KAVITA KARKARE MATCHED HER HUSBANDS SACRIFICE IN DEATH

Her husband had become a martyr fighting terrorists during the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai. She gave life to three people in her death. Kavita Karkare, wife of slain former Mumbai Anti-Terror Squad chief Hemant Karkare, passed away due to a brain haemorrhage. But in consenting to donate her organs, Kavita’s children have lived up to their parents’ bravery and sacrificing spirit. It’s learnt that Kavita’s kidneys were received by two patients who had been waiting for a transplant for several years. Meanwhile, her liver gave a new lease of life to a 49-year-old patient and her eyes were donated to an eye bank. The gesture deserves praise and a toast needs to be raised to the Karkare family. That said, the incident also highlights the urgent need for others to follow Kavita and her children’s example. Organ donation in India continues to suffer from an acute shortage. Every year nearly five lakh people die in the country because of non-availability of donor organs. Lack of awareness, religious taboos and government apathy are responsible for this deplorable state of affairs. That we don’t even have a centralised registry of organ donors is truly shocking. This has seen the trade in organs flourish and corruption in the organ donation system persist. The only way to reverse this is to boost voluntary and deceased-organ donations. Much like blood donation campaigns, the government must work with NGOs to raise awareness and encourage people to register for organ donation. Plus, it’s time to create a centralised registry for organ donors so that they can be tracked and consent obtained from their families when the time comes. Each individual can save up to seven lives through organ donation. Kavita and her children have already saved three. Donating one’s organs is the highest form of altruism. Let’s not shy away from becoming donors.

MODIS PERFECT VISIT TO USA -COMMENTS BY ARMY OFFICER SETTLED IN USA

Hi Friends, Joe asked me to give feed back, after completion of the visit, to cover Americans opinion of Modi and Sharif. I am more than happy to comply. In any case, my tail was up, after receiving encouraging comments from friends whom I follow and admire on the group mail. No prodding was required, I was raring to go to share my perspective on this wonderful historic happening. By the time you will be reading this mail, Modi will be on his way back home, leaving huge number of people in the US wonder-struck and pleasantly surprised. On each of the four days of his visit, he managed to surprise. As soldiers, we all are well aware of the importance of surprise, which can only be achieved by outsmarting the other party. At UNGA, an address by a strong global leader (in the making) in an Indian fashion. Surprised everyone by going to a rock concert. Second day at Madison Square, had congressman/congresswoman, senators and governors waiting to receive him on the stage. It was a frenzied crowd screaming and whistling. The crowd gave standing ovation two times. First when Modi said that he is a small man (Chaiwala) who believes in doing small things like cleanliness. Most of the Indian Americans have done well for themselves starting from scratch. So they spontaneously related with Modi's story. Second time they were on their feet, when he said that to repay the love shown by NRI community, he promises to make India of their dream. After attaining whatever success here, each one of the Indian American wants to give back to the Country. Third day, met CEOs of all the top Companies, however most interesting was his meet with Clintons. Hillary Clinton hugged Sushma Swaraj and won't let her go. What was she thinking? Hillary and Obama were the two top Democrats for Presidential race nomination. Hillary lost narrowly a very contentious race, where she called all sorts of names to Obama. What did Obama do, he made her Secretary of State. There is no nomination race in India, however when Modi was made BJP's Prime Minister choice, then Sushma started sulking and what did Modi do? Both these ladies are extremely intelligent and capable in their own right. Hillary may well be next President of USA, Sushma may have to wait for quite some time. Only a brilliant leader can keep the adversary very close. On Sunday, I had gone to an Indian store for groceries. There are three Indian groceries stores in my neighborhood, one is run by a Gujrati, second by a Sardar and third by a Malyali. I went to the Malyali store, I was surprised when the lady asked me if I was going to the airport as Modi was coming to Washington next day. Well I am not the waiving fan type and don't like traffic. However the DC folks wanted to overdo New Yorkers, a difficult task. The lead was taken by Gujratis, so what, they have never given such importance to any other Gujrati leader. Modi sipped warm water during White House Dinner. Definitely the first in history of White House. Before next day meeting between them, Obama and Modi issued a joint editorial, never heard off. Generally the communique is after the meeting. Modi was to visit the Martin Luther King Memorial next morning and then go to the White House to meet Obama. To everyone's surprise Obama was showing him around the memorial. Modi magic? What are the American's opinion about Nawaz Sharif ? Very few people know him. Pakistan is like the errant son, with whom America is stuck. Modi is fast becoming a popular leader. We had a birthday lunch today and I asked, "Guys do you know Indian Prime Minister is in town". Most of my American friends had a blank look, out of 14, only 2 knew about Modi, but they both said "He is a Good Guy

OPPERTUNITIES US INDIA BETTER DEFENCE TIES

http://www.aei.org/article/foreign-and-defense-policy/regional/india-pakistan-afghanistan/three-opportunities-for-better-us-india-defense-ties/?utm_source=web&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=092914 As Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in the United States, U.S.-India defense ties face an era of opportunity. Hemal Shah | The Diplomat September 25, 2014 India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi will make his first visit to the White House to meet with President Obama on Monday. Modi was elected to power with a sweeping mandate in May after promising to restore India’s moribund economy and modernize the military. The bigger goal of the Obama-Modi summit is clear: How can the U.S. and India move toward a genuine strategic partnership? Along with an emphasis on economic cooperation, deepening defense and security ties will be a focus of the visit. As the two leaders meet, a Chinese incursion into the Indian territory of Ladakh continues, Pakistan engages in border firing from time to time, al Qaeda is working to expand its India operations, and ISIS looks to recruit more Indians. India’s military is poorly equipped and the state is ill-prepared to tackle emerging security threats. Against this backdrop, the Obama-Modi summit next week, followed by Indian Defense Minister Arun Jaitley’s visit to the Pentagon next month, signals an opportunity to renew the 2005 New Framework Agreement on defense and security expiring this year. The 2005 agreement was signed to expand defense trade, technology transfers, co-production, and collaboration on counterterrorism, security and stability. Much has been gained by both sides under the agreement: India conducts more joint exercises with the U.S. than with any other country; defense sales have shot up from zero to $9 billion with the U.S. displacing Russia as India’s biggest supplier last year. However, the two countries are yet to progress from a basic symbiotic arms trade – between the world’s largest arms importer and exporter – to a seamless, committed, relationship informed by a coherent strategy. In other words, the 2005 framework hasn’t fully been able to transform and deepen the U.S.-India defense relationship. The two countries may be bound together by common interests like containing China’s growing power, post-U.S. withdrawal coordination in Afghanistan, or maritime security in Asia. But both the U.S. and India still suffer from a lack of trust given their checkered history. India’s insistence on foreign policy autonomy at times complicates America’s strategic bet on India to maintain stability in Asia. Additionally, neither is familiar with the other’s bureaucratic processes. If the U.S. and India can commit to addressing these issues, their defense and security ties under the renewed agreement can bring a lot more value. First, the United States and India need to work consciously to rebuild mutual trust by eliminating their baggage from the past. In 1998, the U.S. imposed sanctions when India tested its nuclear weapons. With sanctions eliminated post 9/11, the U.S.-India defense relationship saw a guarded surge with the ratification of the 2005 agreement. Nonetheless, India is still upset from occasional U.S. failures to approve licenses for spare parts – for instance, when the U.S. decided to freeze the engine supply for India’s Shivalik-class stealth warships in 2009 – casting doubts on their reliability in times of need. India refrained from choosing U.S.-made F-16 and FA-18 jets from their combat aircraft competition in 2011, despite the U.S. removal of restrictions on technology sharing with Indian firms earlier, underscoring the need for deeper trust and cooperation. Moreover, America’s special relationship with, and arms sales to, Pakistan has always been a cause of concern for India. Similarly, wary of India’s close ties with Russia from the Cold War era, the U.S. is guarded with its transmission of sensitive technology or know-how to India. Second, both countries need to understand and appreciate each other’s strategic needs. America’s strategic bet on India to help maintain security and stability in Asia emerges from common interests between the two countries. This now includes Modi’s closer ties with Japan, America’s closest ally in Asia. Pentagon official Amer Latif argues that the U.S. views its technology as a “strategic commodity,” meaning national security considerations come before commercial interests. However, for India, decisions are sometimes torn between the needs of the military forces and the civil bureaucracy – the former looks for a combination of better equipment, military-to-military ties, and operational cooperation, while the latter mainly looks at checking boxes on acquisition. The needs of the bureaucracy are often prioritized which suits India’s deals with Russian, Israeli, and European suppliers who treat defense sales as an “export business.” Unlike the U.S., these countries’ small military budgets cannot fully absorb their defense industries’ capacity. But India’s bitter experience with Russia’s substandard equipment, particularly in the case of consecutive MiG-21 fighter jet crashes, highlights the impending need for it to replace its Soviet-era equipment. Third, both countries need to straighten out their bureaucratic procedures and procurement processes. Ashton Carter, former deputy secretary of defense, remarked how it takes about 250 steps for the U.S. to move from development to delivery when he visited New Delhi in 2012. It’s like “hieroglyphics” he joked. On the other hand, India’s offsets policy – a vendor’s industrial compensation to a buyer via technology transfer or acquisition – is still ambiguous. India requires foreign governments or companies to reinvest 30 percent of any defense deal over $55 million in India’s state-owned or private defense companies. While foreign companies are willing to cooperate, they often run into problems, as there are hardly any reinvestment options in Indian R&D or products with export potential. The Indian government takes a while to nominate eligible defense offset partners, yet they don’t have the absorptive capacity to accept offsets worth billions of dollars. If anything, India’s offsets policy betrays her protectionist defense industry and obsolete products, exacerbated by heavy requirements of indigenous components when dealing with foreign investors. But Modi’s recent decision to raise the cap on foreign direct investment in defense from 26 percent to 49 percent and increase defense expenditure by 12 percent is a step in the right direction. With these issues in mind, the timing cannot be better for the United States and India to renew the 2005 Agreement with a sharper strategy. India can benefit by being more strategic about choosing its arms suppliers and investing in real relationships with allies. The U.S. should take stronger measures to incentivize India to codevelop and coproduce defense products, which has already started with the Defense Trade and Technology Initiative (DTTI). Modi’s decisiveness could help accelerate India’s consent to the U.S. proposal of codeveloping the Javelin antitank missile, an offer the U.S. has extended exclusively to India. Deeper commitment and strategic cooperation with the U.S. will not only further India’s goal of indigenization but also Modi’s goal of military modernization to tackle foreign aggression and emerging terrorist threats. As for the U.S., a strong India that serves as a strategic democratic counterweight in Asia is in its best interest

