[GreenYouth] Re: Maoist Violence in Lalgarh, West Bengal, Must be Condemned
Please find an item from Times of India(19-06-09), written by Jhimil Mukherjee Pandey: KOLKATA: It's been just over three decades since the Naxalite uprising, but old-timers haven't forgotten the heady whiff of revolution. So, parallels are being drawn with the Lalgarh movement just as the Maoists have rattled the CPM government, the Naxalites, back in the '60s and '70s, had put the Congress government in a fix. There are similarities in the two operations. But yesteryear Naxalites don't think so. In fact, they brand the Lalgarh offensive a misadventure. Many feel the time was not suitable for an armed offensive. According to them, it was the time for a democratic movement through which the masses could have been mobilised and demands placed. As the Left Front's losses in the Lok Sabha elections show, change is in the air. Had the democratic movement failed to get a better deal for the tribals, only then would an armed struggle be imperative. At this stage, it would just see innocent lives sacrificed without managing to get a fair deal for the masses, they feel. One of the most well-known faces of the Naxalite movement, Kanu Sanyal, felt that from the very beginning, the Lalgarh movement lacked the character of a mass uprising. This is the main difference with the Naxalite movement, which started off with farmers capturing land. The struggle revolved around keeping the land away from the state or the rich landowner. Our agenda was fixed. We led the farmers from the forefront and were ready to die. So many of us got caught and killed, but it was for the cause of a revolution. But the Maoists are egging on the tribals of Lalgarh from the rear. When the state machinery strikes, they have their retreat route ready. Do you call this a revolution? Sanyal asked. He still lives in Naxalbari in Darjeeling district and has been keenly following the developments in Lalgarh. I had expected them to at least come up with a charter of demands for the people. Instead, they have always played on the emotions of the tribals by calling them a class. During the Naxalite movement we just had two classes the rich and the poor we didn't create such caste divides. All that the Maoists had done for the tribals was create a small armed group that would fight police while they themselves beat a retreat. The unarmed masses would be left to die, he feared. Another well-known Naxalite leader, Purnendu Basu, feels the Maoists are not good strategists. They are using helpless tribals as bait to increase their influence. Several Naxalite leaders like Santosh Rana, Pradip Banerjee and Aditya Kisku, have been trying for the past year to visit them and start a dialogue. It would have actually helped the Maoists as these three leaders had led the struggle in the same zone in the 70s and could have shared their experiences and seen that there were no excesses, Basu added. Azizul Haq is upset with the way in which the Maoist movement is progressing in Lalgarh. Listen to their leader Kishanji's interviews. He has himself said that Maoists helped oust Trinamool from Keshpur while he is now trying to oust CPM from Lalgarh. Are they hired goons or leaders of a mass movement? Haq asked. He also questioned the new-found friendship between Maoists and Trinamool. How can a movement like this find a friend in Trinamool that represents the remnants of feudalism? A party that has a leader who was the publicity officer in Voice of America against the Nicaragua struggle (Kabir Suman) will help Maoists in their pro-people struggle? Haq asked cynically. He felt that the state operation at Lalgarh is nothing but big drama, which will help them escape. It might also see Maoist leaders take refuge in Trinamool leaders' homes initially and establish themselves elsewhere. On Jun 18, 12:29 pm, damodar prasad damodar.pra...@gmail.com wrote: As we now it did not happen all of a sudden. Something really troubling. Actually, second liberation struggle is happening in WB not in Kerala. The rainbow coalition of TMC, Maoist with the support of Congress party perhaps is behind the Lalgarh violence as alleged by CPM. But CPM is no saintly crowd. Some argues that the violence is a reaction to CPM totalitarian terror for the last many years. But something terrible is happening in the rural WB as many studies indicate. Congress wants to depict this as mere Law and Order problem. The TMC demand of dismissing WB govt. is alive. On Thu, Jun 18, 2009 at 12:40 PM, Santhosh Kumar santhosh.kanipa...@gmail.com wrote: It is really unfortunate situation. All spectrum of Communist Parties using violence to their end, constitutional or extra constitutional - using state and outside state,against common people and their struggles. Violence breading and justifying violence. On Thu, Jun 18, 2009 at 12:29 PM, damodar prasad damodar.pra...@gmail.com wrote: Hi, Cross-posting Aditya Nigam's write-up from Kafila *Maoist Violence in Lalgarh,
