Author: Anjum Niaz
Publication: Dawn Karachi
Date:
Envy is eating the hearts out of
Indians in the US. Why, they cringe, is Pakistan and Musharraf still chums
with Bush and company, while Vajpayee and his abusers of Pakistan are frozen
out by Washington. Salaam India. Yes, that's what yoga studios on the West
Coast boasting a hip clientele will soon be doing. Terrorized into renaming
their outlets 'Bikram's Yoga College of India' or face punishing litigation,
Bikram Choudhury, the mojo man, is chastising America for filching his
"hot" poses and "sweaty" breathing exercises guaranteed to draw ecstasy.
"When in Rome, I must do as the Romans do," snarls the India-born immigrant
who came to the US in 1971, and is today a millionaire many times over:
"When in America, make Bikram copyright and trademark." His 'gotcha' tone
has thousands of fitness boutiques quivering as he arm-twists them into
placing franchise and royalty fees at his altar. The semi-naked, foul-tongued
56-year-old icon compares himself to Superman or Buddha when plugging his
prurient postures. Romancing the guru, Americans appear to love all things
Indian. (Lonely Pakistan, with its only Tahira Syed, jaded diplomatic dos
and Washington meena bazaars is but passe).
On the East Coast, India's grip
over America is even more menacing. Money matters - that's what Indians,
hunkered down thousands of miles away, are presiding over while limning
vicariously the classified information exposed on their monitors and probably
saved on their hard discs for later use. India silently digs deep its technology
tentacles into sensitive information from unsuspecting Americans, whose
salary, bank and brokerage statements, credit card data and everything
else meant for the IRS eyes only (Internal Revenue Service) now routinely
falls in its lap. It's a steal for the fat-cat American accounting firms
outsourcing the processing of tax returns to India for nominal fees. Mother
lode of information on individuals and business houses around America -
how's that for soft power that enables India to demand a superpower status,
specially when up excoriating Pakistan? Still, the Indians in the US cry
foul - they feel left out, ignored and bypassed: they worry why most analysts
and the US media ignores India's (non)role in international affairs. Even
when India spurns a superpower (US) it's ignored - not even mentioned as
a bit player. Do India's one billion plus people amount to nothing? They
whine. Envy, known as the 'red-eye disease' in China, is eating their hearts
out. Why, they cringe, is Pakistan and "dictator" Musharraf still chums
with Bush and company, while Vajpayee and his abusers of Pakistan are frozen
out by Washington.
Their "superpowerdom" oozing with
soft power, e.g. "yoga, curries, Bollywood, classical music, literature,
culture, software talent, creativity and design, natural beauty, history
and architecture, parliamentary democracy, a professional army that doesn't
believe it should take over governance of the country periodically...."
has failed to excite Bush and his buddies.
Searing on their minds is Kofi Annan's
appointment of Pakistani Rafeeuddin Ahmed - a seasoned former UN official
- as his special envoy to Iraq. "Looks like the early riders are rushing...to
jump on the bandwagon," says one Indian who wonders if India's share of
the pie in post-war Iraq is envisaged." Laments another about the "silly"
mistake BJP's allies, the RSS with their Hindutva brigade, has made by
siding with Saddam, "It will have negative results for the NRI Hindus (Non-Resident
Indians)" here desperate to showcase their allegiance to America.
"India and Hindus should have joined
the war at the right time. It's tragic that it started in Indophilic Iraq
but it's the most strategic and high-impact area. If you pull out the Iraq
card, the rest (Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan) fall like dominoes.
That's why India watches. After Iraq, it is important to see that Saudia
and Pakistan are reduced to the ground. And it will not matter how many
are killed. Life has always been cheap on this planet!" About time we had
a word-slinging spat between Indian Foreign Minister, Yashwant Sinha, and
our voluble Khurshid Kasuri, specially after Sinha's sinisterly gauntlet
that Pakistan is a "fit case" for an Iraqi-style military action by the
US: "because it has weapons of mass destruction, sheltered terrorists and
lacked democracy."
Harangue America, we must, on UN
Security Council (UNSC) resolutions calling for the right of self-determination
by the Kashmiri people. If America can ransack Baghdad for violating the
UNSC resolutions for the last 12 years, what about New Delhi, the scofflaw
for half-a-century? Kasuri with his three-piece suits should get here pronto
and start hollering Pakistan's case against India. Lustily, the Indians,
too, have begun their assault on the UN by putting up their candidate as
Kofi Annan's successor to the UN throne. Shashi Tharoor, a preppy face,
with clipped British accent and noetic airs, pulls rank in UN circles as
if he was already Annan's heir apparent. The understudy serendipitously
knows what to say when in Australia, asked if he as "Americanized", said
Tharoor: "No, I haven't made the leap of imagination that immigration entails...I
have lived in Switzerland without feeling Swiss, I have lived in Singapore
without feeling Singaporean. I carry my Indian identity and my Indianness
with me." He's also an award-winning author.As Under-Secretary-General
for Communications and Public Information, Tharoor, according to UN insiders,
has made a "cardinal mistake" by showing his cards this early and thereby
jettisoning his chances of succeeding Annan. Sure, it's an Asian's turn
to head the UN next, but many here point out to other rising stars from
say Sri Lanka or even some wise man from Far East as Tharoor's worthy competitors.
"No, Tharoor is not the guy," conclude
some with specificity, "he's not good enough material for secretary-general."
But the card-carrying Indians never give up, do they? Getting around the
roadblock, in an Indian-inspired Op-Ed in International Herald Tribune
(IHT) the writer Richard Wilcox - Clinton's director of UN affairs in his
National Security Council - bent backwards to beg Washington in approving
India as a permanent member of the UN Security Council! "The Indian-American
community is coming of age politically as America seeks a strategic alliance
with India. The result could be a permanent Security Council seat for the
world's largest democracy, which governs the affairs of one in six human
beings. Clearly, a seat for India would make the body more representative
and democratic - more so than, say, a seat for Japan or Germany, two of
the other perennial candidates. With India as a member, the council would
be a more legitimate and thus a more effective body for American multilateral
leadership." According to Wilcox's skewed sense, America need not fear
risking its "critical ally" Pakistan because "an India reassured of its
great-power status by a permanent seat on the Security Council could afford
greater moderation toward Pakistan. Those in Pakistan fighting against
terrorism stand to benefit most from Indian moderation."
Geez, what logic!
Read the latest Human Rights Watch
Report: State Complicity and Participation in Communal Violence in Gujarat,
a damning testimony to Indian government's "ghettoization" of the Muslim
community. According to the report, "violence against Muslims was planned
well in advance of the Godhra massacre and with extensive state participation
and support. "One year after the beginning of communal violence in Gujarat
that claimed over 2,000 lives, there have been no convictions of those
responsible and little in the way of promised relief for victims."
Although the Indian government initially
boasted of thousands of arrests following the attacks, most of those arrested
have since been released on bail, acquitted or simply let go, says the
report. Senator Sam Brownback of Senate Foreign Relations Committee and
a dear friend of Pakistan who was awarded our highest civilian award, is
continually courted by the US India Political Action Committee (USINPAC)
based in DC. Last week, he went to breakfast with them. Needless to second-guess
what the Indians lobby for!
You bet nine times out of ten, it's
Pakistan bashing.
