Barack Obama and India-US relationship

Barack Obama shares an old connection with India which goes back to 1981 when he had come visiting families of his friends from India. (Not much is known though about ‘those’ friends or their families.) Those were young Obama’s Occidental College (Los Angeles) days before his shifting to Columbia University in New York.

And that is the reason why “dal” (pulses) remains one of his favorite dishes which he can cook as well!

Nevertheless, India’s influence on Barack Obama goes much beyond “dal”. India’s biggest ‘gift’ to him has been ‘Mahatma Gandhi’ who gained entry into his impressionable mind through his idol Martin Luther King Jr.; the latter had based his Civil Rights movement on MG’s philosophies of non-violence and truth. As the world knows, President Obama has Mahatma’s photograph in his office for his daily dose of motivation and guidance! Needless to say, Barack Obama has fashioned his politics on Gandhiji’s teachings.

The fact that his “inner core” of support staff comprises of many Indian-Americans is not a mere coincidence. Also, President Obama complimenting Manmohan Singh by saying “when he speaks, the world listens” reflects his genuine admiration for the prime minister of India.

Nevertheless, since the confirmation of him becoming the 44^th President of the United States of America, the view started doing rounds in the diplomatic circles that the US-India relationship will undergo major shift under Obama administration because he was never seen to be pursuing India in his presidential campaign, unlike his predecessor. We all know that George W. Bush has been the biggest American advocate of India in the global arena. If India today is on the verge of becoming a member of the elite nuclear club, the sole credit goes to the fruition of the Indo-US civil nuclear treaty in his tenure, for which he fought the other world powers. And it is no wonder that India’s prime minister Manmohan Singh calls him a “friend” ("India loves you," that's what our PM proclaimed!?)!

What is perplexing is that in spite of being influenced by India and Indians hugely both at personal and political fronts, President Obama has kept India at bay in geopolitical matters. Whether it was marginalizing India in the skewed Af-Pak strategy or pointing against “job-outsourcing” to India or sidelining India for a permanent UNSC seat or not giving adequate support to India against Pak-sponsored terrorism, Barack Obama has displayed a contradictory image as far as relations with India goes.

President Obama should have known that US’ win in Afghan War could be ascertained only by engaging the biggest regional power that is India which is enormously involved in economic and political developments in Afghanistan anyway as an ally. Then his constant rumbling against “job-outsourcing” - mainly to India - is also clouded as the ongoing economic crises in US have myriad factors to blame of which “out-sourcing” makes a miniscule fraction. Moreover, a democratic India’s inclusion in the select set of permanent members of the United Nations Security Council could have further boosted US’ position in that caucus. Also, America letting go its reluctance to take Pakistan head-on in its war on terror - including in India - would have ensured the US sustained its leadership position in South Asia’s politics, closing almost all doors for China in this immensely important space for political leadership.

For India, whether it is being left out of the Af-Pak policy or America’s unfounded concern on job-outsourcing or US being non-committal on the UNSC seat, these things though very important but they certainly do not threaten the country’s existence. The most disturbing – rather disappointing – aspect of the Indo-US relationship has been America’s unwillingness to contain Pakistan on terror fronts against India. In fact, many a times the US has seemed to be doing ‘double-talks’ with India.

For me, a self-proclaimed fan of Barack Obama, this “duality” is a bit difficult to digest. For me, Barack Obama is my hero, God’s blessing to the world! He is amongst those rare personalities in history who have “not been” politicians but have been “genuine” leaders. As an ardent admirer I have been following his dramatic ascent into the world of politics since 2004 when he made his remarkable keynote speech at the Democratic Convention in Los Angeles. His “Race in America” speech in March of 2008 in Philadelphia cemented my space in his universe of admirers. The never-seen-before gathering at Tiergarten, Berlin in July 2008 to hear him – a presidential candidate from a foreign state – proved his emergence as a global leader. The joy-with-tears exhibited by the world during his Grant Park, Chicago “Victory Speech” on November the 4^th in 2008 announced that indeed he had a universal appeal. His 20^th January 2009 Presidential Inauguration on the steps of the United States Capitol in Washington D.C. saw the entire world glued to television sets for witnessing the historic transition of Barack Obama into the 44^th President of the United States of America; a beautiful metamorphosis of an African-American into the President of America. Life indeed had come full circle!

I am sure President Obama will treat his historical and much awaited India visit as an important occasion – an opportunity - to forge a lasting bond with India (and he will not listen anymore to his misguiding advisers; instead he will listen to his inner voice). Because, it is in mutual benefits of both the nations that the oldest and the largest democracies come together and do “not compete” but “complement” each other. Together, India and America can reshape global geopolitics and economic scene and make world a much better place to live in!