MODI & MEDIA

Prime Minister Narendra Modi achieved an unprecedented America vijay at Madison Square Garden, trouncing the Mahishasuras of despondency and voices of doom. His biggest victory is over a section of the highly visible and opinionated English speaking class, who had been biased against him for the last decade. It’s not just a visa-denying US, but the home-grown, rich and self-appointed guardians of pseudo-secular values that have seen their arrogance shredded and dust-binned. In the chapel of anti-Moditva the chorus was Modi will be disastrous for the country’s secular fabric. Look, he can’t even speak English, mocked a senior editor on an elitist English channel. So far pseudo-secular intellectuals had been successfully pressuring every leader into being apologetic for being Hindu. This class refused to treat Muslims as equal citizens, as Indians, preferring rather to treat them as vote banks. This class was considered to be the reservoir of all wisdom and prudence, professing deep concern with a Gucci touch for their nation (read Malabar Hills to Gurgaon). These were the candlelight procession and jholawalla intellectuals perpetually hunting for foundation dollars. But their egos were punctured at the Mecca of their secular shamanism – New York. Modi’s feat in this regard is perhaps comparable to what Vivekananda did when he addressed the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago on a September 121 years ago. An America vijay has always been pronouncedly more significant for the home turf than any defence or energy agreements signed at White House. Modi has delivered his second Red Fort speech from Madison. The only difference is, this time his audience consisted of people listening in 80 different countries. This is not an America-centric event. It’s going to impact the rise of liberal intellectuals back home, signifying a power shift in the world of academia long mono-polised by the left-liberal class which had turned intellectual dialogue into a monologue. This class had long shut the doors to genuine liberal and centrist forces in media and academic institutions. An aggressive left-leaning cartel controlling the centres of public debate, media houses, fellowships, awards and dollar grants, turned them against the voices of a vast majority. The minorityism that went along with this was hateful and intolerant towards a different viewpoint, extremely exclusivist in its attitude, yet arrogantly introduced itself as libe-ral and inclusive. While the corrupting influence of state patronage and a mono-poly on words and ideas resulted in the decay of the left-liberal class – who could be described as secular Taliban – other liberals labelled by this camp as ‘right-wing intellectuals’ rose and powered a new politics of ideas. These intellectuals were caricatured in ‘serious magazines’ brought out by the left-liberals as communalists with a dhoti and a tuft riding a bullock cart. However, the latter are gaining ground as a neo-liberal progressive movement of ideas that defines and symbolises the dreams of fast-moving modern youth. It’s a massive upsurge. As leaders of development, they are bringing refreshing economic and administrative reforms in an unprecedented manner. ”Can do, will do” is the new mantra of the liberal. The debate between radicals and reformists has proved to be limited to left-wing tea houses or soiled patches of Maoism in Dantewada. The poor and the commoner on the street have started identifying with a man of ideas who speaks their language, is not a prisoner of an inferiority complex, speaks Hindi at Madison Square and is not apologetic about beginning his speech with “Happy Navratri” or telling all that he is on fast. Upper class, English speaking commentators will have to redefine their roles, because here is a man who believes in small things like cleanliness and chai, vows to provide what the common citizen has yearned for ages, avowedly assures women’s empowerment and attracts global attention with all this. The rise of the liberal Indian is unstoppable. The triumph of Modi has given a new life to the liberal intellectual who’s civilisationally unapologetic, culturally rooted in an all-encompassing Indianism, who was searching for the right and trustworthy anchors so far. He has finally arrived to take control of the principal stream of public dialogue. New books and articles that present a new approach, outside the parameters of the stale left-liberal consensus, are now being written. This genuinely liberal and inclusive class, that was kept out of the decaying centres of left-liberal citadels and institutions controlled by them, has found a point of convergence in Modi. The Oxbridge-accented class that used strong words against Modi, through long essays front-paged by glossy magazines, will have to find a different ground or begin the process of an honest reappraisal of their fossilised positions. Smart as they are, many of them have already started learning Hindi and Gujarati.

chinas-fruitless-repression-of-the-uighurs MUSLIMS

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/29/opinion/chinas-fruitless-repression-of-the-uighurs.html JAMES A. MILLWARDSEPT. 28, 2014 Last week, a court in China’s far western Xinjiang region sentenced Ilham Tohti, a member of the Uighur minority, to life in prison for the crime of “inciting separatism.” The conviction of this moderate scholar elicited international condemnation; the sentence was an order of magnitude longer than those given to other Chinese dissidents. But, far from being a show of strength, the sentence is a sign of the confusion and desperation behind the government’s policies toward Uighurs. That Mr. Tohti, an economics professor and a blogger, should become a celebrated political prisoner is a paradox, for he is in many ways a poster child for what the Communist Party hopes more Uighurs will become. Educated, and eloquent in Mandarin, he was a party member from a family closely engaged with the state (his male relatives include members of China’s military and state security organs). He is professional, entrepreneurial and middle class (his family assets amounted to around $130,000 before state confiscation). He is not outwardly religious (most Uighurs are Muslims, but vary in the degree and nature of their observance). He is distinctive mainly in his outspokenness. Though the Chinese often think of Xinjiang as a remote frontier of deserts and mountains, populated with quaint folkloric natives, it is closely linked to the rest of China and to Central Asia by an expanding transportation infrastructure; the skyscrapers, neon glow, booming commerce and air pollution of Xinjiang’s cities resemble those elsewhere in China; and although, like rural areas throughout the country, Xinjiang’s villages remain poor, the emerging middle class in the cities is scarcely different from its counterparts in other urban centers. Rapid economic development has benefited Uighurs as well as Han Chinese (each group makes up just over 40 percent of the region’s population of 21 million). Yet the authorities seem puzzled and frustrated that, despite these economic gains, Uighurs remain adamantly Uighur. Sporadic local disturbances are endemic throughout China, but in Xinjiang they are colored by ethno-national and religious sentiments. After a relatively quiet decade, from 1998 to 2007, stability has eroded alarmingly since 2008, with a big, bloody race riot in 2009, sporadic attacks on police stations and representatives of the state and, over the past year, violence perpetrated by Uighurs against random civilians in Urumqi, the regional capital, and in faraway Yunnan Province and Beijing. Xinjiang authorities have responded to violence with an intense crackdown, including house-to-house searches, and a campaign against traditional symbols of identity: veils, head scarves, beards, traditional hats, Ramadan fasting, prayer. Combined with the recent razing of Uighur architecture in the ancient city of Kashgar and elimination of the Uighur-language educational track from Xinjiang’s schools and universities, these measures seem aimed at repressing Uighur culture. Moreover, the authorities have now doubled down on their post-9/11 tendency to interpret Uighur unrest through a single lens — foreign-inspired Islamic “terrorism” — even when the real causes are local and political. It is unclear if China’s leaders entirely believe their own propaganda — that all Uighur troubles derive from external sources and are unrelated to government policies — but local and regional authorities certainly benefit from it: Whereas common people elsewhere in China enjoy some de facto freedom to protest official and business malfeasance, Uighurs enjoy no such latitude. In the absence of a free press, Beijing has few sources of on-the-ground information in Xinjiang other than its own self-interested and self-protecting local officials, who can readily justify their mistakes and abuses in the name of fighting “separatism, extremism and terrorism.” No surprise, then, that it was the authorities in Xinjiang, not Beijing, who were most eager to prosecute Mr. Tohti, for he has been arguing that Chinese policies themselves, not simply cyber-radicalization, have been engendering Uighur resentment and violence. Yet by condemning Mr. Tohti, Beijing has not only subjected itself yet again to international opprobrium, but has denied itself a critical Uighur viewpoint and an alternative approach to the deteriorating situation in Xinjiang. Before it was shut down, Mr. Tohti’s Uighurbiz website was a forum for Han and Uighur contributors to discuss Xinjiang issues, bridging the two communities; the need for more interethnic communication was a theme when the Communist Party issued revised Xinjiang policy guidelines last May. Most important, Mr. Tohti pointed out that China’s own existing laws could protect minority cultures — if only they were observed. He did not call for a radical American-style democratization, but rather for the protection of indigenous institutions — support for non-Han cultural expression, job opportunities and truly “autonomous” government administration — that is enshrined in the Chinese Constitution and a 1984 law. This system of “ethnic autonomy” was indirectly derived from the pluralist (though not democratic) ideology of the Qing empire (1644-1911), which first brought Xinjiang, Tibet, Mongolia and Taiwan under Beijing’s rule as a “great family under Heaven.” Though superficially resembling the system of national republics undergirding the Soviet Union, the system developed by the People’s Republic of China differed in substantial ways and was adapted to Chinese conditions and outlooks. It functioned successfully in the 1950s, when Xinjiang was designated the “Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region,” and again in the early 1980s, and it remains popular with minority groups even though they have never been afforded real autonomy. Far from “inciting separatism,” Mr. Tohti was advocating a return to foundational promises dating to Mao’s era. Management of diversity and pluralism is a pressing world issue, from Scotland to Ukraine to Ferguson, Mo. China has an opportunity to contribute its own fixes to the bugs in the nation-state model, but cannot do so by locking up its most creative and courageous thinkers.

