“The Arrogant America”
By
J.L. Gupta
Are Americans, the policemen
of the world? They overlook diplomatic immunity and arrest diplomats with
impunity. India could have retaliated. Thus far, it has honoured the convention
and exercised extreme restraint. Does America deserve such a civilized response?
I think, No! Why?
America thinks no end of
itself. It is arrogant and arbitrarily arrogates all powers to itself. It does
what it likes. Attacks countries at will. Bush – the ‘Butcher of Baghdad’ is
still a free man. Is he not guilty of crimes against humanity? Will he be ever
tried? The world is waiting for an answer. Will the wait ever end?
Speaking about Columbus Sir
Winston Churchill said, “When he set out, he did not know where he was going,
when he got there he did not know where he was and when he got home he did not
know where he had been.” And then, Oscar Wilde - “of course, America had often been discovered
before Columbus, but it had always been hushed up.”
According
to Georges Clemenceau, “America is the only nation in history which
miraculously has gone from barbarism to degeneracy without the usual interval
of civilization.”
The view is well founded. As a
people, the Americans have practiced violence. They have spread hatred and war.
They were the first in world history to make and use weapons of mass
destruction. Hiroshima and Nagasaki still bear the scars of the atomic holocaust
perpetrated by the Yankees. Recently, the Americans were indiscriminately
killing men, women and even innocent children in Iraq. Earlier, they had caused
havoc in various places like Korea and Vietnam. Why? Is America inflicting
imperialism? Does it want to create a market for its products – the weapons of
war? Or is it execution of a grand design to rob others of their wealth?
Today, it appears that
Columbus had gone too far. And like the evils of desire, detestation and
disapproval, even democracy is a gift from America. The Americans, it appears,
are like mules. ‘Without pride of ancestry and hope of posterity?’ The school
children carry guns and kill their unsuspecting class fellows without any cause
or provocation. Violence has become a way of life. ‘Americans seem to believe that
God is dead but Elvis is alive.’ The attitude has produced reaction.
“I am willing to love all
mankind, except an American…” Samuel Johnson.
“The US
embassy in Moscow is nothing but an eight-storey microphone plugged into the
Politburo.” Richard Armey.
God created America. Columbus
discovered it. Today, it appears that even God is not infallible.
In view of the problems that
America and the Americans have created for the world, can we forgive either?
Harold Hobson said, “The
United States, are under the impression that they are twenty years in advance
of Britain; whilst, as a matter of actual verifiable fact, they are just about six
hours behind it.” In case of India, the US would be about ten hours behind us.
Even George Bernard Shaw had
expressed a similar view when he said, “An asylum for the sane would be empty in
America.”
“Americans adore me and will
go on adoring me until I say something nice about them.”
“America is a mistake, a giant
mistake.” Sigmund Freud.
And Dear American! Do you believe
that the whole world is wrong? I Wish you all well. God bless America!!
Touche'.
ReplyDeleteI agree in principle. And DK should be gracefully brought back. But in this matter, there is the other side too. And that other side is also an Indian woman.
ReplyDeleteRead http://www.justice.gov/usao/nys/pressreleases/December13/KhobragadeStatement.php
I think now that we are clear that there was a senior American diplomat working in the Delhi Embassy who pulled a lot of strings to get the maid's family shifted from Delhi to America (even financing their tickets!), 2 things become immediately clear. One that there was a conspiracy being executed at the end of the American foreign office about which Ms. Khobragade was but a pawn. Second, the factual correctness of Mr. Bharara's statement cited by you above is seriously doubtful. Just a piece of advise bro - next time you decide to accept a Punjabi's judgment of how a lady was treated on face value, don't!
DeleteWith a tarnished track record as the world's worst violator of human rights, the United States of America has lost its moral, political and legal self-proclaimed authority. However from Guantanamo to the drone attacks, it seems to be doing nothing wrong. The rule of law is what the US says it is. A different set of rules and standards for itself and for others...after all they are mere countries. Humanity is at risk today from the world's guardian. People, please wake up!
