I think the Sonal Shah episode raises a few questions about the nature of the Indian elites, particularly their opportunism. They are conservatives/reactionaries back home, but very progressive when it comes to sitting under the umbrella of diversity and sharing the fruit of some other culture. Haven't we seen a Rajan Parrikar fulminate against 'ghantis' back home, and then proudly hold up his US ballot paper to the camera and tell us (quite late in the day, when the direction of the wind was more than clear) that he was a proud Obama supporter?
Does Sonal Shah reflect just the opportunism of the Indian expat, or also the gullibility/machiavellianism of an Obama, willing to settle in office and not too worried about the compromises with whomever at the ideological level? We have also seen expats do cartwheels over Sonal Shah. The logic seems to have been "she's one of our own, she should be supported at any cost". > Ms. Shah, former member of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, has said if she > could have anticipated the outfit's role in the 2002 communal violence in > Gujarat, she would have never associated with its U.S. branch, a year > before the incident. This is an ingenuous argument. I guess all those who joined the Nazi party before 1939 could have said the same. We all know the ideology of any organisation we join, and we are guided by that. > In a statement, obtained and posted by NextGov and the National Journal, > the Google executive said the 2002 Gujarat carnage was one of the "most > profound tragedies" in the long history of the state when "extremist > political leaders, including some associated with the VHP, incited riots > that resulted in the deaths of thousands." > In an E-mail sent to her supporters, Ms. Shah asked for help in combating > the allegations and expressed apprehension that Mr. Obama transition > team could ask her to resign. > "I need your help," wrote Ms. Shah. "This is gaining legs as the National > Journal also picked it up and likely Fox. I need to mobilise people > against the leftists and the right wing. There is a likely chance that they > will ask me to resign as team does not need my publicity." Ms. Shah > has formerly been with the Goldman Sachs and served as a Treasury > Department official in the Clinton administration. http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/12/stories/2008121255371400.htm This is amazing. She seems to realise, six years after it happened, that the anti-Muslim riots were one of the "most profound tragedies" ... mainly because she could lose her post on the Obama team? This incident reflects on Obama and the power of compromise, it reflects on expats and their attitudes to issues back home (besides a degree of ideological opportunism). It also shows that, contrary to all we say, scratch us skin deep and our biases over religion come out strong. Even when we claim to be bereft of all religious influences, and agnostic or atheist in our approach! FN