[GreenYouth] Delhi’s reverse racism
Delhi’s reverse racism 19 Jun 2009, hrs IST, TNN Those of us who’d be quick to point fingers at Australians and Canadians in the current context of racial attacks might as well take a hard look [image: Delhi’s reverse racism] Delhi’s reverse racism within. Are we kind to foreign students? Do we make sure their time in India is memorable and pleasant? Or is it that we like to reserve our ‘niceness’ and ‘racial tolerance’ only for some? DT takes a look... Gori syndrome Call it preferential racism, or the white skin syndrome, but we like to be nice to white people; and are suspicious and wary of those who hail from other parts of the global village. Apartheid may have ended, but problems faced by Africans in the capital are yet to come to an end. Moelelwa Mashala, from South Africa, who has just completed her BA from Miranda House says she faces humiliation every day. “When I walk on the streets, people laugh at me, and I can hear them say words like ‘Kalu’. When I first came here, I was shocked, I had no idea Indians could be racist. But I guess the society is not used to black people,” she says. And racism towards Africans doesn’t stop at derogatory comments. Mutahi, a Kenyan from Ramjas College states it is almost impossible for an African to get a house in India and when they do, they’re charged double. But what hurt him most was the conduct of his teachers. “They think we are second-rate students and can never do well in anything. In fact, when one of us scores well, they’ll say to the other students – ‘Look, this ‘Kalu’ has scored better than you’, as though it were demeaning for an Indian to be outdone by an African.” Osama-ed! This reverse racism is not restricted to Africans alone. You’d think Middle Eastern people would enjoy a better understanding here in India than in any other part of the world, but sadly, we do an America on them too – ‘terrorist’ and ‘suicide bomber’ are just some of the words they have to put up with. “People I met for the first time would be really friendly till they’d discover I was a Muslim from Iran,” says Fakhroddin Ghaffari, a 23-year-old student of music, “After that point, it would get really weird. They would just bottle up.” “They’d call me Osama,” says Kaif, another 23-year-old from Afghanistan, studying political science at Jamia Millia. “In the beginning I used to feel bad and got into fights, but I’ve learnt to ignore such comments now.” Objects of desire So much for crying hoarse over racial equality for Indians. But that doesn’t necessarily have to mean we’re a nation of the racial and the prejudiced where xenophobia runs amok. There’s one saving grace: the whites are treated better, with less suspicion and more courteousness. Jane Hosking, an Australian who studied at LSR, says she had a really good time in India and loves the people here. “While I was in India I experienced prejudice in a good way. When people saw me, they’d be kind and welcoming,” says the political science student. But here too, there’s a catch, they get harassed as well, only the nature very of harassment speaks of white women as objects to be desired, not despised. “It seems to me that some men see western women purely as sexual objects and therefore do not treat them with respect. All other young women I have spoken to, who have travelled to India, have mentioned that they have faced sexual harassment while here,” adds Jane. Atithi Devo Bhava, anyone? Aarushi Nigam -- Ranjit --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Green Youth Movement group. To post to this group, send email to greenyouth@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to greenyouth+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[GreenYouth] Fwd: Ask 'But Why?'