Yes, Together We Can! ...

Welcome to India, Mr. President and the First Lady! I am sure you and Michelle will cherish your stay in Bombay and Delhi! I know for sure that soon you two would be back to my country with Malia and Sasha and Bo! I wish I could meet you in person whom I place only after Mahatma Gandhi in my list of select “favorites”! … Wish we Indians too had our own Barack Obama!

Happy Diwali J

Hang Kalmadi ! And, Declare the Games Cancelled!

Mr. Prime Minister and Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, hang Suresh Kalmadi. And do not spare Sheila Dikshit, MS Gill, Jaipal Reddy and all those responsible for proper staging of the Commonwealth Games.

And, cancel the Games.

Mr. PM and Mrs. G, India has been shamed immensely and there is nothing left to salvage anymore. Before every Commonwealth country withdraws leaving India’s shameful unpreparedness to make Delhi’s life even more miserable, please pull the plug.

Mr. PM and Mrs. G, I wonder how on the earth could we manage an assortment of the worst kind of people to organize the Games. The embarrassment is so colossal that no amount of PR will ever get India’s prestige back. With its reputation in tatters and beyond repairs, India will never be able to stage a comeback on the global high table. The hosting of this sporting event has put India in a uniquely bizarre situation from where there is absolutely no escape. The whole world is laughing at us and is aghast and amused at our incredible ineptitude. After 7 years and 70,000 crore (US $ 2 bn) we could not even manage a simple event like the CWG! It is unbelievable and hugely humiliating.

Mr. PM and Mrs. G, both of you maintained your steely silence throughout even while the country’s coffers were being looted unashamedly by a bunch of utterly corrupt officials and politicians and let the country get humiliated and mutilated simultaneously. Not even for once did you own up your leadership responsibility which is highly disappointing.

Mr. PM and Mrs. G, if it was not for the Indian Media the nation would probably never have got the exact details of the mess that the CWG and the country are in today! The rot would have remained under the carpet and the country would have woken up to the devastating realities only when international delegations would have descended in the city and would have revolted against the shocking state of affairs surrounding the Games. India today is enormously indebted to the Media (I especially thank Times Now for starting the trail of Games exposes) for bringing the nauseating truth out of the closet with relentless coverage of the scam & sham that is CWG! And, not to forget Mani Shanker Aiyar!

Mr. PM and Mrs. G, the most appalling thing is that even today – after being subjected to insults of global proportions – no one is ready to own the accountability for the chaos and crises. The buck is unapologetically being passed around. But just remember that “the buck stops with you”. Therefore, take immediate action. Sack Kalmadi and Sheila and Gill and all involved with the Games. I am sure if a similar shameful episode (never-ending soap!) had happened in China, all involved would have been hanged in public!

And, cancel the Games.

If today from “Incredible India” we have become “Unlivable India”, you two are equally responsible, Mr. PM and Mrs. G.

To sum up my anguish and anger, I use Arnab Goswami’s analogy from today’s News Hour: It is like watching an accident in slow motion. … :(

Wake up, Mr. Prime Minister! (Jago, PM, jago!)

I say for the Nth time: Wake up, Mr. Prime Minister!

India says for the Nth time: Wake up, Mr. Prime Minister!

Tell us, Mr. Prime Minister, till how long will you continue to sleep? The entire nation awaits to hear your voice. There are myriad matters requiring your immediate intervention. India needs assurance from you, the prime minister of India, that all will be well soon. You simply cannot afford to keep silent. (“Silence of the Lamb”?!) As the head of state it is your primary responsibility to ensure that India keeps its commitments honourably. Of course, I am talking about the ongoing crises in the Commonwealth Games.

Mr. Prime Minister, the Indian Media – particularly Times Now - has done its job, though belatedly. Now it is your turn to act. Frankly, no other (developed) country would have let its Media do its work – of exposing the colossal levels of corruption in preparations of the CGW. And yet we are not prepared!

Yes, Mr. Prime Minister, though thousands of crores of tax payers’ money have been spent – criminally wasted – in the name of the Games, yet India is not prepared to host the Games. And you continue to be silent – almost appearing asleep. You cannot absolve yourself of your accountability.