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ऑनलाईन’ रणधुमाळी लोकसभेप्रमाणेच विधानसभा निवडणुकांमध्येही ‘ऑनलाईन’ प्रचार मोठ्या प्रमाणात होत आहे. युती आणि आघाडीचा घोळ निस्तरण्यापूर्वीपासूनच प्रत्येक इच्छुक उमेदवाराने आपले शक्तिप्रदर्शन करण्यासाठी ‘ऑनलाईन’ मीडियाचा आधार घेतला. भाजपाप्रमाणेच कॉंग्रेस आणि इतर पक्षांना सोशल मीडियाचा प्रभाव कळल्याने त्यांनीदेखील स्वत:चे ‘गल्ली ते दिल्ली’ असे संघटनेतील विविध आघाडी आणि सेलचे खाजगी फेसबुक पेज बनविले आहे. ‘व्हॉट्‌स ऍप’च्या माध्यमातून काही सेकंदांच्या व्हिडीओ क्लिप पाठवूनदेखील उमेदवार कामाला लागले आहेत. मागील वर्षीच्या तुलनेत यंदा प्रचारासाठी सर्वांना कमी वेळ मिळाला आहे. परंतु, बहुतांश मंडळी ‘ऑनलाईन’ विश्‍वाच्या माध्यमातून मतदारांच्या संपर्कात असल्याने त्यांना अल्प कालावधीचा विशेष फरक पडलेला नाही. राजकारण्यांची ‘ऑनलाईन’ गरज ओळखून या क्षेत्रातील व्यावसायिकांनीदेखील ‘ऑनलाईन’ प्रचारासाठी आपले ‘रेटकार्ड’ तयार ठेवले आहे. जसे की, तीन भाषांमध्ये संकेतस्थळ, संवादात्मक ब्लॉग बनविण्यासाठी सव्वा लाख रुपये खर्च आकारण्यात येतो. फेसबुक पेज बनवून रोज किमान ५ पोस्ट, ४० हजारांवर लाइक्स, ट्विटर अकाउंट, यूट्युबवर व्हिडीयो अपलोडिंग, जी-प्लस, लिंकडीन अकाउंट व संवाद असे सर्वसमावेशक पॅकेज घेतल्यास त्याची किंमत ५ लाखांच्या घरात आहे. केवळ व्हॉइस कॉलमार्फत मतदारांपर्यंत पोहोचायचे असेल तर ३० हजार, व्हॉट्स ऍप किंवा फेसबुकवर डिजिटल बॅनरसाठी १० ते १५ हजार, २० सेकंदांच्या व्हिडीओ क्लिपसाठी ५० हजार ते ३ लाख रुपयांचे पॅकेज उपलब्ध आहे. २५ सप्टेंबर २०१४ पर्यंत उपलब्ध झालेल्या आकडेवारीनुसार भाजपाला मिळालेले फेसबुक लाईक्स ६३ लाख ७१ हजार ०५८, तर ८ लाख, १६ हजार ४२५ ट्विटर फॉलोअर्स आहेत. कॉंगे्रसला ३४ लाख ३६ हजार ०१९ फेसबुक लाईक्स अणि २ लाख, २६ हजार ३७० ट्विटर फॉलोअर्स आहे. राष्ट्रवादी कॉंग्रेसला २ लाख, ७६ हजार ५०७ फेसबुकवासींनी लाईक केले असून त्यांचे ४१ हजार ८९० ट्विटर फॉलोअर आहेत. या तुलनेत शिवसेना आणि ‘सबकुछ’ राज असलेली मनसे बर्‍याच मागे दिसून येते. शिवसेनेला १४ हजार ०१२ फेसबुक लाईक्स आणि ८ हजार ३५९ ट्विटर फॉलोअर्स असून मनसेला ६ हजार ४६७ लाईक्स आणि ३ हजार ५२० ट्विटर फॉलोअर्स आहे. यंदा ‘ऑनलाईन’ प्रचारावर निवडणूक आयोगाची नजर राहणार असली, तरी ही ‘ऑनलाईन’ रणधुमाळी मतदानाच्या शेवटच्या क्षणापर्यंत चालू राहू न देण्याचे आव्हान पोलिस यंत्रणेसमोर राहणार आहे. - निखिल भुते

How Rajdeep Sardesai provoked crowd, attacked NRI & played victim game in New York

The information contained in this message does not reflect the sender's personal opinions and should not be construed as such. The sender does not accept liability or guarantee authenticity for any of the statements made or any of the information contained herein. How Rajdeep Sardesai provoked crowd, attacked NRI & played victim game in New York {If you are running out of time and want the gist of this analysis article, watch this 30 second video clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8njmasXSlLw } How Rajdeep Sardesai provoked crowd, attacked NRI & played victim game in New York: Yesterday, while Indians all over the world were enthusiastically analyzing & discussing the Indian PM’s speech at Madison Garden, a certain media house instead of reporting the PM’s speech had chosen to report a stray incident of how its reporter was “heckled” by Modi supporters. Following is a snapshot of the homepage of the media website. Notice the date & time on the top of the website. It was 28th September, 23:39 IST. i.e While all other news channels & media websites were analyzing Modi’s speech, India Today was highlighting a stray incident as the breaking news on its homepage. At the same time, Rajdeep Sardesai tweeted about it by portraying himself as a victim of “mob violence” I was initially dismayed by this news because such a behavior from NRIs was definitely unexpected. However, I was still skeptical about Rajdeep’s version of the story because he has always been notorious for manipulating news to show Modi & his supporters in bad light. I had written about the topic of “Media’s false propaganda against Modi” few months ago and cited his case among others here: http://guruprasad.net/posts/part-3-modi-phenomenon-propaganda-or-reality/ As I began the quest for truth in this case, I was overwhelmed with information from all over social media and mainstream media, each having their own versions of the story. For example, NDTV had reported that Rajdeep Sardesai was physically assaulted at New York and spokespersons like Ajay Maken (of Congress) & Ashutosh (of AAP) had condemned the act and put the blame squarely on the crowd of Modi supporters. Link: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/journalist-rajdeep-sardesai-assaulted-in-new-york-599178 All of them were referring to video clips & making allegations but none of them had any concrete evidence which could be used to defend Rajdeep or to blame the crowd. As I began to curate & assimilate several pieces of information & video clips shared by witnesses over social media, I was startled to find that it was actually Rajdeep Sardesai who had provoked the crowd and it was Rajdeep Sardesai himself who had physically assaulted NRIs. I have tried to consolidate all the available information, and reconstructed the sequence of events as follows: In an attempt to instigate a crowd, Rajdeep identified an energetic crowd, and in the pretext of interviewing them, he started provoking them by asking questions about the Gujarat 2002 riots, Modi’s role in it, Modi’s US visa denial & the statistics that only 31% of the people voted for Modi which means majority still do not like him. Here is the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_3G71UT5hY After the crowd patiently answered his questions, Rajdeep started pricking them personally by asking them what have they done for their country. He even went on to mock them by claiming that all they do is to just pose in front of cameras, while in reality they have done nothing for India despite being Indian-borns. Here is the video showing the same: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxpS-iWin50 He insulted the crowd by saying that these NRIs did not have “class”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7F1XP9I49Fw When the crowd realized that his intention was only to insult & provoke them, they started avoiding him by cheering slogans of “Modi Modi!!” & “Bharat Mata Ki Jai”, thinking he would wind up the “interview”. Surprisingly, Rajdeep took it personally and insulted them by asking if Narendra Modi taught them to “behave badly” and labelled them “Frenzied Narendra Modi crowd” just because they were cheering “Bharat Mata Ki Jai”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP9FRV9dGTk Despite all these provocations, when the crowd was still patient & tolerant towards Rajdeep, he played his final trick. As a final resort, he called one guy an as***le and confronted him, which led to a tussle. This incident was immediately tweeted by a New York journalist named James FontanellaKhan who had witnessed it first hand at the spot: Tweet Link: https://twitter.com/JFK_America/status/516256855698735104 One of the witnesses had recorded this video which clearly shows how Rajdeep called a guy an as***le & physically assaulted him: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8njmasXSlLw ABP news tweeted about Rajdeep’s misbehavior: Link: http://inagist.com/all/516241139360215042/ http://www.veooz.com/buzz/twitter-39240673-1411916375000-516240813345345536.html Now that Rajdeep accomplished his mission of creating a ruckus, he used his journalistic skills to play victim game, edited portions of the video to show himself as an innocent journalist who was “heckled” by an angry mob. Hence the homepage of his media house (India Today) carried this manipulated news while totally ignoring the Indian PM’s speech: Sensing this as an opportunity to defame Modi & his supporters, the krantikaari party showed edited parts of the video clip portraying Rajdeep as an innocent journalist who was attacked by Modi supporters (claiming it as an attack on press) and funnily, AAP wanted Modi to intervene into this matter: Link: https://twitter.com/AamAadmiParty/status/516228548927819776 To summarize, this was the “algorithm” used by Rajdeep Sardesai & AAP to manipulate information & create false propaganda against Modi supporters. Link: https://www.facebook.com/guruprasad.gp/posts/10204565173678562 Unfortunately, none of the news channels or mainstream media websites are showing this true sequence of events. After 12 years of anti-Modi propaganda, the mainstream media has now resorted to defaming and namecalling anybody who shows support to Modi. Even those who cheer “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” are being labelled as Modi supporters & violent fascists (As you can see in one of the above videos where Rajdeep questioned the crowd if Modi taught them to “behave badly”, when all they did was to just cheer “Bharat Mata Ki Jai”). The only way to counter such false propaganda is to use social media and share it with friends & families. Let truth prevail