ReplyDeleteAn American myself, I cannot disagree with what you say. Our government acts despicably at times, and without due regard for the sovereignty and nobility of others. However, please do not paint all American people with the same brush you would those who seem to be in power. In the beginning, and in the end, we are all human beings.
ReplyDeleteJohn Clinton Gray, California, USA
It was outrageous to strip search and handcuff a woman diplomat by America on the alleged irregularity of visa papers of her maid.......it needs to be condemned by all
ReplyDeleteI was recently reading some comments by a friend in Manila regarding the recent "Binay incident"... the story, the issue that motivates the public at large to rise up to their keyboards, seems to be an uneven distribution of power... this is mine and that's yours, but maybe that should be mine as well...
ReplyDeleteThere is injustice in the world, as may be the case regarding the legal proceedings involving diplomat Devyani Khobragade. It seems highly possible that false documents were submitted to immigration officials in order to bring the diplomat's housekeeper into the country... in context one should remember that some years ago, a number of high ranking US government officials got caught up in a similar situation over employment of illegal immigrants from Latin America. More or less the legal system does work and yes there are over zealous individuals in the legal profession and as well there is misuse of diplomatic portfolio.
As I interpret parts of your blog, you have raised an interesting point... power and the abuse of the same. On a smaller scale, it's subsidized busing and tax incentives in California, gated communities in the Philippines, islands in the sun for the affluent... maybe a housekeeper below the minimum legal wage. More than likely a head full of self and a side arm (actual or implied) to announce it. Things have not really changed, there are just more individuals on both sides of the fence between "mine and yours".
The USA is the home of the common man... I love that image, more so than the reality. Be it the people, the business 'community', the government, or whatever lobby group... it's an experiment of western democracy, a work in process. By placing blame you give more credit than is deserves...
I will respond to the question Uncleji asks: "Are Americans, the policemen of the World"? The rest of the blog deals with application of the US immigration laws and not with policing of the world.
ReplyDeletePeople of extreme left and right sways in my country, in other nations and the US itself have enthused antagonism to the notion of the US acting like the “Globo Cop”. While even folks with profound intelligence, like uncleji, would argue against America’s autarchic role as a global policeman, I wonder: Why does America take on this thankless task of policing the world and does the world really need a constable to maintain law and order?
As long as evil regimes exist on our planet, and many still do, someone mighty will have to protect the peaceable citizen and societies from "Frankenstein dictators" and troublemakers. The notion of having an international policing system is no different than having a local policing system in one’s own city or neighborhood. The difference is that the evil regimes are far more dangerous than ordinary robbers, rapists and murderers. They, if given half a chance, are mass robbers, mass rapists and mass murderers. Tyrants like Hitler, Stalin, Milosevic, Hussein, Gaddafi, Amin and alike are gone but other tyrannies will continue to threaten world peace.
Clearly, the world needs a policeman the same as your local neighborhood needs policemen. So the question is not whether we need a world policeman, but who it will be.
The UN body could be a useful forum to resolve conflicts and to act as a world policeman. Alas, the track record shows its miserable failures at time of need in stopping bloodlettings, e.g., in Congo, Bosnia, Rwanda, Iraq, and Palestine and is completely impotent in stopping the on-going slaughter in Sudan, central Africa and Syria. Its member nations lack unanimous thinking and rarely reach a consensus.
The other alternative could be NATO since unlike the UN, NATO has the advantage of being composed exclusively of democracies that share a common heritage and, presumably, common interests. However it had also failed in Kosovo. EU is equally ineffective since it is not a military force and had never intervened out of the European sphere.