Mr. Prime Minister, as the head of the state of India, it is your responsibility to show to the world that we are not a country with hollow global aspirations; that we as a nation are quite capable of delivering on our promises of holding a international stature event – howsoever irrelevant it may be for the global sporting community. And if today the whole world is casting serious doubts over preparedness of India for the forthcoming Commonwealth Games – besides India’s image suffering a further beating with surrounding corruption – you as the prime minister needs to address the nation and all those CW countries which are going to participate and assure them that the Games will be held as promised. You have to uphold India’s honour in the international arena.

Mr. Prime Minister, you are an incredibly honest politician with impeccable integrity and India owes majorly to you for its economic prosperity. Nevertheless, your position as the prime minister of India does not leave you with the option of sleep and silence over issues of immense importance. Please act and fast as time is less.

Mr. Prime Minister, immediately sack all members of the Organising Committee of the CWG – including Suresh Kalmadi and his cronies. Remove Sheila Dixit right away who as the chief minister of Delhi has failed miserably in delivering on required infrastructure in time. Straight away fire all corrupt officials and parliamentarians – including the useless sports minister M.S. Gill - involved in the preparations of the Games who have made fortunes by stashing away millions in their Swiss accounts. You should not only sack all of them but make sure that each one of the culprits is punished adequately as per laws.

Mr. Prime Minister, please take charge of the CWG directly and immediately by involving qualified and capable people. And if you feel the paucity of time will make it difficult for you to deliver as promised then simply scrap this unnecessary sporting extravaganza. Believe me, no one, absolutely no one, not even a single nation, India included, will miss the otherwise no-purpose Commonwealth Games.

Yes, Mr. Prime Minister, you need to break your silence and speak; not only speak but act swiftly. I am sure no other head of state of a developed nation would have allowed this to happen in his/her country. And even if things would have gone horribly wrong and mammoth corruption would have surfaced, each one of them would have acted instantaneously. Barack Obama, David Cameron, Angela Merkel, Dmitry Medvedev / Vladimir Putin, Nicolas Sarkozy, you name any, all would have acted and owned the accountability completely – and timely.

Mr. Prime Minister, sadly we have not seen you ever speak or act when required. Whether it was 26/11 then (you had taken 3-4 days to face the nation on television to read from a typed script; I don’t think it should have been too difficult for you to speak without an aid on the issue) or the deep crises plaguing the forthcoming Commonwealth Games now.

Prime ministership is not a position; it is a serious responsibility; prime minister is not a ceremonial head but leader of its people. Mr. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, either act like a prime minister or step down. This way you will sustain your honour and respect in hearts and minds of Indians.

How long will India let Australia wear its blinkers?

Wish India had an answer from its government and its ministry of external affairs.

Seeing the state of affairs in Australia against Indians, I am sure, Rabindranath Tagore would have erased his famous “freedom” lines from his Gitanjali: “Where the Mind is without Fear and the Head is held High!” … Indians cannot claim to be “free”, not in Australia, at least!

Because, India is still suffering from its “slavery” hangover! The “please-all” and “do-not-offend” self-inflicted syndrome will always be an insurmountable barrier in its global superpowerdom aspirations!

You think I am being unnecessarily critical of India’s global ambitions? Just take a look at the adverse events continuing with Indians in Australia!

Indians are being harassed and beaten and tortured, and, now even being killed, but India is not yet ready to wake up from its slumber! It’s been almost more than a year and half since Indians are being subjected to serious kinds of racial abuse and assaults but our esteemed government has decided to keep mum! Worse, the Ministry of External Affairs is almost non-functional in spite of having a minister and two minister-of-state!

It is a sad reflection of the fact that the MEA members, though in news almost everyday, are too busy “asserting” their claims to Bossism and pursuing their hobbies – Tweeting for sure is a hobby! – infighting and complete lack of coordination & pervasive confusion. But never in all these months since its formation have we heard the MEA doing anything worthwhile in the arena of foreign policy or fulfilling its responsibilities abroad! The assertiveness with which S.M. Krishna proclaimed, “I am the Boss!” and the time Shashi Tharoor – immensely talented but perhaps a bit lost, thus, wasting his time in trivial things like Twitter - spends tweeting, (Preneet Kaur? Do we still remember her?), if only a portion of the time and energy these ministers had devoted to their “actual” work, we wouldn’t have been witnessing Indians being battered and bruised and beaten, and, now even being butchered in Australia!

The “reason” some experts like to give for continuing Australian barbarism against Indians that the Australians are being “jealous” of Indians for their growing economic clout and prowess, and thus, their hatred, they have to accept that how hollow their analysis is of this highly unfortunate situation down under! If only “this” was the case, then the wealthy Indians would have been on the target and not the students! And why isn’t the racist Australia even attempting attacks on the huge population of Chinese residents? Also, these flawed minds have to understand that in spite of escalating anti-Americanism in the world, no one – absolutely no one! – can ever dare to touch an American anywhere on this earth! Because, everybody knows only too well that their “action” would entail severe reaction from the US!

The Indian government, the Prime Minister included and of course its Ministry of External Affairs, does not have the necessary guts to speak strongly against the callous attitude of the Australia government and its failure in tackling escalating incidents of racial violence against Indian students. Why cannot Manmohan Singh simply pick up the phone and talk to Kevin Rudd in a tough manner that “enough is enough” and sternly ask him and his political colleagues with absurd mindsets to remove their blinkers fast? Why cannot the Foreign Minister (or even MOS) immediately go to Australia to make India’s anger expressed well to the establishment there? And, also show solidarity and support to the victims, who, by the way, are our own citizens?! Why has the Indian government still not issued a travel alert against Australia? …

How long will India take to realize the fact that a meek and mute country cannot – and should not – dream of global political position or power? To be heard – and respected – on the world’s high table, a nations needs to be assertive enough! India has to understand that the geopolitical game can be played only by the strong and self-assured.

To sum it up: I wish India had a P. Chidambaram as the Minister of External Affairs. He would have ensured India’s head was held high – globally and in the down under as well!

Post-Bush America: for India

The fact that we are still not living in a Post-American world is evident from the all around frenzy in our country over the not so well developing Indo-US relation since Obama administration took charge of affairs. The fact that the US foreign policy hawks did not deem India suitable enough to be a part of the stability plan in our troubled northern neighborhoods is also causing concern amongst the Indian politicians and the diplomats alike. The fact that the American President tried to involve China in the Indian scheme of things in Kashmir is giving severe ulcers to foreign policy pundits. The fact that President Obama played a marvelous host to our prime minister during his state visit but never for once publicly reprimanded – even as a passing remark – Pakistan for sponsoring terror activities on the Indian soil is solid enough a proof that for the United States of America – under Barack Obama – India still has to cover quite a distance before it can even think of being counted as its “natural ally”.

So, what should India do?

Without delay, India should remove all those ambiguous factors that have kept its foreign policy ailing, and inconsequential, since inception post independence.

India should immediately take stock of its foreign policy framework and rework on it, putting a few brilliant “expert” brains behind it. If India wants to sit on the global high table and get counted in matters pertaining to geopolitics, it will have to sell itself well. And, India has a lot to “sell” to the world: its hard power and its soft power as well!

India’s military prowess – in defending its territorial integrity in spite of repeated assaults by both Pakistan and China - is acknowledged by all. Though it should maintain its non-ambitious status in terms of border expansion, nevertheless, India should assert itself strongly in matters related to regional politics. India truly deserves a leadership position in its immediate neighborhoods, to start with, before embarking on an endeavor with global aspirations.

Talking about its soft power, though things “Indian” are becoming a rage abroad, still a lot needs to be achieved in this domain. India has to put in a lots of “intelligent” efforts in making people world over adopt the “Indian-way-of-life” as a matter of routine, like the “American-way-of-life” dominates the global psyche. India has to get into the consciousness of the world. Then only we can truly claim to have arrived on the world stage.

For India, selling its soft power is much easier today due to world’s willingness to accept and experiment things “Indian”. This change is apparent, and possible, because of India’s growing economic clout. After all, everybody wants to emulate a nation which is economically on a strong foundation. Remember, the “Mighty Dollar”? India’s “Reliable Rupee” could do the trick!

I feel, it is simple to comprehend.

India is an emerging economy and as the fourth largest economy of the world is expected to soon acquire the economic superpower status along side China. Therefore, it is high time India leveraged its economic strength and established itself as a real “emerging” global power. For this, India needs to put its foreign policy in place.

And, soon the world will see a strategic shift in Obama administration’s attitude towards India and will acknowledge our country as US’ “natural ally”. Its otherwise “failing and crumbling” neighborhoods will accept India as its regional leader and sustained peace and prosperity will be brought about in this part of the world and elsewhere as well! I truly believe that a lot can be accomplished globally with coming together of the oldest and the largest democracies of the world!

Sounds achievable? … I think so.

Thus, Indians need not worry about having to live in a Post-Bush America. With the requisite changes in India’s approach towards its international affairs, both India and the world will soon get to enjoy the Obama-Singh era!

(A sincere digression: God forbid, if the world will ever have to live in the Post-American world. ’Cause, all said and done, the democratic America is a much better world leader than the autocratic Russia or China!)

Disclaimer - The above views are the earnest expressions of a foreign policy non-pundit!