NARENDRA MODI DYNAMIC DIPLOMATIC DEBUT

http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/up-front/posts/2014/09/26-modi-dynamic-diplomatic-debut-antholis?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=BrookingsFB09292&utm_content=BrookingsFB09292 Editor's Note: This post is the second in a new series looking into the inner workings and complex bilateral relationships of the United States, China and India – which contain two-fifths of the world’s population and two-fifths of its GDP. When the leader of the world’s largest democracy comes to America this weekend, he will complete an extraordinary season of diplomacy. India’s new Prime Minister Narendra Modi has surprised many by quickly turning his attention to global affairs. He took office in May after the biggest parliamentary victory India has seen in thirty years. He won by promising action on domestic priorities: cleaning up governance and restoring economic growth. Still, his first four months in office have emphasized foreign affairs. And what a diplomatic whirlwind it has been – demonstrating both Mr. Modi’s vigor and his penchant for risk-taking. First, he invited leaders from neighboring Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to his inauguration – amidst tense relations with all three. He then set off to a summit with Japan’s Shinzo Abe and hosted a state visit by Australia’s Prime Minister Tony Abbott. Mr. Modi seemed intentionally to be setting the stage for his two most important summits – welcoming China’s Xi Jinping to India last week, and then travelling to the United States this week to attend the UN General Assembly meetings and then meet with President Obama. So far, Mr. Modi’s diplomatic surge has been well received in India. Across the country – north, south, east and west – his election has uncorked an intoxicating optimism. His summer of summitry has been popular because trade and economics have been his core message. In my own recent trip across India in early September -- traversing six cities in twelve days – I met with government officials, BJP and Congress Party members, business leaders, journalists, policy analysts, academics and students. Even Mr. Modi’s opponents concede that the nation’s mood is changed, and many are willing to help seize the moment to advance India’s future, at home and abroad. In particular, nearly everyone I met with felt that Modi should pursue deeper economic ties with both China and the United States. But many Indians hold reservations about both relationships. Will both nations continue to extract too high a price economically for engaging with India? Will China continue to test India’s national security mettle? Is the United States truly an ally? Or will India perpetually be disappointed with the United States, and vice versa, despite our shared values and shared interests. Mr. Modi seems to be diving into these relationships with his characteristic energy and penchant for risk-taking. So far, he has managed to capture the imaginations of Indians, even if the diplomatic meetings have revealed that India’s world will not change overnight. India-China: Handshake Across the Himalayas – or Stiff-Arm? Consider the recent China-India summit – dubbed the “Handshake Across the Himalayas.” At the top of Mr. Modi’s agenda was pursuit of Chinese investment in India. India already has a growing trade relationship with China, which could reach $100 billion in coming years – though India runs a large bilateral trade deficit. Xi Jinping announced at the summit that China will invest as much as $20 billion in India’s infrastructure over the next five years. That would benefit not only India, but also American investors. That said, the new investment pledge would not even cover one eighth of India’s current annual trade deficit with China, which could continue to grow in the next decade. And the pledge fell far short of the $100 billion, ten-year, deal that China’s top diplomat in Mumbai had been suggesting on the eve of the summit. Moreover, the summit demonstrated that trade and investment constitute only a portion of the Sino-Indian relationship. The summit was marred by reported Chinese incursions across a disputed border high up in the Himalayas. Mr. Modi learned of the incursions only after having greeted Mr. Xi for their first meetings. Even if this particular incident was a surprise, broader tensions could be felt in the days leading up to the meeting. Indeed, Mr. Modi may have brought some of this on himself, having spoken openly in Japan about their shared democratic values and the need to resist rising imperialist powers – subtle but clear pokes at China. India’s national security establishment continues to voice deep distrust of China. Many hope that a stronger Indian relationship with Australia, Japan and the United States will help provide security guarantees – even if this might simply reinforce China’s fear that it is being encircled. The India-U.S. Summit: Coming to America … Finally Having achieved mixed results in his summit with China, Mr. Modi hopes to project a confident sense of leadership to President Obama, to business and civil society leaders, and to the American people. He will meet with captains of industry in New York, and then likely will draw the largest crowd ever for a foreign leader when he speaks to a forecasted 18,000 people at Madison Square Garden. There is a subtle irony in this, given the fact that Mr. Modi could not get a visa to visit the United States prior to his election in May – thanks to the riots that took place in his home state of Gujarat in 2002. Mr. Modi can use this visit as an enormous re-branding moment not only for himself, but also for Indian business, and for the U.S.-India relationship. India’s own vibrant media will, of course, spare no expense to hype the event. The American and international media will take that one step further. Each gesture will be magnified beyond proportion. The American audience will be a guardedly hopeful one. People-to-people ties are already great and deep. Our common democratic values and heritages bind us. Recent polls showed that India ranks high in American public opinion. Indians are the third largest immigrant group in the United States. Nearly two out of three high-tech visas to enter the U.S. go to Indians, and India is now just behind China in sending the highest number of foreign students to American universities. Our trade relations have grown dramatically – particularly in services and innovative technologies, where Indian entrepreneurs and engineers have driven our software and biotech revolutions. And a number of foreign investors are keen to be part of India’s coming economic revival. For those reasons, among others, there is wider and deeper bipartisan support for U.S.-India ties than for practically any other major bilateral relationship. Moreover, the general perception so far of Mr. Modi is quite positive. His victory received great attention in the U.S., particularly for the size and scope of his majority, and that provides him with an opportunity to cut through the complexities of party and regional politics. He is known as the man who has been able to unify India. The American public (and most of Washington) is largely unaware of the past visa controversy – though Mr. Modi and his team remain particularly sensitive to it. This relatively clean slate is actually as much a problem as an opportunity. It is a function of the short attention span of our media and public. The American public, business leaders and foreign policy communities have largely been obsessed with events in Ukraine and in the Middle East – shifting public attention away from India. If anything, most Americans consider India to be a fascinating and complex nation, but one too far away and too complicated to try to embrace, let alone commit political capital to addressing as a top priority. Despite the natural strengths in the relationship, few wonder why our nations do not work together more closely. It is simply accepted as a lost opportunity. Bringing It All Back Home Mr. Modi still faces domestic obstacles in translating aspiration into action – particularly when it comes to signing any deep bilateral policy arrangements. He has a commanding parliamentary majority and can avoid the complications of coalition politics in India’s lower house, but Mr. Modi will have to come to terms with an upper house which the BJP does not control, and which represents the enduring authority of states. Moreover, his party only controls five state governments, and state leaders are not only essential in domestic action, but increasingly important players in foreign affairs. These are not insurmountable obstacles, particularly for a man who built his reputation at the state level, but they will require Modi to spend political capital. As a result, Mr. Modi has been slow to settle on a domestic governance strategy, let alone a core team of trusted advisors. New Delhi is rife with rumors about who is in his inner circle, and who is not. Internal stock-taking and power shuffling helps to explain why few major agreements are likely to be forthcoming at this summit. Upper house approval is required on many of the issues for which the U.S. is seeking action (i.e. defense cooperation, WTO trade facilitation, nuclear liability for manufacturers, multi-brand retail, etc.) At the end of the day, he may have the power to move on nearly any of these. But he is biding his time in choosing. On the economic side, however, Mr. Modi must communicate clearly that India is confident and open for business. Unresolved trade issues lead many American businessmen to believe that India fears foreign trade and investment – from the stalled Trans-Pacific Partnership and WTO talks, to protective barriers to greater foreign investment, to failure to advance civilian nuclear cooperation. Energy security and climate change cooperation is another area where India has an opportunity to move from acting defensively to taking the kind of proactive steps Mr. Modi took in Gujarat. These are issues that both Mr. Obama and Mr. Kerry consider to be priorities and would be eager to work on with Mr. Modi given his track record. Moving any one of these issues forward could help build a wave of support for greater cooperation on the others. Constrained but Eager Parties American officials want to improve the relationship, which is why three cabinet secretaries have travelled to India in the last four months. Greater defense cooperation is clearly one area that has support in both India and the United States, as does political cooperation in combatting violent Islamic fundamentalism. That would normally be the case, but is especially so given events in the Middle East in recent weeks and months – and widespread reports that both ISIS and Al-Qaeda are openly recruiting in India. More broadly, India’s good relations with both Israel and Iran present an opportunity that could be developed. Of course, the United States needs to do its part in the relationship. Many Indians know that India needs to move on a number of economic issues, though they still believe that senior U.S. officials can still do more to help clear hurdles on issues such as civilian nuclear cooperation or WTO trade facilitation. In many regards, President Obama faces greater constraints than Mr. Modi. A string of national security challenges are, together, reluctantly drawing him away from his domestic priorities. His relationship with the Congress is toxic, and mid-term elections are just one month away. Even some basic functions of government are blocked (such as getting ambassadors confirmed), let alone his domestic priorities. Still, if Mr. Modi shows that he is serious about resolving any one of the various issues listed above, American officials will likely work to meet him half-way. Mr. Modi’s opportunity is to cut through India’s haze of political dysfunction. He should start by emphasizing the common bonds between our nations. He should project his optimism and pragmatism, to which President Obama has an opportunity to respond. A long-term mindset is critical here. In a shallow and vicious media environment, it is equally important to demonstrate that India and the U.S. have begun a journey together.