So who does that leave to be the world's policeman? China? Russia? Iran? India? Pakistan, Bangladesh? Burkina Faso? I think the answer is pretty obvious. It should be a country with the most vibrant economy, the most fervent devotion to liberty and the most powerful military. Britain kept the "enemies of all mankind", such as slave traders and pirates, at bay in its glory days. Her power had declined for ever. Now the US is the only nation capable of playing a dominant role around the world. According to Madeleine Albright the US remains the only indispensable nation in policing the World. America is doing what Rudyard Kipling warned "Ye dare not stoop to less." The US does not gain any popularity for spilling its blood to free others. The people it tries to liberate from tyrants invariably turn against her. The policemen’s task has to be done and the world needs the US to play Globo Cop.
Now about the outrage against America in Uncleji’s blog
ReplyDeleteThere need to be an outrage over ill-treatment of any Indian citizen abroad. our Deputy Consul General Devyani Khobragade, 39, was arrested and strip searched last week in New York over allegations of breaking the immigration and labour laws. She was later freed on bail. Our government has retaliated by withdrawing all ID cards for American Embassy staff that gave them certain privileges, stopping all import clearances including liquor for the US embassy and removing security police and barricades from the streets near the US Embassy in Chanakyapuri. The official displeasure was also shown by snubbing the visiting US Congressional delegation.
The incident, nasty it may appear, is nothing more than a regular practice by diplomats in flouting the laws of the country they are stationed in. They enjoy diplomatic immunity and consider themselves privileged and above the rules of law. Khobaragade should have known better that many things she could get away in India are unacceptable in the US.
In case of Khobragade, she brought an Indian nanny Sangeeta Richard to the US by false declarations on visa application and entered into fraudulent contracts to pay the nanny much less than the legislated minimum wage of $9.75 an hour in New York.
Preetinder Singh Bharara, NY’s highest-profile prosecutor of Indian origin, is taking a hard line in this case. He has vowed to “uphold the rule of law, protect victims, and hold accountable anyone who breaks the law no matter what their societal status and no matter how powerful, rich or connected they are”. Bharara said that “Khobaragade clearly tried to evade U.S. law designed to protect from exploitation the domestic employees of diplomats and consular officers. Not only did she try to evade the law, but as further alleged, she caused the victim and her spouse to attest to false documents and be a part of her scheme to lie to U.S. government officials.” Khobaragade’s lawyer claims that the unpaid balance was meant to be sent to the nanny’s family in India. But some suspect that most likely she was pocketing the difference. Truth will come out soon enough if Bharara persists.
There is a lot to ponder about the extreme displeasure Indian Government is exhibiting on one hand in case of ill-treatment of an Indian diplomat abroad and remain most cavalier on the other hand when it comes to the indignities its citizens regularly suffer abroad. It is well known that there are thousands of cases of Indians being harassed in the Gulf countries and facing discrimination in Western countries. Yet, India's attitude has been to leave those cases well alone.
By the way this is not the first time Devyani has landed in a controversial situation that involves making false statement for personal gains. She, with help of her high profiled IAS father Uttam Khobaragade, was implicated in the controversial Adarsh Cooperative Housing society scam. Read the link below:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/devyani-ineligible-but-owns-flat-at-adarsh-society/article5483912.ece
Now Uttam Khodbaragade, claims that the maid is a CIA plant to implicate her daughter. Really. What does he think of us common people – Idiots?
What is fair is not necessarily legal and what is legal is not necessarily fair. What America has done may be legal but not fair. America and Americans do not understand the social and economic reality of India or for that matter any other country. However, I would not go as far as blame America for every ill in the world but quite clearly they seem trigger happy and have waged wars that on hindsight appeared unnecessary.
ReplyDeleteThe issue of underpayment could have been easily handled without as much as having to resort to handcuffing a lady diplomat. America is a litigant society. The maid was smart. She realised that she could play the system and make quick money. That is what most Americans would have done. The maid imbibed the local culture quickly and has made a bold attempt to monetize misery (if that is what it was)
America's contribution to the world in many spheres cannot be undermined. They have many institutions of excellence. Judicial system may not be one of them.
