Shashi Tharoor is making news... and why not! Afterall, he is a very strong contender for the UN Secretary General post. The guy is a mallu, but not really, coz he has stayed, worked and lived all over India. So, he is an indian, but not really, coz technically, he was not an indian citizen, as he was born England. The guy comes through as a mixed bag. For e.g. he says:
"Saibaba and Infosys are, in fact, emblematic of an India that somehow manages to live in several centuries at once."
Here is a guy who understands the conundrum that is "India" and then he says:
"India is not, as people keep calling it, an underdeveloped country, but rather, in the context of its history and cultural heritage, a highly developed one in an advanced state of decay."
Not much of a optimistic person now, is he??
I am a very strong believer than we should not pride over achievements of Indians who have not spent their lifetime(or most of it) in the mainland of India. Now, Tharoor doesn't fall squarely in this category. But, none the less, I don't like the idea of being pushed into believing that I should feel pride over people who have never cared much for India. Ok, now comes the real attack, who is to tell that the people who "live" in India have more love for the country than the ones who don't? The answer should be made simple, else it is not convincing. The people who end up in US or UK or wherever doing what they do to become famous, have not achieved it under the pressure, pain or helplessness that one feels in India. They were lucky(rich) to explore their skills in lands which splurge more opportunities. So, they cannot be on par with people who achieve the same or maybe even less in India, coz the achievements now need to be weighed by "conditions" under which whatever was achieved.
Back to Tharoor... not taking anything away from him(and I know very little about him), is his candidature just another move in the whole game to please the next asian giant? Multinationals are pouring into India like never before. This is enough reason for capitalist "developed" nations to focus on keeping India happy. But at the same time, by dancing samba with these powers, we lose our powers! Why do I say this? Here is the reason, not so long ago ISRO was banned by NASA for trying to:
1. Get technological help on cryogenic engines from Russia
2. For trying to build one!
Now, the same dying economies come to please us! They support our space and nuclear programme. They are too proud to admit that they have a problem that only our buying power can solve and we are too nice to make them realize this. They make the sensex go to 12000, they make it go to 9000 and what are we becoming... just puppets? At some stage we need to strike a balance, right now its a landslide. "Dont patronize India!" This is what I feel like telling when I see the two-timing world leaders at our doorsteps today.
Disclaimer: I like my MNC job and the money it pays :-). But my thoughts are not loyal to any MNC!
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5 comments:
I would really suggest you to check out the Interview of Shashi tharoor with Arnab Goswami in "Times now".. then you sure would be singing a different tune ...
As you mentioned be it Shashi or be it Kalpana Chawla ... the only fact that they are indians would be their Asian names ... there ain't Abdul Kalam or Rabindranath tagore for godness sake
Well, coming to Shashi .. he is one of the finest gentlemen ever!!! seriously, try reading his "Riots" .. or so the matter there was his speech during the Stephen's college(Bombay's 100th anniversary) and he was so charismatic .. candid and genuine ...
Well, as far as your contention about himself not being so much an indian ... was actually clarified by himself in the interview.. he mentioned, that he is not representing INDIA for the post of Gen Secy in the UN... he has been nominated based on his existing work in the UN and not cause of any reservation for INDIA... and he also says that INDIA is hardly a problem to be contended across in the UN.. they have bigger head-aches such as Africa, Gulf , etc... so there was no need to tag his nomination with INDIA... ASAT
I agree that Shashi is probably a nice chap and the reasoning that he is not contesting as an Indian or going to use the clout that India demands in the world(UN) today is like Laloo telling that Rabri is chief minister and he has nothing to do with the government. :-)Whether he realizes it or not(and I dont think he is dumb not to), if he is gonna get it, its because of his Indian connection.
It is please India season indeed
Check out the latest issue of TIME http://www.time.com/time/magazine/current
each article makes you distinctly feel that the people writing the stories were compelled to write something good (the praises heaped on us are a little too much to digest :)
We made it to the cover of TIME? that too as a country? WoW! :-) And I can see what you say.. there is a definite forced appreciation in a couple of articles.
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