MODI AT MADISON SQUARE

मोदींच्या भाषणाला अभूतपूर्व प्रतिसाद सुहास बिवलकर, न्यूयॉर्क भारत माता की जय... वंदे मातरम्... या घोषणांनी न्यूयॉर्कमधला मॅडिसन स्क्वेअरचा परिसर रविवारी दणाणून गेला होता. इंडियन-अमेरिकन कम्युनिटी फाऊंडेशनने आयोजित केलेल्या पंतप्रधान नरेंद्र मोदी यांच्या भाषणासाठी अमेरिकेतील भारतीयांना अभूतपूर्व गर्दी केली होती. वीकएंड असूनही अमेरिकेतील हजारो भारतीय आवर्जून या कार्यक्रमाला उपस्थित असल्याने दिवाळीच्या आधीच येथे दिवाळीचे आनंददायी, उत्साही वातावरण निर्माण झाले होते... मी स्वत: या कार्यक्रमासाठी न्यू हॅम्पशायर येथून पहाटे तीन वाजता निघालो. तब्बल २२० मैल अंतरावरून नऊ वाजता न्यूयॉर्कला पोहोचलो. माझ्यासारखेच अनेकजण अमेरिकेच्या विविध प्रांतातून या कार्यक्रमासाठी आले होते. जॉर्जिया, पेनिन्सुला, न्यूजर्सी, नॉर्थ कॅरोलिना... एवढेच नाही, तर कॅनडामधे राहणारे काही भारतीय नागरिकही या कार्यक्रमासाठी आले होते. पारंपरिक पोषाख परिधान केलेले भारतीय, नऊवारी साड्या नेसलेल्या युवती, ढोल-ताशे, लेझीम पथके हे सारे पाहून आपण अमेरिकेत नसून भारतातच आहोत, असे भासत होते... पंतप्रधान नरेंद्र मोदी यांनी शनिवारी झालेल्या संयुक्त राष्ट्र संघातील आमसभेत दहशतवादप्रश्नी पाकिस्तानला खडे बोल सुनावल्याने आज ते काय बोलणार याबद्दल आम्हा सगळ्यांना खूप उत्सुकता होती. सुरक्षेच्या कारणास्तव प्रत्येकाला कडक सुरक्षा व्यवस्थेतून सभागृहात प्रवेश दिला जात होता. त्यासाठी लांबलचक रांगाही लागल्या होत्या. पण त्याबद्दल कुणीही तक्रार करत नव्हते. सभागृहात गेल्यानंतर वंदे मातरम, भारत माता की जय... अशा जयघोषामुळे वातावरण भारावून गेले होते. हळूहळू सभागृह भरत गेले आणि वातावरणातील उत्साहही वाढत गेला. रंगमंचावर सादर होणाऱ्या विविध कार्यक्रमांमुळे हा उत्साह अधिकच द्विगुणीत झाला. पंतप्रधानांचे आगमन झाल्यानंतर त्यांच्या स्वागतासाठी तमाम उपस्थितांनी उभे राहून त्यांना अभिवादन केले. आपल्या देशाच्या पंतप्रधानांना पाहून, ऐकून खूप खूप अभिमान वाटला. पंतप्रधान नरेंद्र मोदी यांनी आज शेजारधर्माला प्राधान्य देत दक्षिण आशियाई प्रादेशिक सहकार्य संघटनेचे (सार्क) सदस्य राष्ट्र असणाऱ्या श्रीलंका, बांगलादेश आणि नेपाळच्या पंतप्रधानांसोबत चर्चा केली. दहशवादाबरोबरच अन्य महत्त्वाच्या विषयांवरही या चर्चेत ऊहापोह झाल्याचे समजते. श्रीलंकेचे अध्यक्ष महिंदा राजपक्षे, बांगलादेशच्या पंतप्रधान शेख हसीना आणि नेपाळचे पंतप्रधान सुशील कोइराला यांनी मोदींच्या संयुक्‍त राष्ट्रांच्या आमसभेतील भाषणाची स्तुती करत त्यांचे अभिनंदन केले. आंतरराष्ट्रीय पातळीवर योगा दिनाचा स्वीकार केला जावा म्हणून पूर्ण पाठिंबा देण्याची तयारीही त्यांनी दर्शविली. या वेळी नरेंद्र मोदी यांनी "सार्क‘ अधिक बळकट प्रादेशिक संघटना करण्यास आपण कटिबद्ध आहोत, असे आश्‍वासन या नेत्यांना दिले. या तिन्ही देशांच्या प्रमुख नेत्यांनी नरेंद्र मोदींना आपापल्या देशांना भेट देण्याचे आमंत्रणही दिले. या वेळी नेपाळचे पंतप्रधान सुशील कोइराला यांच्यासोबत चर्चा करताना नरेंद्र मोदींनी लवकरच आपण नेपाळ दौऱ्यावर येणार असल्याचे सांगितले. तसेच गौतम बुद्धांच्या जन्मस्थळाला भेट देण्याची इच्छाही त्यांनी बोलून दाखविली. मोदींनी मागील नेपाळ दौऱ्यात करण्यात आलेल्या विकास प्रकल्पांबाबतही कोइराला यांच्याशी चर्चा केल्याचे परराष्ट्र मंत्रालयाचे प्रवक्‍ते सय्यद अकबरुद्दीन यांनी सांगितले. श्रीलंकेचे अध्यक्ष महिंदा राजपक्षे आणि बांगलादेशच्या पंतप्रधान शेख हसीना यांच्यासोबतही मोदींनी प्रत्येकी तीस मिनिटे चर्चा केली. लाइव्ह कॉन्सर्टमध्ये मोदी आज पंतप्रधान नरेंद्र मोदी यांनी न्यूयॉर्कच्या सेंट्रल पार्कमध्ये आयोजित "लाइव्ह कॉन्सर्ट‘ला हजेरी लावली. या वेळी "हाऊ आर यू डुईंग, न्यूयॉर्क?‘ असा प्रश्‍न मोदींनी व्यासपीठावरून उच्चारताच उपस्थित साठ हजार तरुण-तरुणींनी त्याला उत्स्फूर्त प्रतिसाद दिला. तब्बल सात मिनिटे मोदींनी इंग्रजीतून भाषण केले. मोदी यांच्यासोबत हॉलिवूड अभिनेता ह्युग जॅकमनदेखील व्यासपीठावर उपस्थित होता. गरिबी निर्मूलनासाठी "ह्युग इव्हान्स‘ या आंतरराष्ट्रीय संस्थेकडून या कॉन्सर्टचे आयोजन करण्यात आले होते. या वेळी मोदींनी संस्कृत श्‍लोक सादर करून उपस्थितांची मने जिंकली. पाक माध्यमांकडून दखल पंतप्रधान नरेंद्र मोदी यांनी संयुक्‍त राष्ट्रांच्या आमसभेत केलेल्या भाषणाची पाकिस्तानी माध्यमांनी ठळकपणे दखल घेतली आहे. डॉन, दि न्यूज इंटरनॅशनल, दि एक्‍स्प्रेस ट्रिब्युन आदी दैनिकांनी मोदींच्या भाषणाचे वृत्त ठळकपणे पहिल्या पानावर प्रसिद्ध केले. "दि नेशन‘नेही मोदींच्या भाषणाची दखल घेतली आहे. भारत आणि पाकिस्तान पुन्हा एकदा चर्चेच्या ट्रॅकवर आल्याचा सूर बहुतांश पाकिस्तानी दैनिकांनी आळवला आहे.