-- Forwarded message -- From: Ask 'But Why?': Knowledge is R3volution mitesh.dama...@gmail.com Date: Fri, Jun 19, 2009 at 3:33 AM Subject: Ask 'But Why?' To: kmvenuan...@gmail.com Ask 'But Why?' http://www.askbutwhy.com/ http://fusion.google.com/add?source=atgsfeedurl=http://feeds2.feedburner.com/AskButWhy -- Help the Iranian protestors by changing your Twit!http://feedproxy.google.com/%7Er/AskButWhy/%7E3/Iud78v-R5cE/help-iranian-protestors-by-changing.html Posted: 17 Jun 2009 06:35 PM PDT Change your Twitter *timezone* to *+3.30 Tehran* and *location* to *Tehran, Iran* to help conceal protestors in Iran from their government. [Youtube] Protestors in Iran http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkTLaAa4tBE https://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/%7Ea/kGtfEaZkasL5tu_HPNIUEgKgd18/0/da https://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/%7Ea/kGtfEaZkasL5tu_HPNIUEgKgd18/1/da You are subscribed to email updates from Ask 'But Why?': Knowledge is R3volution http://www.askbutwhy.com/ To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe nowhttp://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailunsubscribe?k=puXABkXl_vTSBVlcV2WGojIAaOA .Email delivery powered by Google Inbox too full? [image: Add to Google]http://fusion.google.com/add?source=atgsfeedurl=http://feeds2.feedburner.com/AskButWhy Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 -- http://venukm.blogspot.com http://www.shelfari.com/kmvenuannur http://kmvenuannur.livejournal.com --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Green Youth Movement group. To post to this group, send email to greenyouth@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to greenyouth+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[GreenYouth] Robert Fisk on People's Protests In Iran [18-06-09]
They jostled and pushed and crowded through narrow lanes to reach the main highway and then found riot police in steel helmets and batons lined on each side. The people ignored them all. And the cops, horribly outnumbered by these tens of thousands, smiled sheepishly and - to our astonishment - nodded their heads towards the men and women demanding freedom. Who would have believed the government had banned this march?.. Iran's day of destinyhttp://www.crisesmagazine.org/index.php/June-18-to-June-25-2009/irans-day-of-destiny.html [image: PDF]http://www.crisesmagazine.org/index.php/pdf/June-18-to-June-25-2009/irans-day-of-destiny.pdf [image: Print]http://www.crisesmagazine.org/index.php/June-18-to-June-25-2009/irans-day-of-destiny/Print.html [image: E-mail]http://www.crisesmagazine.org/index.php/component/option,com_mailto/link,aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jcmlzZXNtYWdhemluZS5vcmcvaW5kZXgucGhwL0p1bmUtMTgtdG8tSnVuZS0yNS0yMDA5L2lyYW5zLWRheS1vZi1kZXN0aW55Lmh0bWw=/tmpl,component/ Written by Robert Fisk [image: Not since the 1979 Iranian Revolution have massed protesters gathered in such numbers, or with such overwhelming popularity, through the boulevards of this torrid, despairing city / Photo: Hamed Saber] Not since the 1979 Iranian Revolution have massed protesters gathered in such numbers, or with such overwhelming popularity, through the boulevards of this torrid, despairing city / Photo: Hamed Saber It was Iran's day of destiny and day of courage. A million of its people marched from Engelob Square to Azadi Square - from the Square of Revolution to the Square of Freedom - beneath the eyes of Tehran's brutal riot police. The crowds were singing and shouting and laughing and abusing their President as dust. Mirhossein Mousavi was among them, riding atop a car amid the exhaust smoke and heat, unsmiling, stunned, unaware that so epic a demonstration could blossom amid the hopelessness of Iran's post-election bloodshed. He may have officially lost last Friday's election, but yesterday was his electoral victory parade through the streets of his capital. It ended, inevitably, in gunfire and blood. Not since the 1979 Iranian Revolution have massed protesters gathered in such numbers, or with such overwhelming popularity, through the boulevards of this torrid, despairing city. They jostled and pushed and crowded through narrow lanes to reach the main highway and then found riot police in steel helmets and batons lined on each side. The people ignored them all. And the cops, horribly outnumbered by these tens of thousands, smiled sheepishly and - to our astonishment - nodded their heads towards the men and women demanding freedom. Who would have believed the government had banned this march? The protesters' bravery was all the more staggering because many had already learned of the savage killing of five Iranians on the campus of Tehran University, done to death - according to students - by pistol- firing Basiji militiamen. When I reached the gates of the college yesterday morning, many students were weeping behind the iron fence of the campus, shouting massacre and throwing a black cloth across the mesh. That was when the riot police returned and charged into the university grounds once more. At times, Mousavi's victory march threatened to crush us amid walls of chanting men and women. They fell into the storm drains and stumbled over broken trees and tried to keep pace with his vehicle, vast streamers of green linen strung out in front of their political leader's car. They sang in unison, over and over, the same words: Tanks, guns, Basiji, you have no effect now. As the government's helicopters roared overhead, these thousands