Indian newspapers often brag about the accomplishments of NRIs. Recently there was news which talked about how NRIs have a chokehold on the spelling competition in the USA. It seems that 12 out of the last 15 competitions have been won by NRI children. I also had heard ignoramuses in USA were writing a lot of racist stuff on twitter and other social media saying that it was an American contest meant for Americans to win. Of course those morons do not know that every single one of those kids was born in the US and thus as American as any of them. But that is beside the point. I decided to read the coverage of this news on the Washington Post which is one of the biggest papers in the US. I read the report which was as complimentary as it could be. Then I decided to read the comments following the report. Now these comments are often unadulterated sentiments of the readers emboldened by their anonymity. Most of the comments were a mishmash of the usual and the insignificant but one of them stood out. This guy whose username suggested an Indian origin took the pains of demonstrating the caste of all the Indian winners of the past. His point was that the group comprised of mostly Brahmin kids and very few other upper caste kids with no one other castes and religions were represented. As someone who thinks that casteism is the bane of Indian society, I was aghast. Even after being removed from the country and exposed to one of the most barrier free societies (keyword being “MOST”) this jerk still is holding onto an social evil which is holding our society from breaking free. Very recently a dalit boy was killed in Maharashtra because his phone had a ringtone extolling Babasaheb Ambedkar. When a dalit gets killed for sitting in a chair do we feel proud of the system or do we want to get rid of it? What this jackass does not realize that before 2000 which triggered the Y2K fears (which led to the hiring of enormous numbers of Indian IT professionals) only students used to go to the US for higher studies and that too students from the IITs and some RECs. Most of these students happen to be from the privileged classes (it is not just hard work but also opportunity that helps the privileged classes). Children of those people are now participating in these competitions and doing well. So what we have is children of the best of India are doing well in the US. Are we really surprised? On the other hands there is another section of Indian society which finds itself in the US i.e. non-professionals from Punjab and Gujarat. Now none of the spelling competition winners are Gujaratis or Punjabis but they are some of the wealthiest Indians in the US. Do they get rich being stupid and lazy? Clearly for a lot of people, winning in a spelling competition is less important than becoming rich. As one Gujarati told me – we don’t do MBA degree, we just hire them to do our work. While most of the comments following the articles complimented the NRI children and ridiculed the racists, these moron brought in caste system and vitiated a good discussion. I will bet that this same cretin complains about racism in America all the time. What really upset me is that Indians in the US complain about racism and yet practice casteism and regionalism even when they are far from home. These are some of our best representing Mother India abroad. With that in mind what prayer do we have of getting rid of these evils IN India? That is what broke my heart.
Social media soldiers empowered by PM candidate Modi have taken it upon themselves to call out Pakistani media lies. Hours of YouTube videos posted by these patriotic Indians shows a large cross-section of Pakistani media which seems to be confused, ISI agenda driven or just plain stupid. Watch the video above. The host Salim Bokhari (are all the Bokharis gasbags?) claims that a book (biography of FM Sam Maneckshaw – Soldiering With Dignity) by an Indian Army officer Deepinder Singh says that 1800 Indian soldiers dressed as Pakistani soldiers snuck into East Pakistan, committed unspeakable atrocities for which innocent Pakistani soldiers were blamed. WOW! Since no one in Pakistan will ever read that book or any book ever, such a claim will be accepted as the truth. Now I have not read this book which was published in 2003. But someone must have read this book which has been around for 12 years and not talked about this. If this were really true do you think that Pakistani establishment would have stayed quiet? Tall claims are a norm in Pakistani media which is so sure of getting away with their lies that they not only make such claims but also get acclaims for “sensible” journalism. If these so called “danishwars or danishmand” are indicative of Pakistani intellectuals, Gods save that country from self-inflicted wounds. In the aftermath of 9/11 attacks, the scuttlebutt in the Muslim world was that it was a Jewish conspiracy and that all the Jews got a phone call in the morning telling them to stay at home. The 26/11 attacks in Mumbai were also declared a Hindu conspired attack to defame Pakistan. Closer to home, they said that India has joined hands with Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and ISIS / Daesh to attack the school in Peshawar. Even the bus attack killing the Ismailis was attributed to RAW with concrete proofs in the hands of the Pakistani authorities until of course when it turned out to be highly educated (as highly as then can get in Pakistan) rich Pakistani boys who carried out that attack. This is the problem with the Muslim world. One half thinks that they are right. The other half thinks it is not their fault. Now you do not have to be an Algebra wizard to see that this is an unsolvable equation. Unless they take out one or two variables out of this equation, the Muslim world will stay mired in this never-ending cycle of violence. Self-introspection is not easy but that is the only cure. In fact the Pakistanis need to listen to Najam Sethi or Hassan Nisar or Ayaz Amir or Javed Chaudhry or Ahmed Rashid and give these guys a chance and eventually give themselves a chance. It may not be too late.