NARENDRA MODIS STRATEGY -TORIGHT WRONG IMAGE

Full Headers Printable View Narendra Modi's Strategy: To Right The Wrong Image By S Gurumurthy Analysts debate the stunning mandate Narendra Modi has got. Talk about the economic challenges of the country. Discuss the policy paralysis and financial deficits inherited from the UPA. Modi’s political challenges. How he is handling them or failing? What he has done or not done in first 100 days? But the debate has missed out the unprecedented challenge he still faces - to right the wrong imaging of him abroad and how he is doing it by deft and strategic geo-political moves. Wrong image is easily created but to right it - especially vicious imaging in distant lands - is not easy. Wrong image robs a leader of legitimacy. For long, Modi has been a victim of intentional wrong imaging. Just compare the perception about Modi as he assumed office with how his equally or more popular predecessors, who had held offices for long, were perceived as they assumed office. When Jawaharlal Nehru became the first Prime Minister of India, the whole nation idolised him and the world adored him. When Indira Gandhi won a massive mandate in 1971 the nation venerated her and the world admired her. And, even after being discarded in India for imposing the emergency and despised outside, when she won back in 1980, the nation accepted her and the world fell in line. The nation celebrated Rajeev Gandhi as ‘Mr Clean’ and the world was in awe of the 40- year-young baby-like Prime Minister. The people saw Atal Behari Vajpayee in the mould of Nehru and the world perceived him as a mature statesman. He ran the 24-party NDA coalition with such ease that won universal respect. All of them commanded respectable image within in the country and outside. In comparison, Modi, with the demanding task of reviving the paralysed national economy in a highly integrated world on hand, has had a huge start-up deficit unlike his predecessors. That is wrong imaging of him abroad by his detractors to dent his legitimacy. See how Modi has begun strategically and is systematically undoing the damage they have done to him. Save Indira Gandhi for a while after the Emergency, no Indian political leader had to face ceaseless hostility of the mainline media for over a decade like Modi did. The media in recent times has grown thousand times more powerful, equally less fair. The mighty media, aligned with the Opposition parties, powerful NGOs and even the intelligentsia, caricatured Modi as mass murderer of Muslims and hounded him, equating him even with Hitler. Even the judiciary dithered. Senior lawyers wouldn’t defend his government. The foreign media echoed its Indian cousin’s hate campaign against Modi and later multiplied the hate for Modi and fed the Indian political ecosystem. Parroting the media, the Left and ‘secular’ groups outside India networked as Coalition Against Genocide [CAG] and targeted Modi. They hit upon a brilliant strategy - to co-opt the US government against Modi. And succeeded. On May 21, 2005, the CAG proudly claimed it got the US to deny visa to Modi, by charging that, under his leadership, Hindu nationalists killed 2,000 people, mostly Muslims. Was that true? Ten days earlier, on May 10, the anti-Modi UPA Government itself had told the Rajya Sabha that 254 Hindus and 790 Muslims were killed in the riots and police firing. Years later, of course, the judiciary exonerated Modi. But, trusting the media’s version and CAG’s half-truths, the short-sighted US denied visa to Modi for violation of religious freedom - placing Modi in the company of Slobodan Milosevic, a war criminal, and an Indonesian Army General suspected of torture. From 2005 till Modi won the visa ban issue has legitimised the hate campaign against Modi. Even as late as July last year, 65 members of Indian Parliament appealed to Obama to deny visa to Modi. This showed how critical the US visa ban was for the hate campaign. The hostility unleashed against Modi and legitimised by the US visa ban since 2005 re-manifested in the unprecedented campaign by the US media asking the Indian voters to defeat Modi in the 2014 elections. The Economist [April 5, 2014] wrote...there is much to admire [about Modi]. Despite that, this newspaper cannot bring itself to back Mr Modi for India’s highest office ... Ignoring the fact that the Supreme Court exonerated him, the magazine faulted Modi for refusing ‘to wear the Muslim skullcap’ and for not apologising ‘for the riots’. Months earlier, [October 26, 2013] The New York Times accused Modi of being incendiary instead of apologising and wrote that his rise to power deeply troubled ‘Muslims and other minorities.’ On April 18, 2014, a blogger summed up: “This week the hate campaign in the US-British media against Mr. Modi reached feverish proportions. We were struck by the consistency of hate across the media spectrum from the NYT-WashPost echelon to the lower more rabid level of Vox & Foreign Policy magazine... And yet the people of India rejected these sermons and elected Modi massively.” And this put the US in a fix. The US which cut Modi’s visa in 2005 was supreme global power. But after 2008 its power declined. More. The US National Intelligence Council report [December 2012] perceived India as a rising global power along with the US and China by 2030. The US could no more ignore India. In February 2014, just two months before elections, the US made its first move. US envoy Nancy Powell met Modi in Ahmedabad. Speculation was that the visa ban might be lifted. The US denied, promptly. Why? Earlier, in 2013, when the UK lifted the ban on Modi to travel to the UK, stiff opposition ensued, including a motion in Parliament to reinstate the ban! As two British nationals of Indian origin had died in Gujarat riots, some activists had even threatened legal action against Modi if he visited the UK. So it went beyond the power of even governments to undo the damage to Modi. The CAG campaign would have burnt itself out like a lighted match. But the foolish action of the US connected the lighted match to a petrol refinery. Of course after Modi won, analyst Fareed Zakaria did call the US action ... foolish... But those who fooled the US into action quietly vanished. A dazed US still preferred to wait till Indian elections were over. With President Obama’s invite to Modi after he won, the issue of visa to him has become irrelevant. But for Modi that is just the beginning. Even as Modi was on the campaign trail he must have been thinking where to begin to undo the damage to his legitimacy by the hate campaign. Modi must have decided to right his wrong image where the damage is the gravest and most difficult to undo - namely outside India. His very first move, which shocked his detractors, outlined his strategy. He invited the Saarc leaders - the Heads of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal and Pakistan - to his swearing in. He met each of them personally but on his terms. While he ensured that Nawas Sharif would not meet the press or Geelanis or utter the ‘K-word’, Modi spoke to him on terror and Mumbai case. By this master stroke he sealed the mouth of those who questioned his desire for good relations with neighbours. Then began a queue of high dignitary visitors from the US, China, New Zealand and Singapore. In less than two months some seven top US officials - including Secretary of State, Defence Secretary and Commerce Secretary - landed in India. While other Prime Ministers would first visit super powers, Modi first visited smaller neighbours “Bhutan first and Nepal next. Later, emphasising his Look East Policy, he went to Japan and stayed for a day more! He underpinned cultural and civilisational impulses to geo-political relations. Then came Chinese President Xi Jinping Visit to India. Modi looked into Xi’s eyes and raised the border incursions of Chinese Army in Ladakh. Forbes magazine reported, - Modi asked Xi to get his troops away - Xi acquiesced.. In contrast, for the last 10 years, India had only bent and crawled before China. On reaching China, Xi took action against those who attempted to sabotage the Sino-Indian relations and also to promote his loyalists to top positions in the Army. Like with Sharif, with Xi also Modi had had his way. And now he is going to US to a red-carpet welcome. The people of India have made the US bow to Modi. He has some 35 engagements to partake in three days - including addressing a rally of 20,000 people at Madison Square Garden. The event, which is completely sold out, is expected to draw the largest ever gathering for a foreign leader on US soil. A live-streaming of the rally will be viewed throughout the US and the world. This is how Modi is righting his image intentionally distorted by his detractors. Through well-thought strategy he is cleansing the global ecosystem of the hate Modi effect, which he could never have done from India. You cannot choose your battlefield, God does that for you But you can plant a standard where a standard never flew. Nathalia Crane - The Colors, We never know how high we are, till we are asked to rise and then if we are true to plan, our statures touch the skies... The heroism that we recite would be a normal thing, did not ourselves the cubits warp for fear to be a king.....Emily Dickinson.

CHINESE TROUBLE IN PAKISTAN GILGIT BALTISTHAN

http://www.indiandefencereview.com/news/china-at-a-crossroads-in-gilgit-baltistan/ Senge H. Sering IssueNet Edition| Date : 27 Sep , 2014 BySenge H. Sering Date : 27 Sep , 2014 Pak-China Economic Corridor With large outcry in Pakistan against recent Palestinian killings, one wonders at the nation’s pronounced silence on the continued Uighur genocide in China’s restive Xinjiang Province. This absence of protest by Pakistan on Muslim oppression in China is not without reason. China is Pakistan’s major defense and trade ally. China has major investments in much of the country including the UN-declared disputed region of Gilgit-Baltistan which borders Xinjiang. In Gilgit-Baltistan, China is involved in the construction of large-scale dams, telecommunication development, mining and port management. It is constructing highway and railroad systems between Xinjiang and the port cities of Karachi and Gawadar. This corridor will enable the flow of Iranian fuel northward into Xinjiang as well as Kazakh and Russian gas into Pakistan. Both the Chinese and Pakistani governments characterize these efforts as revolutionizing economic development of Pakistan. Despite these rosy claims, many such projects have led to increased insecurity and confrontations between the Chinese and the locals in Gilgit-Baltistan. One such skirmish broke out on July 5 over control of a dry port joint venture between the Sino-Trans Chinese Company and the Sost Dry Port Trust. The trouble began when the Gilgit-Baltistan court ordered the reluctant Chinese officials to transfer port authority to the newly elected local chairman, Mr. Zafar Iqbal. According to Mr. Iqbal, a Chinese national, Mr. Ju Yi, attacked him with a knife causing chest injury, after he arrived at the port office. Demonstrations erupted in Sost after the incident as local leaders and shareholders demanded stern action against the Chinese official. Given the importance of its relationship with China, Pakistan’s Prime Minister took notice of the situation at once and summoned both parties to Islamabad for talks. In the wake of the incident, heated accusations have flown back and forth. According to local attorney Zahoor Karim, the Chinese have failed to disburse port revenue to local shareholders for the past fifteen years. Port Director Mr. Ikramullah Beg, accuses Chairman Yang Jiamin of behaving as “the King of Hunza” and using port operations as cover for smuggling endangered wild life. According to the local newspaper, Daily Baadeshimal, Chinese firms violate local laws and have failed to contribute to regional development. Babajan Hunzai, a prominent local politician, challenged China’s control over the port and accused it of behaving as the imperialist East India Company. He declared the port a national asset of Gilgit-Baltistan and demanded royalties for all locals. It is clear that there is brewing tension between the state sponsored Chinese presence and local rule. These conflicts between Chinese firms and locals of Gilgit-Baltistan are not new. To date, dozens of locals face sedition, arrest and torture for resisting Chinese mining projects for gems, uranium, gold, copper and heavy metals. There are complaints against Chinese firms for denying jobs and financial compensation, and damaging farmland and infrastructure. Many accuse China Roads and Bridges Corporation, a Chinese firm currently blacklisted in Turkey and Malaysia, of devastating environmental practices in its expansion of the Karakoram Highway in Gilgit-Baltistan, Locals assert that the core issue is a lack of enforcement and the loosening of regulations for the Chinese by Pakistani authorities. As China pays its political and economic dues in Islamabad; there is an expectation that the cooperation of the people of Gilgit-Baltistan is implicit in the bargain. Yet, this bargain denies the people of Gilgit-Baltistan fair representation from their own government and media against a foreign entity intent on usurping local resources. Locals call for a strong judicial system to enforce labor and resource ownership laws against foreign investors. Greater political autonomy to determine capital management and trade matters allows local ability to negotiate fair agreements with investors. The challenge faced by Chinese enterprise in Pakistan may well be an opportunity to move its exploitative development model towards sustainable participatory practices which strengthen local production systems and human resource. Locals support investments in solar, wind and medium scale hydel projects to create a sustainable labor market and a much needed energy source for existing and future industry with low environmental impact. This will promote modernization of the agricultural, cottage and tourism industry and enhanced manufacturing and retail business. By developing strategies which focus on skills training and value added goods rather than export of raw material, China stands to create local sustainable jobs and communities where more than half of the population lives below the poverty line. World Bank experts believe that as many as 85 million manufacturing jobs will be shed in China in the coming years due to fast rising wages for unskilled workers. If planned in advance, thousands of such jobs will benefit Gilgit-Baltistan. Currently, China is working with Uganda’s government to create a manufacturing base and strengthen the labor market. In Ethiopia, Chinese investments have created more than 300,000 local jobs in last ten years.[xxi] This success in Africa is a potential road map to transform China into a people friendly development leader in Gilgit-Baltistan