Besides, India needs America much more it needs us. We must be mindful of our larger interests.
Latest on Devyani Khobragade saga:
ReplyDeleteReuters reported this morning that the UN has approved a request from India to accredit Khobragade who is facing criminal charges including visa fraud in the US. This move by India was aimed at ending the standoff with the US in the hope that her new diplomatic status could allow New Delhi to bring her home without the prosecution proceeding.
I hope that on her return, the Minister of Foreign Affairs will severely reprimand Devyani for damaging the image of India and credibility of other Indian representatives abroad. She should be barred in future from representing India. Anything lesser would be like abetting a criminal.
Devyani Saga continues.
ReplyDeleteOfficial apparatus in the External Affairs is busy churning out devious tactics. The latest lob is that MS Khobragade was accredited to the UN before her arrest whereby she was protected under Vienna convention and her arrest was a violation of diplomatic protocol. What a load of crap. Coming up with fantasy defenses and explanations and spinning them in India is one thing, convincing the US State Department and Preet Bharara is something else entirely. Please stop embarrassing India and Indians any further. GOI should come up with a plausible way out and bring her home and give her a desk job where she cannot fabricate documents for her personal gains.
A 1999 class IFS officer landing a plum job in the US, and thus joining her American citizen husband, is more than just a coincident. It smells more and more like a complicity and connivance.
A respectful suggestion to Gupta uncleji: Please not to ride the anti-US wagon too fast. Stumbling could be hurtful.
In defense of America
ReplyDeleteUncle – Hope you are doing well. This is Manish (brother of Monica Bhatia, Nidhi’s close friend from Sacred Heart in Chandigarh). Monica and my parents are visiting the US and dad forwarded me a link to your write-up the other day. After reading it, and having lived in the US for 27 years now, I felt compelled to respond. Rather than subjective statements, wanted to start off by sharing some facts that should be beyond dispute.
1. US is the most charitable nation on earth. In 2011, US citizens donated $212B. The US Govt. is also the biggest giver of world aid at $30B a year. https://www.cafonline.org/pdf/World_Giving_Index_2011_191211.pdf. Thirteen of the top 20 private charity foundations are US based. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wealthiest_charitable_foundations.
2. US innovation and inventions have changed peoples’ lives around the world for the better. The car, the telephone, electricity, cell phones, the Internet on which you post the blog, the computer or laptop you use to type, the tablet that lets you command the worlds’ knowledge with the click of a few buttons, Google, Yahoo, email, Facebook, – essentially everything you take for granted today or use from the moment you wake up to when you go to sleep – all invented in the US.
3. Advanced in medicine – 40% of all new research is done in the US - http://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2011/03/23/the-most-innovative-countries-in-biology-and-medicine/. Of the $160B spent on medical research globally in 2005, $35B or 20% of total was spent by the US. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/127893.php. Twelve of the top twenty medical device companies are based in the US. There were 3,000 pharmaceutical products in development in the US annually.
Now to Amercia’s ‘use of violence’. For the first half of the 21st century, the US was happy staying within its own borders and not getting involved in world affairs. The unprovoked attack on Pearl Harbor changed that and the US found itself in WWII. And the world should be thankful for that – or most of Europe would be speaking German and most of the people, races, clans that Hitler did not like would have been dead by now. He did kill 12M innocent people before being defeated. After the war, Russia staked claim to the countries it had sent its army to and that became the eastern bloc. Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia – all independent countries became part of the Soviet Union. What did the US do? Help re-build Japan, and Europe and all countries where the US was are thriving, independent democracies.
More recently, 9/11 happened to America. 3,000 of our civilians died going to work – and the people who did it all got training in Afghanistan which was nothing but a failed state and a terrorist haven. The US went it and cleaned the mess. We got Osama Bin Laden and whole bunch of other nefarious characters. Iraq should not have happened. The politicians in power at that time got incomplete and false information and either intentionally or not invaded the country. That was a mistake and the country realized that. Obama has pulled out of that.
