Is to make him fall in love with India – India of the common people, not of the CEOs and politicians and bigwigs, who would naturally like to hog the limelight and give a boost to the SENSEX in the bargain.
Why? Why we should make him fall in love with India or allow India to charm him? Because as of now, as I perceive, the President has only two ‘connections’ with India. One that this is the ‘land-of-the-Mahatma' Gandhi’ and that we have an intellectual Prime Minister – both of which are true, but not enough.
(Surprised at my second statement? Please don’t be – I have absolutely no doubt that the PM Mr. Manmohan Singh is a great intellectual, in fact the only great intellectual in the Indian political scene right now, even though there are giants like Mr. Chidambaram, the Home Minister or Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, the Finance Minister and Rahul Gandhi, who is evolving into one.
My only angst is that the PM is not utilising that intellect properly, just as the rumblings are heard in the US about the President).
So what should be changed? We should try to make him connect with the common people of India, and make sure that the experience makes him a friend for life.
Why should we do it? Despite what happens in the US mid-terms or later, he is still the President of the US and would continue for years. Even after, he has another 30 to 40 years of public, political life in him. AFAIK, only one US President has again served as Senator (after being President), but there is nothing to stop BO, if he wishes to be a Senator again. And then, he is most likely to hold forth as Chairman of one of the powerful Senate committees.
So what? The What is that, after Senator Moynihan and to an extent Senator Edward Kennedy, India has had no ‘true-great-friend’ in the US political establishment. We missed similar chances with the Clintons (even though they are good friends of India) and hit lucky with George W Bush, but we truly miss those ‘great’ friends.
So How? Obviously the points to tackle are the President’s ‘expressed’ ‘fear’ – of the Indian Outsourcing Industry and the Indian Education System. If he is ‘concerned’, then they are where he is vulnerable and that is what we should address.
Why address them? Why not divert his attention to our achievements, our impressive strides elsewhere? Here, there are two things to consider. The US President is very well versed in the prolific of the CEOs and politicians. So showing off our own industrial strength or political maturity is not going to impress him by far. The second is that we do not want him to go away thinking that India is better off than the US (or at least parts of it). In fact, we want him to get the idea that even though we have achieved much, we still have far to travel. That by helping India, he helps the US too (or at least a large amount of humans). Remember he has won the Nobel Peace Prize and it is not given to ‘xenophobes’ but to people who genuinely care about ‘others’. Hence we should show to him the ‘other’ struggling India too.
But isn’t that flaunting or ‘making-money’ of our poverty? Is it? If the President goes back with how the benefits of outsourcing is trickling sown to the (IT hubs’) outlying suburbs/villages, wouldn’t he have second thoughts or even a ‘twinge-of-conscience’ when talks about banning outsourcing next?
Even more important, if he experiences first hand the benefits of the MGNREG or the Indira Awas Yojana, wouldn’t it give him the impetus to force equivalent schemes in the pipeline in the US and act on the tax cuts as well?
Like help for the unemployed and aid to hard-pressed states or moon-shot-quality, high-aspiration initiatives?
Wouldn’t that benefit the US too?
Why didn’t I say similar things when Mr. Cameron or Mr. Sarkozy were here? Come on! They, by themselves, are not as powerful as the US President is. Plus they are not in the same grade as BO as intellectuals – I wonder if they would understand the nuances of such a presentation. Then again, they are more interested in Indian investments in their own country, rather than what they can do for us or hinder us from doing.
The wise mandarins in the MEA must have already calculated these and have planned accordingly, but if not, expect me to blast them after the visit.
If I was the media advisor to the PM, the only devious act I would do is to ensure that the school children, if/when they meet the Presidential couple, address them as ‘uncle’ and ‘auntie’ – on second thought, even that would not be devious. Don’t the kids always call anyone over 30 as uncle or auntie? And don’t we ourselves address our elders as ‘kaka’ or ‘kaki’?
Will it work? A trillion dollar question. As a Tamil expression goes, ‘Try to drag the mountain with your (hair) locks; If you manage, you get the mountain; If not, you lose only your hair’. So, we can but try. Who knows, there might be a Samson amongst us.