Respected journalist Mr. Arun Shourie in an interview with a well know media hatchet-man Karan Thapar has slammed the Modi Sarkar while saying the following about Modi: "I like him. He is the only person who can give us leadership." Since the buck stops with Modi, let us assume that Shourie is lying about his likeness for Modi because Modi is responsible for all the failures of his government. Shourie said that because he just does not want to burn every bridge with the party he used to belong. But Shourie’s accusations should not be taken lightly. After all he is one of the most respected journalists who is known for fairness (at least so far). Let us examine his accusations (Parts of Shourie interview are in red followed by our response in black). He said the one-year rule of Modi was "good in parts", his transformation as prime minister was good in foreign policy, but the promised turnaround in economy has not happened. Jan Dhan Yojna: PM Narendra Modi came up with a brilliant idea to link all the Indian families with the banking system because most of the people in rural areas do not even have a bank account which they fall victims to local money lenders.So far in this program about 12.5 crore bank accounts have been opened in just 5 months which way more than it was anticipated target of 7.5 crores till Jan 25, 2015. Direct Benefit Transfer scheme (PAHAL): The finance ministry advised that a direct benefit transfer scheme for all the LPG gas cylinder subscribers will be able to stop the ongoing corruption in providing subsidy to the beneficiaries! It was proposed that subsidies on cooking gas and kerosene will be transferred directly to the bank account of beneficiaries. The Indian govt. will save around Rs. 14,000 crore by implementing this scheme. Inflation and GDP:Because of steps taken by Modi Sarkar, Inflation has hit a low of about 5% in the month of December. Onion and potato have been included in essential elements list so that its black marketing stops. Moreover, he gave clear guidelines to state governments to take serious actions against the hoarders!! The rising cost of food during UPA rule was a severe burden on us. GDP of India has increased from 5.02% in 2013 to 5.64% in 2014 and it is expected to grow even more in the coming years! Figures released by Coal Secretary Anil Swarup show that the proceeds from the sale of 32 mines in the coal block e-auctions have crossed Rs2 lakh crore. The amount surpasses the CAG's estimate of Rs1.86-lakh-crore loss on account of the allocation of blocks without auction during the UPA regime. Shourie, who is not active in BJP these days, said despite promises the fears of foreign investors on retrospective taxes and incentives for manufacturing have not materialised on the ground. Asked if the Modi government had done enough to put India on growth path, Shourie said that it was "all hyperbole". "Such claims are meant to grab headlines but lack substance," Narendra Modi’s decision to scrap the Soviet-era government scheme has definitely empowered states and other stakeholders to make their own decisions which is clearly a bold move unthinkable so far even by the Atalji government of which Shourie was an integral part. Also disbanded were the nine empowered groups of ministers (EGoMs) and 21 groups of ministers (GoMs) that were in operation because of coalition politics which is another bold move which when coupled with the cleaning and tightening of the Indian bureaucracy will remove the red tape and improve investments and other economic activities. The smaller size of the ministry, restrictions on the travel of ministers including junkets and five star travel has greatly reduced the financial burden on the exchequer. As far as headlines are concerned, with 24 hour news channels and activist journalists it is hard to stay out of headlines especially for Modi who has a huge bull’s eye on his back. Shourie has very graciously accepted the good performance of Modi in foreign policy matters but has conveniently ignored the immediate and potential financial impact of Modi’s foreign policy initiatives. I really do agree that ground reality does not portray the potential impact but I would like to remind that even for the US, it