So please look at the entirety of the US record before passing judgment.
Now to the issue of the diplomat who got arrested. We NRIs have zero sympathy for her. First, the Indian consulate/embassy in the US does nothing for Indians in America. This is a universal experience all NRIs have in the US. The Indian embassy staff fails miserably in one of its key tasks – to help Indians in need. Second – most Americans don’t have domestic help. We see that as exploitation and a relic of the past. If we can live our lives and raise our children without servants, not sure why she needs one. We can’t sympathize with her ‘problem’ and are surprised the Indian govt is making such a big issue of this when they should be focused on taking care of far bigger problems at home that impact the lives of ordinary Indians.
Well put Manish Bhai saheb.
ReplyDeleteSalam and Jai Hind,
The more I read on how the Americans are spreading falsehoods to justify their indefensible behavior against Ms. Khobragade, the more I am appalled at how our gullible citizens blindly trust and lap up everything put out by the American state machinery! Has everyone forgotten Iraq? We were told by the highest functionary of the American State that there are weapons of mass destruction there. They went in and destroyed the country to save us from these alleged weapons. So where did these weapons go?! I suppose Ms. Khobragade hid them? The latest reports on the salary documents (And not some allegations of a politically ambitious Punjabi!) reveal that the maid was being paid close to US$2400. This is more than the salary of a Secretary to Govt. of India! You can read this here;
ReplyDeletehttp://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/devyani-arrest-row-devyani-khobragade-sangeeta-richard-india-us-diplomatic-face-off/1/333308.html
My point is that the Indian Foreign Ministry would not have taken the drastic steps it took against the Americans unless it was absolutely sure of the facts of the Khobragade case. We, fortunately are not idiots. After all you certainly cannot hold us guilty of having elected George Bush as our leader. Twice over!!
Mr. Bharara is a total 'Paji' for having shot his mouth on the 'courtesies' extended to Ms. Khobragade and his interpretation of the facts of the case. I extend a sincere invitation to Mr. Bharara and his supporters to subject their women the same 'courtesies' courtesy our Punjab Police. May be then they would understand what respect is to be given to diplomats of other countries.
I don't expect America to act against any one responsible for this unacceptable behavior. After all no one was held responsible for Iraq. And I would remind all this supporting America that even if Ms. Khobragade was guilty, the Americans still failed to act according to the Vienna Convention.
I don't think any of us are Anti- America. But we certainly expect responsible behavior from the self proclaimed protector of civil liberties.
And Tauji, as far as being vary of 'stumbling' while expressing your thoughts on America's actions is concerned, have no fear. All the 'Pajis' in the world together cannot stop a lion from telling them exactly what they are!
http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2143560,00.html
ReplyDeleteA relevant article by Fareed Zakaria - a prominent journalist and an Indian-American.
For all the admirers of Mr. Bharara;
ReplyDeletehttp://nypost.com/2012/02/16/preets-sweet-press/
http://www.firstpost.com/world/is-us-attorney-preet-bharara-using-the-khobragade-case-for-a-political-career-1295701.html
Facts remain facts irrespective of sg1977's invectives and affronts.
ReplyDeleteThere is enough written on the subject even in the Indian media for sg1977 to chew upon and digest. Ms Khobaragade has a history in falsifying documents for personal gains in India and now abroad. The only difference is that she got away with it in India. She has shamed India and those Indians representing and serving their nation quite honestly.
May I take this opportunity to wish Uncleji and all the readers a very happy New Year 2014.
Salam and Jai Hind
The diplomat is back in india. heard her father wants to join politics and also suggested that the maid was a CIA plant! This does not even deserve a response. Wish the Indian govt had responded to the rape in Delhi with the same passion as they are going after the US consulate.
ReplyDelete