reminds one simultaneously of the animal within men and the heart of one hero who found ways to help the Jews from their deprivation.

That such a thing like that happened just over 6 decades ago in this world is a strong reminder to the people who inhabit this earth that the worst enemies of mankind are from within. There was no god who would have allowed such an insult to humans who were just ordinary folks carrying on their lives. The racial profiling that was used then is in use around the world in today’s divided world. It may not lead to killings and treatment as brutal as the Germans inflicted on the Jews, but nevertheless it is something to constantly worry about. The automatic implication of Dr Haneef in Australia without proof of any serious kind is just another example. One can imagine what would have happened if Dr Haneef was implicated in the U.S. He would have been in Guantanamao Bay prison by now. My faith in the British Commonwealth rule of law played out well in this case - without evidence, Australia released Dr Haneef. I do not agree however with the cancellation of his visa which now appears to be without basis - Australian Government just wants him out I guess. But, on what basis ?

The other movie, “A Beautiful Life” is again a wonderful movie of an ever-optimistic soul who was jailed by the Germans. Amazing power of faith again !

It is sometimes wonderful to see these older movies instead of the Bollywood junk movies. There is not even one movie comparable to these American movies coming from anywhere in India. Again the last Hindi movie that I really enjoyed was “Black” followed by “Parineeta”. There has been a drought ever since (more than 18 months). However what you see all around is the rage of Bollywood. Even the U.K. is under complete siege by Bollywood, especially of the likes of Shilpa Shetty !

Well, the bigger message is of the beast within men - even if one soul is unjustly eliminated from the face of this earth, the perpetrators - whether they are state or non-state actors - would have to bear the consequences sometimes in the future. One can argue that a Germany or Japan (famous for massacres as well - the Nanjing massacre in China of thousands of Chinese early in the last century and crimes committed in the second world war) did not suffer from economics - they both rose like a phoenix from their respective ashes and became economic superpowers ultimately. So, where is the question of any punishment ? I am here referring to the individuals involved in war crimes rather than the governments - they would have paid their dues whether they believed in god or not. One has to pay for crimes committed in life - especially when that crime involves taking away the lives of non-combatants - the phrase made famous by George W Bush in his war against terrorism. I would argue that the term is comparable to the plight of the Jews in the hands of the Germans or that of the Chinese in the hands of the Japanese. These were simple people who were murdered brutally by the occupation forces, despite their non-involvement in the war(s).

I am reading more stuff on all this……..very absorbing and revealing.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Cheers

Vijay Srinivasan
28th July 2007
Mumbai

Discount Religious Impact on Human Behaviour

I have written about this earlier as well. There is way too much importance attached to religions in this world, and after all, humans created religions. While there should be no dispute about the importance of Faith in discovering one’s own self and providing an anchor in Life, the multitude of religions have caused so much diversity, anxiety, and damage to humankind that one starts to wonder - is it all worth the effort ?

Post 9/11 things have irretrievably changed around the world. There is more suspicion and further damage to the fabric of human society. While it is not absolutely correct to relate any religious teachings to these changes in the world view, one cannot but start to think more seriously about the clash of civilizations and religions. The importance of religions has always been widely exaggerated. There are many individuals that I know of who hardly spend any time thinking about religions or the teachings of their own religions. Only when people group together under a religious umbrella (this happens in all religious faiths), the herd effect starts to affect people, all the more so when there is a strong preacher. I have completely avoided such gatherings, in whatever shape and colour these come, despite family or friendly invites/pressures.

I believe that no religion preaches, or should preach divisiveness or violence against other faiths. Fundamental religions are puritanical and give no importance to changes in today’s world or the changing times and mores of society. Humans are endowed with intelligence and a thinking capability which should facilitate analysis of the impact of such faiths on human behaviour.

It is critical to realise that humans need each other in a society, and to create artificial divisions is surely not a helpful trend. Ungroupism does help, as the intermingling of “open” views creates respect for each other’s beliefs. You see this all the time in professional lives. The ability to analyse and express the results of such analysis has been fundamental to the development of society, and I fail to understand why certain things like the detrimental impact of religions should be taboo and outside the purview of an intelligent discourse.

I have had the opportunity and pleasure of talking to friends of different faiths openly about such views, and I can only say that our bonding has significantly improved resulting from the enhanced respect of each other’s views. Such interchanges, in no way, puts the society at risk, rather it enhances the appreciation of different positions on sensitive topics in today’s changed world. When a disaster strikes, one is not going to worry about one’s faith or religion. The same agnostic approach helps a lot in friendly discussions.

Religious diversity, while not a bad thing in itself, leads to groupism in human society across nations. Such groupism leads to specific behaviours which could cause damage in the long term, or even in the medium term. The only way to reduce its impact is to open up and integrate. It is critical to reduction in suspicion levels around the world. Some religious figures who have world-wide impact, have not helped matters by commenting unnecessarily about other religions or even denominations within their own religion. It is no secret that divisions within the same religion around the world have caused untold sufferings to human society over the past 2000 years.

It is time to sit up, analyse and discuss openly the value and importance of religions to human society. The basic principle should be to integrate faiths, not to segregate. Just recall how the Japanese were interned in the U.S. after the Pearl Harbour attack. There are countless examples of such segregations based on nationality, colour, creed, race, et al. It is time for the new emerging youngsters of the world to start thinking about a different world order in societal integration, and carefully look at their own religious inclinations so as to reduce any harmful impact for their and future generations.

Have a wonderful weekend, and look for new photos soon !

Cheers

Vijay Srinivasan
14 July 2007
Mumbai

Some Architecturally Inclined Photography from France and Austria

Here are a series of photos for the architecturally inclined (or shall we say, challenged) folks.

Not an architecture buff myself though. Just thought that these buildings have been languishing for hundreds of years without good amateur photographers bringing them to folks like you ! Take a look, and you might indeed remember somethings from your past !!

DSC05632, originally uploaded by vjsri99.

DSC05609, originally uploaded by vjsri99.

DSC05596, originally uploaded by vjsri99.

DSC05649, originally uploaded by vjsri99.

DSC05662, originally uploaded by vjsri99.

DSC05697, originally uploaded by vjsri99.

CIMG5347, originally uploaded by vjsri99.

DSC05773, originally uploaded by vjsri99.

CIMG5328, originally uploaded by vjsri99.

CIMG5310, originally uploaded by vjsri99.

Church 2, originally uploaded by vjsri99.

IMGP0059, originally uploaded by vjsri99.

IMGP0057, originally uploaded by vjsri99.

More photos to follow in subsequent editions…….enjoy !

Best Regards

Vijay Srinivasan
01 July 2007
Mumbai

European Splendour

I just got back from Europe - we visited just 3 countries : Austria, Switzerland, and France.

While I am sorting out the more than 3,000 photos that we took from four different cameras, I thought it would be good to get back to my blog and post an interim commentary. There is no doubt that European scenery is far better than anything I have seen. The countryside is rustic and beautiful with rolling greens, the mountains are gorgeous and inviting, the lakes are crystal clear, and the infrastructure is awesome wherever you go. I am not so sure of the mentality of the people - they seem to be not so inviting, however.

Therein lies the difference between Europe and an America or New Zealand, or for that matter, even Australia.

I was most impressed by Austria, which does not seem to be the usual stop for the Indian tour operators - they focus on Switzerland and Italy mostly (apart from the U.K.). Since we were on our own (except for hotel bookings and some city tours booked through an operator from Mumbai), we could control our experiences. Vienna was the most impressive city that I really liked. It had some appeal which is difficult to describe - an old-world charm, a smooth intermingling of the modern with the old, a laid-back culture (even during office hours, I did not see too much of a rush, unlike in Paris Metros), a casual way of living and enjoying cake + coffee, beautiful buildings with influential architecture, and a whole host of other things…….

I had reservations when my wife asked that we include Austria in our tour plan. I had some negative opinion of Austria to be honest - having read a lot about the Second World War, I knew that Austria was part of the great Third Reich of Adolf Hitler, and collaborated with Nazi Germany during the War. I still remember the Kurt Waldheim scandal, and the racist party which came to power some years ago. It is surprising how difficult it is giving up old impressions and opinions sometimes. However, I relented after reading up on Fodors’ about the beauty of Vienna, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and ofcourse, the “Sound of Music”. In my own view, Austria was the best part of the trip, and the man on the street was more helpful (in English) than a Swiss or French man on the street. The stares were less than what one encounters in Switzerland and France.

I recall our inability to locate the Metro near our hotel in Vienna - there was confusion at the fork in the street - and we were struggling to read the map. My daughter approached a couple of girls who also happened to be tourists and could not help. We were running out of time for the Vienna City Tour starting off in less than half hour. Finally, I approached a guy who was very helpful - in fact he asked us to follow him to the Metro ! He was a student at Vienna University, and had been to India already - he was probably 23 years old ! He talked fondly of Mumbai !!

The Swiss were a bit cold - they hardly returned a smile or a “Hi” when encountering them in a metro or a restaurant. It was surprising to me - I thought they were more welcoming than anyone in the Continent (apart from the U.K.). I did not give up - I continued smiling at as many people as possible, in the hope that I was wrong in my judgement - but nope, no success. At the end, I heaved a sigh of relief when the old lady at the Interlaken Hotel engaged with us well, and even went out of the hotel to her car to fetch her umbrella for us when it started raining. Not only that, she asked us to keep the umbrella…….However, it bothered me no end that my original impressions of countries are turning on their head……how wrong one can be if one puts all weight behind what he or she reads, or what one hears. Nothing is more important than experience first-hand, which is the most significant education one can have.

The French were no less cold - in fact with Nicolas Sarkozy taking over as President on an anti-immigration platform (though ironically he himself is of Hungarian descent), one can see the French position hardening on immigration. It was difficult to get directions in English, though I should say that some folks were really helpful - like the lady in the Metro at Bonne Neuvelle Metro Station who saw that we were not able to get tickets without Euro coins and went out of her way pulling out all the coins she had in two wallets for us in exchange for a 10 Euro note, and then apologized as she fell short of 20 cents ! Like the guy near the Louvre who gave us precise directions to the Cityrama Office near the Joan of Arc Statue after couple of guys said “No English”. Like the nice tourist van driver who took us on the Paris City Tour who was helpful in several ways.

However, I feel that both the Swiss and French could do well to improve their understanding of foreign cultures - especially the Indian and the Chinese - and further understand that tourists are not immigrants. And, while they may not directly depend on tourist dollars (sorry, Swiss Francs and Euros), the very fact that tourists from elsewhere come and spend their precious earnings on their very expensive countries (a Capuccino costs Euro 4.50 average in Paris and SFr 5.50 average in Luzern) should be something that they must be proud about and eventually, thankful about. They do that in a Singapore, or Malaysia, or Thailand. An isolationist stand will not help and will not take them to an European Century - it is anyway going to be U.S.A. + China + India Century coming up !

Well, all told, the European Tour was great. We just ignore the human foibles and move on. The Alps were magnificent and we went to three of the Swiss Peaks - Schilthorn, Mount Titlis and Jungfraujoch. It was snowing at Schilthorn and Jungfraujoch even though it was early June ! The family really enjoyed the snow.

More of European thoughts and pics in the coming posts, in the meantime have a great weekend folks !

Cheers

Vijay Srinivasan
10 June 2007
Mumbai

Great Wall of China - The Steps

IMGP0198, originally uploaded by vjsri99.

Great Wall of China, originally uploaded by vjsri99.

Oxygen gets rarer as you climb up the steep steps of the Great Wall. Many people suffer at high altitudes, as you can witness along the way. Not that I managed to climb very much ahead of the others. I must have done approximately 1,000+ steps, and then I decided to return. Climbing down is not that easy either.

In any case, this is a wonderful place on earth, one of the seven wonders of the world.

Best Regards

Vijay Srinivasan
23 December 2006
Mumbai

Great Wall of China

Great Wall of China, originally uploaded by vjsri99.

This is the second time in the last 10 years that I have been to the Great Wall of China. The first time was in 1998 or 1999 when there were no digital cameras.

Best Regards

Vijay Srinivasan
23 December 2006
Mumbai

VJ in BEIJING (3)

IMGP0268, originally uploaded by vjsri99.

Tianenman Square - majestic yet infamous for the 1989 crackdown on student protesters……

Vijay Srinivasan
23 December 2006
Mumbai