took more than three years to come out of the economic downturn of the last decade and then have the most robust system in the world in place. I am quite sure that the impact of Modi’s decisions will start yielding dividends soon. On the social front, Shourie said there was "great anxiety" among the minorities in the wake of the incidents of attack on Christian institutions and the "Ghar Wapsi" and "Love Jihad" campaigns. He was critical of Modi's "silence" on issues relating to social tensions on account of activities of right wing organisations and statements by some party MPs and leaders. After the BJP victory, all of the fringe Hindu groups who were left out began to feel their oats and started to speak their mind. While these groups are guys were ignored for saying and doing the same things during the UPA regime (Ghar wapsi and other campaigns did not start after Modi became PM; they became newsworthy), they are now being looked upon as Modi spokespersons when the truth is that during his tenure as Gujarat CM, Modi antagonized the RSS and VHP. In fact before he became the candidate for PM, a lot of fence mending was done with the RSS. I am surprised that Shourie has forgotten all that. We are not even going to talk about the social programs the nation has embarked upon under Modi’s leadership otherwise this already large article will become even larger. "You tweet when Sania Mirza wins championship or greet someone on birthdays but you don't do such things when moral questions are involved. "We have to wake up," he said, adding that people like Ribeiro and former Punjab top cop KPS Gill had saved Punjab for India. It is kind of churlish of Shourie to use well liked personalities to score points in a debate and settle scores. Talking about alienation of Muslim youth in the context of "Love Jihad" and Moradabad violence, Shourie said, "if 100 muslim youth come together and conclude that we are not getting justice here and that ISIS is right then we have a problem at hand". Has Shourie become an apologist for terrorists and their recruitment efforts? Shourie also invoked the controversial monogrammed pin-striped suit that Modi wore during his interaction with US President Barack Obama earlier this year. "It was inexplicable, incomprehensible and a big critical mistake," Shourie said. "I fail to understand why he accepted and then wore that suit. You cannot take Gandhiji's name and wear such a thing," he said. Wow! To bring the goddamned suit in a discussion while discussing national problems is tabloid journalism suited for the likes of Barkha Dutt and Arnab Goswami. Is Shourie okay with politicians with huge bank accounts but wear khadi? But, he said there were "contradictory signals" on Pakistan. "There should be steadier thinking, steadier guage." "It is not a good idea that in the fascination for out of box ideas to ignore the institutional memory embedded in the Ministry of External Affairs and outside," he added. For the first time the national security is being looked after by men like Modi (a decision maker) and Doval (a man who really understands Pakistan unlike people who carry small torches for Pakistan and India’s united past). Shourie should know that institutional memory is the problem not the solution which is why the Indian voter has brought in outsiders like Modi. As wrong as Shourie is, his criticism should not be brushed aside. He is a good journalist at the core and even in anger (we all know why he is angry) he makes some good points. Modi’s ascendance has done wonders for the economy and other aspects of the society. But the path forward needs action and hard decisions. The nation is waiting with bated breaths for the PM to take those decisions. If he has to reshuffle his cabinet and fire the lackluster Finance Minister or the fumbling HRD minister then by all means he should. He still has a lot of political cache. He also needs to do what he did in Gujarat i.e. clamp down on the likes of Sakshi Maharaj. But most of all, he needs to initiate programs with visible results positively affecting the middle and the poorer classes affecting the so as to calm his anxious supporters and shut up his detractors. The article referred above can be found at:
