The 21st century belongs to India. It sure does. We're in the news all the time. And for all the wrong reasons. First things first , 14 months and we still haven't managed to get a single person convicted for the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai. Gone are the days when Pranab Mukherjee (then Foreign Minister) sounded the war bugle on Pakistan in response to the cowardly attacks but ended up taking instructions from them on how to proceed legally to secure convictions for a crime that was documented LIVE on World Televisions. In UPA-2 some divine intervention told him about his advancing age so he conveniently shifted himself to the more cosy Finance Ministry leaving the Foreign Ministry charge to a docile SM Krishna 'ably' supported by his assistant Shashi 'Twitteroor'. I'm sure they both got to settle a lot of other differences first before they start taking their jobs seriously. Meanwhile, Pakistan has played its side of the game smartly. Rarely do we see a country come out unscathed after inflicting such macabre humiliation on its neighbor. Even the pea-sized Palestine bombed the mighty Israel when challenged.
China, on the other hand, badly cuts us down to our size, both physically and diplomatically. Physically; by claiming Arunachal Pradesh & Aksai Chin. Diplomatically; by vetoing crucial treaties and accords against us in International Bodies, investing money and manpower in mineral-rich Africa and oil-rich South America, gaining political clout in countries like Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh which have traditionally been India's friends. The Chinese economic growth story is a result of their own hard efforts. The political arrogance is just an expected consequence. Unless we keep them in check and learn to expand our own base, we will be to China what Canada is to America. Living under fear is bad but living under denial of it is worse.
The newest hot-spot for Indians for education and tourism, Australia, is in the news too. What started as stray street attacks on brown people with the motives being robbery or sexual assault has transformed into full-fledged racist attacks with Indians being singled out for special treatment. Before we even discuss the reasons behind it, I strongly believe that the job of the Australian government is to protect its people (citizens, tourists alike) from such brutal attacks and not get philosophical about job losses and domestic unemployment being the reasons behind these acts of sheer cowardice. India, on the other hand, has taken 3 months just to request the Australian authorities to set up a committee to look into the matter. Parents have lost their young children, some have been lucky to settle with a permanently disabled young man in their house, some plan to return soon, many have cancelled their plans of going. If the govt had guts, it would have issued a strict travel advisory prohibiting Indians from touring Australia in the near future and banning any visits by Australian ministers or industry tycoons. But our policy of pliability prevents us from taking decisive steps. Instead, we had the Australian Foreign Min, Dy. PM and PM himself as state guests recently who either conveniently avoided intrusive questions on the racist attacks or gave textbook answers that would keep the diplomats happy. An Indian is probably running for his life or being beaten to death on the streets of Melbourne even as I post this blog.
Push has come to shove, and the shove to a Tombstone Piledriver, but we lay bare and naked knocked out without putting up a fight. Unless we stand up and be counted, the world will dismiss us as just another over-sized country that is too busy with its one-dimensional growth to care for the life & property of its citizens or diaspora. The way things are going, we must count ourselves lucky to even co-exist in this world amidst some fiercely self-respecting countries that will not give up an inch of land or let go a single drop of blood without making the aggressor pay heavily for it.
China, on the other hand, badly cuts us down to our size, both physically and diplomatically. Physically; by claiming Arunachal Pradesh & Aksai Chin. Diplomatically; by vetoing crucial treaties and accords against us in International Bodies, investing money and manpower in mineral-rich Africa and oil-rich South America, gaining political clout in countries like Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh which have traditionally been India's friends. The Chinese economic growth story is a result of their own hard efforts. The political arrogance is just an expected consequence. Unless we keep them in check and learn to expand our own base, we will be to China what Canada is to America. Living under fear is bad but living under denial of it is worse.
The newest hot-spot for Indians for education and tourism, Australia, is in the news too. What started as stray street attacks on brown people with the motives being robbery or sexual assault has transformed into full-fledged racist attacks with Indians being singled out for special treatment. Before we even discuss the reasons behind it, I strongly believe that the job of the Australian government is to protect its people (citizens, tourists alike) from such brutal attacks and not get philosophical about job losses and domestic unemployment being the reasons behind these acts of sheer cowardice. India, on the other hand, has taken 3 months just to request the Australian authorities to set up a committee to look into the matter. Parents have lost their young children, some have been lucky to settle with a permanently disabled young man in their house, some plan to return soon, many have cancelled their plans of going. If the govt had guts, it would have issued a strict travel advisory prohibiting Indians from touring Australia in the near future and banning any visits by Australian ministers or industry tycoons. But our policy of pliability prevents us from taking decisive steps. Instead, we had the Australian Foreign Min, Dy. PM and PM himself as state guests recently who either conveniently avoided intrusive questions on the racist attacks or gave textbook answers that would keep the diplomats happy. An Indian is probably running for his life or being beaten to death on the streets of Melbourne even as I post this blog.
Push has come to shove, and the shove to a Tombstone Piledriver, but we lay bare and naked knocked out without putting up a fight. Unless we stand up and be counted, the world will dismiss us as just another over-sized country that is too busy with its one-dimensional growth to care for the life & property of its citizens or diaspora. The way things are going, we must count ourselves lucky to even co-exist in this world amidst some fiercely self-respecting countries that will not give up an inch of land or let go a single drop of blood without making the aggressor pay heavily for it.
