Dear Friends;
This story is from the NY Times (April 10, 2012) -bhuban April 9, 2012, 5:25 AM For Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Rahul Gandhi, Divergent Public Styles By JIM YARDLEY Raveendran/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Center: Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, son of Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari, waved as he left the renowned 13th century shrine of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer, Rajasthan, April 8, 2012. It did not take Bilawal Bhutto Zardari long during his first visit to India to show he is a very different type of political prince than Rahul Gandhi – at least when it comes to public relations. The moment the son of Pakistan’s president, Asif Ali Zardari, and the late former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto landed Sunday in New Delhi, he launched what became a daylong monologue on Twitter. “AOA India Peace be with you,” he tweeted, presumably using shorthand for the greeting As-Salamu Alaikum, upon arriving. “I have just landed in Delhi. 1st ever visit.” If Sunday’s main event was the meeting between the Pakistani president and India’s prime minister, Manmohan Singh, the choreographed interplay between the younger Mr. Zardari, 23, and Mr. Gandhi, 41, who sat next to each other at lunch, proved an irresistible sideshow. The two men share similarly tragic pasts. Mr. Gandhi lost a father and grandmother to assassination. Mr. Zardari lost his mother to assassination while his grandfather was deposed and later hanged. Mr. Gandhi, as is his wont, remained publicly silent Sunday. The younger Mr. Zardari kept gabbing on Twitter. To be fair, the pairing of the two men – and any assumption that similar personal narratives might translate into similar political styles – ignores the fact that they are almost two decades apart in age. Mr. Zardari falls squarely in the generation for which Twitter functions almost as a central nervous system. Mr. Gandhi apparently does not use it, though he has a public Facebook account. He is often described as shy and earnest. He has conducted news briefings in the past, including during the recent Uttar Pradesh elections, but he rarely, if ever, submits to personal interviews. He remains something of a mystery, even though he is also one of India’s best-known people. This morning, India’s leading English-language national newspapers all carried front-page photographs of the younger Mr. Zardari, who reportedly used the luncheon to invite Mr. Gandhi to visit Pakistan. Mr. Gandhi is said to have consented, though the timing of the trip remains uncertain. At least one person did find similarities between Mr. Zardari and Mr. Gandhi: Syed Natik Chishti, a khadim, or caretaker, of the Ajmer Shrine, who told The Hindustan Times: “We were very impressed by Bilawal … He seems so full of energy and has a kind and clean heart … He is just like Rahul Gandhi.” Well, maybe not just like. *** Mr. Zardari clearly had decided to use Sunday’s visit as a way to reach out to the youthful, educated Indians and Pakistanis who have flocked to Twitter. Before Sunday, Mr. Zardari had tweeted sporadically, but he really let loose once his toes touched Indian soil. Here’s what he had to say: Prez n I enjoyed Lunch with #Rahul #Gandhi and #PMSingh. lovely meal. much to learn from each other. Just visited #ajmer. So spiritual and peaceful. My mother once said there is a little bit of india in every pakistani and a little bit of pakistan in every indian. It is such a shame tht 2 countries w/ such large segments of our population live in desperate poverty must spend so much on weapons Nuclear weapons that we could use to destroy each other multiple times over. Surely just once would b 1 time too many. Would much rather invest in education so we can teach each other Would much rather invest in healthcare so we can heal each weather Would much rather invest in business so we can trade with each other. not on weapons 4 us to fight each other _______________________________________________ assam mailing list [email protected] http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