My Intellectual instinct whispers that the President is making this longest stay in foreign country till date, searching for such impetus and fortitude. Whether this land of Mahatma will deliver him those, God will tell!
Why? Why we should make him fall in love with India or allow India to charm him? Because as of now, as I perceive, the President has only two ‘connections’ with India. One that this is the ‘land-of-the-Mahatma' Gandhi’ and that we have an intellectual Prime Minister – both of which are true, but not enough.
(Surprised at my second statement? Please don’t be – I have absolutely no doubt that the PM Mr. Manmohan Singh is a great intellectual, in fact the only great intellectual in the Indian political scene right now, even though there are giants like Mr. Chidambaram, the Home Minister or Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, the Finance Minister and Rahul Gandhi, who is evolving into one.
My only angst is that the PM is not utilising that intellect properly, just as the rumblings are heard in the US about the President).
So what should be changed? We should try to make him connect with the common people of India, and make sure that the experience makes him a friend for life.
Why should we do it? Despite what happens in the US mid-terms or later, he is still the President of the US and would continue for years. Even after, he has another 30 to 40 years of public, political life in him. AFAIK, only one US President has again served as Senator (after being President), but there is nothing to stop BO, if he wishes to be a Senator again. And then, he is most likely to hold forth as Chairman of one of the powerful Senate committees.
So what? The What is that, after Senator Moynihan and to an extent Senator Edward Kennedy, India has had no ‘true-great-friend’ in the US political establishment. We missed similar chances with the Clintons (even though they are good friends of India) and hit lucky with George W Bush, but we truly miss those ‘great’ friends.
So How? Obviously the points to tackle are the President’s ‘expressed’ ‘fear’ – of the Indian Outsourcing Industry and the Indian Education System. If he is ‘concerned’, then they are where he is vulnerable and that is what we should address.
Why address them? Why not divert his attention to our achievements, our impressive strides elsewhere? Here, there are two things to consider. The US President is very well versed in the prolific of the CEOs and politicians. So showing off our own industrial strength or political maturity is not going to impress him by far. The second is that we do not want him to go away thinking that India is better off than the US (or at least parts of it). In fact, we want him to get the idea that even though we have achieved much, we still have far to travel. That by helping India, he helps the US too (or at least a large amount of humans). Remember he has won the Nobel Peace Prize and it is not given to ‘xenophobes’ but to people who genuinely care about ‘others’. Hence we should show to him the ‘other’ struggling India too.
But isn’t that flaunting or ‘making-money’ of our poverty? Is it? If the President goes back with how the benefits of outsourcing is trickling sown to the (IT hubs’) outlying suburbs/villages, wouldn’t he have second thoughts or even a ‘twinge-of-conscience’ when talks about banning outsourcing next?
Even more important, if he experiences first hand the benefits of the MGNREG or the Indira Awas Yojana, wouldn’t it give him the impetus to force equivalent schemes in the pipeline in the US and act on the tax cuts as well?
Like help for the unemployed and aid to hard-pressed states or moon-shot-quality, high-aspiration initiatives?
Wouldn’t that benefit the US too?
Why didn’t I say similar things when Mr. Cameron or Mr. Sarkozy were here? Come on! They, by themselves, are not as powerful as the US President is. Plus they are not in the same grade as BO as intellectuals – I wonder if they would understand the nuances of such a presentation. Then again, they are more interested in Indian investments in their own country, rather than what they can do for us or hinder us from doing.
The wise mandarins in the MEA must have already calculated these and have planned accordingly, but if not, expect me to blast them after the visit.
If I was the media advisor to the PM, the only devious act I would do is to ensure that the school children, if/when they meet the Presidential couple, address them as ‘uncle’ and ‘auntie’ – on second thought, even that would not be devious. Don’t the kids always call anyone over 30 as uncle or auntie? And don’t we ourselves address our elders as ‘kaka’ or ‘kaki’?
Will it work? A trillion dollar question. As a Tamil expression goes, ‘Try to drag the mountain with your (hair) locks; If you manage, you get the mountain; If not, you lose only your hair’. So, we can but try. Who knows, there might be a Samson amongst us.
My Intellectual instinct whispers that the President is making this longest stay in foreign country till date, searching for such impetus and fortitude. Whether this land of Mahatma will deliver him those, God will tell!
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