WHY AMERICAN INDIANS ARE GOING GAGA OVER NARENDRA MODI

Hi Friends, How are you guys doing? Didn't get opportunity to write earlier, was busy as the primary care giver to the better half and working my butt off to pay the bills.That is a whole different story, which I would share with you some other time, now to important issue of Modi's visit. Why is it that most of the Indians in US are spending their time, which is a precious commodity, energy and money to make Modi visit a grand success. Why am I writing about him. Have I become his fan, what is it that attracts people towards him. Is he this popular back home in India. To me, Indians here are loving him, as they connect to him as he symbolizes the American Dream. How does an Indian from India, becomes American Dream. Anyone who has come to this country has his/her own unique story. It is not easy to leave your home, friends, relatives and move to a new place, seven seas away, with two suitcases. One has to struggle to survive, one may shovel snow, mow grass, wash dishes to move ahead. The beauty is that success is there to grab for anyone who is willing to make the effort. The big melting pot churns everyone without discrimination. You can go as far as you are willing to walk or run. All these people naturally get attracted to Modi as they feel that he is one of them. Only he dreamt bigger and came from even humbler beginning. It was only short time ago that we all were disagreeing with Chandra Bhushan Upadhyay when he was predicting Modi's success. I own an apology to him. Though I have always defended his right to say what he felt right, even if I didn't agree with him. Everyone thinks differently and each has a right to his/her opinion. I have indeed become a Modi fan. Maybe I was waiting for a leader who is always one step ahead of others. He out-thinks and out smarts others. After 71 war Zulfikar Bhutto outsmarted Lady with steel balls and got his territory and half of his imprisoned army back. In Srilanka the willy fox Jayewardene outsmarted Rajiv Gandhi resulting in Indian troops fighting LTTE. Not anymore, Modi will outsmart Gora, Kala, Cheeni ya Pathan. Only now I learnt that this is not Modi's first visit to USA. He visited in early 1990s. That time he told Indian community that each Indian should send five American families as tourists to India. This makes me believe that he was a visionary even then, only he was not well known. It is an irony that he came to limelight after Gujrat riots in 2002. Why is it that people become famous due to wrong reasons, like Mikka and Rakhi Sawant became famous after infamous kiss, before that noone knew them. It took one Chinese leader to march communist China ahead of capitalist nations. Now China has more billionaires than India. Hope now it is India's turn to return to its past Sona Ki Chirya time. We may have to become part of the change instead of waiting for the world to change

PAKISTANS HISTORY OF 1971 WAR

http://defencelover.in/2013/11/10/what-does-schools-of-pakistan-teach-about-1971-war/ As we all know Bangladesh was East Pakistan which got it’s independence after a bloody battle and Indian RAW and Indian Army fought for Bangladesh to make it free from the Barbaric and Dictatorship of Yahya Khan. For the reason obvious, Pakistani Books can’t teach the real history to their coming generations. History which has lost in sands of time, what Bangladesh faced was a massive human rights Violation which led to Rape of Millions of women in Bangladesh, Pakistani army not even targeted the Bengalis and they did not spared even Muslim girls who have just reached teen-age. Pakistani army put women in their barracks and many girls were raped more then 5-6 times in a day . Many of the Bengalis were killed in the blood shed and Many women later did combined suicide because they were disowned by their family members. No wonder why the findings made by the Hamood-ur-Rehman Commission on the 1971 war, was never made public.Those rapes and genocide were done because Pakistan army wanted to make superior “Real islamic” generation of Martial Bengali Children. Susan Brownmiller penned down some horrors of the War -Crimes ,she wrote that Rape was not restricted to beauty but also, a girl of 8 to the grand mother of 75 were raped. Some of the women were raped 80 times a day. This was the apathy seen by people from East Pakistan . Many of the Girls did Abortion and they were helped to rehab by Red Cross which puts estimated Rapes of 2,00,000-4,00,000 women. now,let us see what Pakistani books teach about 1971 war to their youth — > the new generation of Pakistanis know about the war comes from the state curriculum. However, instead of setting the record straight on the creation of Bangladesh and the reasons for the separation, students in the Matric and Intermediate levels of school (class nine through 12) are being taught conspiracy theories and a factually incorrect version of history. The Pakistan Studies textbook for Class nine and ten fails to mention Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto or the role of the PPP throughout the essay on Bangladesh and the 1971 War. Following are a few of the reasons listed in the textbook for the “Fall of East Pakistan”. “Role of Hindu teachers A large number of Hindu teachers were teaching in the educational institutions in East Pakistan. They produced such literature which created negative thinking in the minds of Bengalis against the people of West Pakistan. International Conspiracies About 10 million Hindus were living in East Pakistan. India stood at the back of these Hindus to protect their interests. India wanted to separate East Pakistan to strengthen the economic position of the Hindus. Many Hindus acted as spies for India. Russia was against Pakistan because Pakistan had allowed America to establish military bases in Pakistan. On the other hand, America also wanted separation of East Pakistan. Under the circumstances Russia openly supported India’s aggression against Pakistan.” The Pakistan Studies textbooks of classes ten and eleven have a broader, yet still incorrect version of the story behind the creation of Bangladesh. “Ultimately, the Martial Law authorities decided to use the armed forces. In the military operations, the armed volunteers of Jamaat-e-Islami also took part and used the occasion to settle old scores with their political opponents. As a result of military action, many workers of the Awami League fled to India and took refuge there. India trained and armed these workers and sent them back to East Pakistan to fight against the Pakistan Army. These armed volunteers of ‘Mukti Bahini’ continued their struggle and guerrilla activities. On December 3, 1971 the war between Pakistan and India began. Due to the lack of support of the local populace and the poor arrangements of supply of men and material, Pakistani solders (sic) surrender before the Indian army on December 16, 1971 whereas the ceasefire on West Pakistan front was declared without launching a significant attack. On December 16, 1971 East Pakistan became an independent and free state of Bangladesh.” Nowhere, in both textbooks is there a mention of the documented atrocities committed by the Pakistan Army – which includes rapes, targeted killings – against the Mukti Bahini and the genocide of the Bengali population. The textbooks also fail to mention the number of civilian deaths in East Pakistan in the period leading up to the creation of Bangladesh. Nor does it mention Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s inflexible stand on sharing power with Mujib-ur-Rehman’s Awami League. Instead, conspiracies, speculation on the role of the populace and issues like language and India’s involvement are given precedence over assigning blame to those involved in the separation of East and West Pakistan. Although Historians and Human-Rights Activist in Pakistan think that this mind-washing curriculum can have adverse affects on the younger generation because if the basics given to them are a lie ,it would lead to Crumble of their mindset later. Pervez Hoodbhoy, a noted academic and Professor of Physics at the Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad, says, “Forty years later, Bangladesh has many disputes with India but it shows not the slightest inclination to reintegrate with Pakistan. If Pakistan’s school books actually taught honest history, they would be explaining why East Pakistanis felt exploited and fought for their independence. Instead, our children are taught cock-and-bull conspiracy nonsense.” The West Pakistanis viewed the East Pakistanis as being inferior, a fact that has been mentioned even in the biography of Field Marshal Ayub Khan. The fact remains, however, that the East Pakistanis were culturally superior to West Pakistanis in their love of art, literacy, interest in music and poetry. The books also don’t talk about operation about Governor of East Pakistan,General Tikka launched a military operation against Mukti Bahini which led to indiscriminate killing of many innocent youth. “Children who are fed lies breed Violence ~ Gautam Buddha

जय हो! भारताच्या मुत्सद्देगिरीची...