looked upwards and bayed above the clatter of rotor blades: Where is my vote? Clichés come easily during such titanic days, but this was truly a historic moment. Would it change the arrogance of power which Mahmoud Ahmadinejad demonstrated [image: Quotation]Would it change the arrogance of power which Mahmoud Ahmadinejad demonstrated[image: Quotation] so rashly just a day earlier, when he loftily invited the opposition - there were reported to be huge crowds protesting on the streets of other Iranian cities yesterday - to be his friends, while talking ominously of the red light through which Mousavi had driven. Ahmadinejad claimed a 66 per cent victory at the polls, giving Mousavi scarcely 33 per cent. No wonder the crowds yesterday were also singing - and I mean actually singing in chorus - They have stolen our vote and now they are using it against us. A heavy and benevolent dust fell over us all as we trekked the great highway towards the fearful pyramid of concrete which the Shah once built to honour his father and which the 1979 revolutionaries re-named Freedom Square. Behind us, among the stragglers, stones began to burst on to the road as Basijis besieged the Sharif University (they seem to have something against colleges of further education these days) and one man
[GreenYouth] A Brief and Tentative Note on Maoist Violence in the Context of Lalgarh (west Bengal, India)
While it'd be quite foolhardy to condemn violence under every and all circumstances, violence has its own inherent pernicious dynamic - it almost inevitably brutalises and undermines democratic principles. It is at best a necessary evil, under certain, not all, circumstances. Having said that, let me propose that Maoist politics - the politics of brute violence detached from and, by its very nature, disallowing mass particiaptive politics - is morally repugnant and has no future either. On a global scale they had in recent years four major hubs of insurgency: Chile, Nepal, Philippines and India. Now they stand wiped out in Chile. In Nepal they have changed track and their position has become uncertain after some striking success. In Philippines, they have apparently suffered decline. In India, it is no accident that they are confined to the most backward hinterlands inhabited by the poorest - and cruelly exploited - of adivasis - the indigenous people. Utter government insensitivity is responsible for that. Usually it is claimed that Maoists have significant presence in one-fourth of India's 600+ districts. But that is highly misleading. Because that doesn't tell us how much of a particular district is under Maoist/insurgent control. Even a corner is affected, the whole district is counted in. Info on what fractions of Indian villages - around 6,40,000, is affected would have been far more insightful. In any case, the whole idea that every fourth district is under insurgent control is hugely out of tune with our real life experiences. It is the adivasi inhabited most backward regions of northern portion of South India - i.e. Andhra Pradesh, parts of eastern India - Orissa, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar and parts of central India - Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra, in patches - are affected. One of the most perceptive and sympathetic observer, K Balagopal, had observed that the very success of the Maoists - resulting in improvement in living conditions - has resulted in their decline in AP. It also needs be noted that they have now hardly any presence in towns and cities. So very different from the heady days of late sixties and seventies. As regards state terror, there is hardly any controversy. Heavy handed and indiscrimante state actions are not only utterly morally repugnant but also largely self-defeating as it on the contrary help to augment the ranks of the rebels. And debases the whole political order in the process. That's what I had posted elsewhere just a while ago. But no blanket justification of Red Terror against White Terror. --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Green Youth Movement group. To post to this group, send email to greenyouth@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to greenyouth+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[GreenYouth] Fwd: [humanrights-movement:1650] A Brief and Tentative Note on Maoist Violence in the Context of Lalgarh
-- Forwarded message -- From: Sukla Sen sukla...@yahoo.com Date: Fri, Jun 19, 2009 at 3:44 PM Subject: [humanrights-movement:1650] A Brief and Tentative Note on Maoist Violence in the Context of Lalgarh While it'd be quite foolhardy to condemn violence under every and all circumstances, violence has its own inherent pernicious dynamic - it almost inevitably brutalises and undermines democratic principles. It is at best a necessary evil, under certain, not all, circumstances. Having said that, let me propose that Maoist politics - the politics of brute violence detached from and, by its very nature, disallowing mass particiaptive politics - is morally repugnant and has no future either. On a global scale they had in recent years four major hubs of insurgency: Chile, Nepal, Philippines and India. Now they stand wiped out in Chile. In Nepal they have changed track and their position has become uncertain after some striking success. In Philippines, they have apparently suffered decline. In India, it is no accident that they are confined to the most backward hinterlands inhabited by the poorest - and cruelly exploited - of adivasis - the indigenous people. Utter government insensitivity is responsible for that. Usually it is claimed that Maoists have significant presence in one-fourth of India's 600+ districts. But that is highly misleading. Because that doesn't tell us how much of a particular district is under Maoist/insurgent control. Even a corner is affected, the whole district is counted in. Info on what fractions of Indian villages - around 6,40,000, is affected would have been far more insightful. In any case, the whole idea that every fourth district is under insurgent control is hugely out of tune with our real life experiences. It is the adivasi inhabited most backward regions of northern portion of South India - i.e. Andhra Pradesh, parts of eastern India - Orissa, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar and parts of central India - Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra, in patches - are affected. One of the most perceptive and sympathetic observer, K Balagopal, had observed that the very success of the Maoists - resulting in improvement in living conditions - has resulted in their decline in AP. It also needs be noted that they have now hardly any presence in towns and cities. So very different from the heady days of late sixties and seventies. As regards state terror, there is hardly any controversy. Heavy handed and indiscrimante state actions are not only utterly morally repugnant but also largely self-defeating as it on the contrary help to augment the ranks of the rebels. And debases the whole political order in the process. That's what I had posted elsewhere just a while ago. But no blanket justification of Red Terror against White Terror. Peace Is Doable -- ICC World Twenty20 England '09 exclusively on YAHOO! CRICKET http://in.rd.yahoo.com/tagline_cricket_3/*http://cricket.yahoo.com -- http://venukm.blogspot.com http://www.shelfari.com/kmvenuannur http://kmvenuannur.livejournal.com --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Green Youth Movement group. To post to this group, send email to greenyouth@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to greenyouth+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[GreenYouth] Re: Fwd: [humanrights-movement:1650] A Brief and Tentative Note on Maoist Violence in the Context of Lalgarh
Please read Peru instead of Chile in the note. The inadvertent slip is regretted. Sukla On Fri, Jun 19, 2009 at 5:01 PM, Venugopalan K M kmvenuan...@gmail.comwrote: -- Forwarded message -- From: Sukla Sen sukla...@yahoo.com Date: Fri, Jun 19, 2009 at 3:44 PM Subject: [humanrights-movement:1650] A Brief and Tentative Note on Maoist Violence in the Context of Lalgarh While it'd be quite foolhardy to condemn violence under every and all circumstances, violence has its own inherent pernicious dynamic - it almost inevitably brutalises and undermines democratic principles. It is at best a necessary evil, under certain, not all, circumstances. Having said that, let me propose that Maoist politics - the politics of brute violence detached from and, by its very nature, disallowing mass particiaptive politics - is morally repugnant and has no future either. On a global scale they had in recent years four major hubs of insurgency: Chile, Nepal, Philippines and India. Now they stand wiped out in Chile. In Nepal they have changed track and their position has become uncertain after some striking success. In Philippines, they have apparently suffered decline. In India, it is no accident that they are confined to the most backward hinterlands inhabited by the poorest - and cruelly exploited - of adivasis - the indigenous people. Utter government insensitivity is responsible for that. Usually it is claimed that Maoists have significant presence in one-fourth of India's 600+ districts. But that is highly misleading. Because that doesn't tell us how much of a particular district is under Maoist/insurgent control. Even a corner is affected, the whole district is counted in. Info on what fractions of Indian villages - around 6,40,000, is affected would have been far more insightful. In any case, the whole idea that every fourth district is under insurgent control is hugely out of tune with our real life experiences. It is the adivasi inhabited most backward regions of northern portion of South India - i.e. Andhra Pradesh, parts of eastern India - Orissa, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar and parts of central India - Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra, in patches - are affected. One of the most perceptive and sympathetic observer, K Balagopal, had observed that the very success of the Maoists - resulting in improvement in living conditions - has resulted in their decline in AP. It also needs be noted that they have now hardly any presence in towns and cities. So very different from the heady days of late sixties and seventies. As regards state terror, there is hardly any controversy. Heavy handed and indiscrimante state actions are not only utterly morally repugnant but also largely self-defeating as it on the contrary help to augment the ranks of the rebels. And debases the whole political order in the process. That's what I had posted elsewhere just a while ago. But no blanket justification of Red Terror against White Terror. Peace Is Doable -- ICC World Twenty20 England '09 exclusively on YAHOO! CRICKET http://in.rd.yahoo.com/tagline_cricket_3/*http://cricket.yahoo.com -- http://venukm.blogspot.com http://www.shelfari.com/kmvenuannur http://kmvenuannur.livejournal.com --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Green Youth Movement group. To post to this group, send email to greenyouth@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to greenyouth+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[GreenYouth] Unfolding Obama Presidency: Indian Worries over Changing Profile of Bilateral Relations
*Unfolding Obama Presidency: Indian Worries over Changing Profile of Bilateral Relations* [The Indo-US nuclear deal is no longer just Indo-US nuclear deal. The 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) having eventually granted the hard fought for waiver in last September with the Bush Administration, and the government of India, pulling out all the stops, India is now free to have nuclear trade with any member of the group, subject to its readiness, once the whatever remaining issues with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are settled. Here the worries are apparently more fundamental. The signals of Indian preeminence in the US foreign policy having been eroded with the change in US regime. Given the station of the commentator, he is evidently worried about its commercial and other implications.] http://www.upiasia.com/Politics/2009/06/19/indo-us_nuclear_deal_in_jeopardy/4139/ Indo-U.S. nuclear deal in jeopardy By Hari Sud Column: Abroad View Published: June 19, 2009 * Toronto, ON, Canada, — The much-heralded Indo-U.S. nuclear deal, which was one of the few successes of former U.S. President George W. Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, is in danger of being shelved. U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration in the last three months has delivered one piece of bad news after another, from India’s point of view. The “change” promised by Obama last fall, prior to his election, is visible in U.S. policy toward South Asia. His lukewarm attitude toward India, and now his go-slow tactic on the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal, is disappointing. Obama needs to be reminded that India is not Pakistan and does not privately sell nuclear technology to rogue states. He needs to be reminded that India exited the Iranian gas pipeline deal as a price for the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal. Also, the building of nuclear power plants by India will be one less factor in the climate catastrophe that has been magnified by coal-based power plants. Obama has said nothing about India policy publicly; he has merely exchanged letters of goodwill with the Indian leader. His advisors, however, are busy upsetting the apple cart. First, a no-confidence move by a minor State Department official to withhold the commissioning of a GE engine for a finished Indian naval ship was a rude shock to India. Then, India’s Reliance Industries was threatened with the withdrawal of a US$900 million loan over its ties with Iran, which included selling gasoline from its refinery. Early this month, the Indian government conveyed its objections to a U.S. travel advisory against India, which warned of a terror threat in the country. On top of all this, Undersecretary of State William Burns visited India recently to try to cement growing India-U.S. relations, but carrying a letter from Obama that essentially asked India to unconditionally restart talks with Pakistan and forget about the Mumbai massacre. Restarting such talks would enable Pakistan to withdraw troops from its border with India and redeploy them in its troubled tribal region. A few days ago, at the behest of the U.S. administration, US$1.5 billion in annual aid for Pakistan was voted into law. All of these acts in the last few months are illogical, designed to downgrade India-U.S. relations. As if this were not enough, Obama has been looking to the past and appointing a few anti-Indian diplomats who had been shown the door by Bush in 2001. One such appointment is of Robert Einhorn as advisor to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on nonproliferation matters. Einhorn is well known for his opposition to the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal. He spent 30 years with three U.S. administrations opposing India and putting together the infamous laws banning nuclear-related exports. None of these prevented Pakistan, North Korea or Iran from gaining access to nuclear technology, however. The appointment of Ellen Tauscher as undersecretary of arms control is also bad news for India. She is a well-known hardliner and opponent of the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal, but has been mostly ineffective in her nuclear technology control efforts. These two appointments are a matter of grave concern to both India and the U.S. nuclear power hardware and technology industry. The deal could generate US$100 billion in business, which would benefit both sides. The Obama administration’s go-slow approach will be detrimental to both. Jointly, Tauscher and Einhorn could shelve the nuclear deal and reopen the subject of India signing the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty, which was not the subject of discussion during lengthy negotiations. The U.S. Congress passed the India-specific bill, making India a full partner in nuclear commerce with the United States. The Indian Parliament did the same. Since both governments have ratified the treaty and agreed on 123 nuclear trade agreements there is no reason to reopen discussions on this. Concurrent with the passage of the nuclear commerce bill in the U.S. Congress, the