जय हो! भारताच्या मुत्सद्देगिरीची...TARUN BHARAT सुषमा स्वराज... भारताच्या परराष्ट्र मंत्री... उंची कमी, गोरा रंग, कपाळावर गोल आणि ठसठशीत कुंकू लावणार्‍या, उत्कृष्ट संसदपटू, परखड वक्त्या, जबरदस्त संवादक, माहीर संघटक, राष्ट्रीय-आंतरराष्ट्रीय विषयांची पक्की पकड आणि मुत्सद्देगिरीतही वाकबगार. भारतीय जनता पक्षात असताना अनेक जबाबदार्‍या त्यांनी निष्ठेने पार पाडलेल्या आहेत आणि आता सरकारच्या प्रतिनिधी म्हणूनही त्यांच्या मुत्सद्देगिरीचे दर्शन त्यांनी जगाला दाखवून दिले आहे. विस्तारवादासाठी संपूर्ण जगात कुप्रसिद्ध असलेल्या चीनला त्यांनी चर्चेच्या माध्यमातून झुकविल्याने, पुन्हा एकदा त्यांच्या आणि मोदी सरकारच्या नावाचे नगारे वाजू लागले आहेत. सुषमा स्वराज सध्या न्यूयॉर्क दौर्‍यावर आहेत. विभिन्न राष्ट्रप्रमुखांच्या, परराष्ट्र सचिवांच्या आणि निरनिराळ्या देशातील उच्चस्तरीय शिष्टमंडळाच्या त्यांच्या भेटी सुरू आहेत. याच भेटीत त्यांनी सीमा प्रश्‍नाबाबत चीनचे परराष्ट्र व्यवहार मंत्री वांग यी यांच्याशी संयुक्त राष्ट्र संघाच्या बैठकीच्या पार्श्‍वभूमीवर चर्चा करून चीनला झुकविले आणि त्यांच्या मुत्सद्देगिरीनंतरच लद्दाख सीमेवरील चुमार भागातून चीनने आपल्या सैनिकांना माघारी घेण्याची प्रक्रिया आरंभ केली. बलाढ्य चीनला माघार घ्यायला लावणे हे तितकेसे सोपे काम नव्हते, मात्र सुषमांनी ते लीलया पार पाडले, याबद्दल त्या अभिनंदनास पात्र आहेत. त्यांच्या अभिनंदनासाठी ‘ब्रेव्हो सुषमाजी!’ एवढेच दोन शब्द पुरेसे आहेत. आशिया खंडातील वेगाने विकसित होणार्‍या अर्थव्यवस्थांमध्ये चीनचे नाव प्रामुख्याने घेतले जाते. चीनमध्ये अंतर्गत परिस्थिती पूरक असली, की चिनी ड्रॅगन विस्तारवादी फूत्कार सोडायला मोकळा असतो. याप्रसंगी मग तो शेजारी देशांनाही घाबरवून सोडायला तयार असतो. चीनच्या याच विस्तारवादाची धास्ती घेऊन जपान, व्हिएतनाम, भारत, सिंगापूर आदी देश आता आपसी सौहार्द वाढवून चीनचा सामना करण्यासाठी सज्ज होत आहेत. कम्युनिस्ट क्रांतीनंतर चीनमध्ये उदयास आलेली व्यवस्था कशी असेल, याकडे सार्‍या जगाचे लक्ष लागलेले आहे. चीनचा एकूण जगाशी असलेला व्यापार १९९८ ते २०१२ या काळात तब्बल अकरा पटींनी वाढला आहे. चीनची निर्यात १९९८ मध्ये १८४ अब्ज डॉलर्स होती, ती २०१२ मध्ये २.०५ ट्रिलियन डॉलर्सवर पोहोचली आहे; तर या देशाची १९९८ मधील आयात १४० अब्ज डॉलर्सवरून १.८ ट्रिलियन डॉलर्सवर पोहोचली आहे. गेल्या दोन वर्षांत तर चीनने जपानच्याही अर्थव्यवस्थेला मागे टाकले असून, जगातील दुसरी आर्थिक महासत्ता म्हणून स्थान पटकावले आहे. येणार्‍या काळात हा देश अमेरिकेच्या अर्थकारणालाही धक्के देणार हे नक्की! विस्तारवादी चीनने जपानलाही त्रस्त करून सोडले आहे. सेनकाकू बेटांच्या मालकीवरून चीन-जपान संबंध ताणले गेले आहेत. त्यांच्या याच धोरणापायी भारतही त्रस्त आहे. लद्दाख क्षेत्रातील चिनी सैन्याची घुसखोरी काही नवी नाही. त्यांच्या कुरापती मधूनमधून सुरूच असतात. कधी अरुणाचलवर दावा कर, तर कधी भारतीय हद्दीत रस्ते बांधकामाच्या निमित्ताने तंबू ठोक. ही त्यांची मुजोरी केवळ अर्थसत्तेच्या बळावरच होत आहे, याकडे जगाचेही लक्ष आहे. गेल्या चार वर्षांमध्ये चीनने पूर्व चीन समुद्र आणि दक्षिण चीन समुद्रावर हक्क सांगितला असून, त्यासाठी चिनी नौदल आक्रमकपणे येथे गस्त घालत आहे. व्हिएतनामच्या दिशेने गेलेल्या काही भारतीय नौकांना चिनी नौदलाने मध्यंतरी अडविले होते. या ना त्या कारणाने चीनची ही दादागिरी चालूच असते. म्हणूनच मोदी सरकारने सत्तेवर येताच, चीनमुळे त्रस्त असलेल्या देशांना आधी भेटी दिल्या. भूतान आणि नेपाळ या लहानशा देशांना भेट देऊन त्यांनी आपली पुढची धोरणे कशी राहतील, हेच चीनला ठणकावून सांगितले. यानंतर त्यांनी जपानचा दौरा केला आणि तेथे मिलियन डॉलर्सचे करार करून, जपानलाही आश्‍वस्त केले. यापुढेही भारताचे धोरण चीनविरोधकांना एकत्र ठेवण्याचेच राहणार आहे. हे करीत असताना भारताने चीनचे महत्त्व कमी होईल अशी कृती केलेली नाही. उलट, चीनचे राष्ट्राध्यक्ष शी जिनपिंग यांना भारत दौर्‍यावर बोलावून त्यांनी आशिया खंडातील चीनशी मैत्री आपल्यासाठी किती महत्त्वाची आहे, हेच जगाला दाखवून दिले. पण, चिनी ड्रॅगन काही लेचापेचा नाही. या देशाचे अध्यक्ष भारत दौर्‍यावर असतानाच त्यांच्या सैन्याने चुमार क्षेत्रात घुसखोरी करून, आपण भारताला मुळीच भीक घालत नाही, हाच संदेश देण्याचा प्रयत्न केला. पण, भारतानेही, ‘आम्ही कच्च्या गुरूचे चेले नाही,’ हे चीनला दाखवून दिले आहे. सुषमांच्या यशस्वी चर्चेनंतर चीनचे सैन्य माघारी जाण्यास निघाले असून, येत्या चार-पाच दिवसांत ते चंबुगबाळ्यासह चीनच्या हद्दीत गेलेले दिसेल. ‘मुछें हो तो नत्थुलाल जैसी’ असे आपण गमतीने म्हणतो, त्याच धर्तीवर आता ‘मुत्सद्देगिरी हो तो सुषमाजी जैसी’ असे गांभीर्याने म्हणता येईल. अशाच प्रकारची मुत्सद्देगिरी भारताने पाकिस्तानच्या बाबतीतही दाखवून, काही दिवसांपूर्वी संपूर्ण देशवासीयांना सुखद धक्का दिला होता. भारत-पाकिस्तान यांच्यात सचिव स्तरावरील बातचीत ठरली असताना पाकिस्तानने आडमार्गाने जाऊन, हुर्रियत या भारतातील विघटनवादी पक्षाशी चर्चा केल्याने, भारताने पाकिस्तानशी सुरू असलेली चर्चा खंडित केली होती. त्या कठोर पावलानंतर भारताने आता चीनलाही परखड शब्दांत सुनावून, भारतीय हद्दीतून त्यांचे सैन्य माघारी घेण्यास बाध्य केले आहे. विदेश धोरणातील भारतीय मुत्सद्देगिरीची ही दुंदुभी सर्वत्र पसरून त्याचे सकारात्मक परिणाम भविष्यात दिसून आल्याशिवाय राहायचे नाहीत. भारताच्या या निर्णयामुळे चीनविरोधकांमध्ये भारताची प्रतिमा नक्कीच उंचावणार आहे. घुसखोरीचा तणाव केवळ सीमेवरच नसतो, तो राज्यकर्त्यांवरही असतो, लष्करावरही असतो, प्रशासनावर असतो आणि प्रत्यक्षपणे परराष्ट्र मंत्रालय, गृहमंत्रालय आणि पंतप्रधान कार्यालयावरही असतो. अशा वेळी देशातील जनताही सरकारविरोधात जाते, सरकारला कुचकामी, अकार्यक्षम ठरविते. अशात अंतर्गत संघर्षालादेखील सरकारला सामोरे जावे लागते. पण, सुषमा स्वराज यांनी जमिनीवरील युद्ध, चर्चाचातुर्याने जिंकले आहे. पण, एवढ्याने चीनची आगळीक कमी होईल, असे समजून भारताला गाफील राहता येणार नाही. कारण चीनची महत्त्वाकांक्षा राक्षसी आहे. त्याला वेसण घालणे अमेरिकेलासुद्धा अजून साध्य झालेले नाही. मजबूत अर्थव्यवस्थेच्या जोरावर ड्रॅगन जगभरातील देशांना भयभीत करीत आहे. चिनी उत्पादनांनी दशोदेशी इतका धुडगूस घातला आहे की, अखेर अनेक देशांना स्वदेशीची आठवण येऊ लागली आहे. फटाके, मिठाया, खेळणी, विजेच्या माळा, आकाशदिवे, विजेची उपकरणे, पादत्राणे, शालेय वस्तू, रंग... आदी अनेक क्षेत्रात चिनी उत्पादनांनी पाश्‍चिमात्य आणि पौर्वात्य बाजारपेठा काबीज करून घेतल्या आहेत. त्या त्या क्षेत्रातील लघुउद्योजकांवर यामुळे रस्त्यावर येण्याची पाळी आली आहे. चीनमध्ये अत्यल्प खर्चात उपलब्ध असलेला कामगारवर्ग आणि मुबलक कच्चा माल त्यांच्या उत्पादनांची किंमत कमी ठेवण्यासाठी साह्यभूत ठरतो. यातूनच चीनने अनेक देशांतील उत्पादन यंत्रणा ठप्प करून टाकल्या आहेत. मुत्सद्देगिरीत दोन पावले मागे जावे लागले म्हणून चीन काही शांत बसणार्‍यांपैकी नाही. भारताने काल जगभरातील उद्योजकांना आमंत्रित करणार्‍या ‘मेक इन इंडिया’ कॅम्पेनचे उद्घाटन करायचीच देरी, चीननेही शांघायमध्ये ‘मेक इन चायना’ कॅम्पेनला शुभारंभ करून दिला. आपण याकडे, चीन घाबरला, या दृष्टीने पाहू. पण, भारताला टक्कर देण्याची तयारी त्याने आरंभिली आहे, याकडे काळजीपूर्वक लक्ष दिले जायला हवे. इकडे मोदी ‘मेक इन इंडिया’ची घोषणा करीत होते आणि तिकडे ग्वांगझी, शांघाय आणि हॉंगकॉंगमध्ये भारतीय राजदूत तेच कॅम्पेन चिनी जनतेच्या आणि उद्योगपतींच्या गळी उतरवत होते. पण, चीनने भारताच्याच कॅम्पेन कॉपीचा टोपो मारायला कमी केले नाही. कसेही करून चिनी उद्योजक भारतात जायला नको, म्हणून त्यांना सध्या अस्तित्वात असलेल्या सवलतींमध्ये वाढ करून देण्याची घोषणाही चीन सरकारने केली आहे. विस्तारवादात चीनला पराभूत करणे तितकेसे सोपे नाही, मात्र चीनविरोधकांनी एकीची मूठ बांधल्यास चीनला वेसण घालणे सहजसाध्य होऊ शकेल

हिंदुस्थान-अमेरिका सामरिक सहकार्य

हिंदुस्थान-अमेरिका सामरिक सहकार्य ब्रिगेडियर हेमंत महाजन पंतप्रधान मोदी अमेरिकेच्या पाच दिवसांच्या दौर्यासाठी रवाना झाले आहेत. मोदींचे ‘रेड कार्पेट’ स्वागत करण्याची ओबामा प्रशासनाने जय्यत तयारी केली आहे. अमेरिका-हिंदुस्थान यांच्यातील सामरिक सहकार्याबाबत दीर्घकालीन धोरण आवश्यक आहे. या धोरणात लष्करी सहकार्य, लष्कराचे प्रशिक्षण, अणुशक्ती सहकार्य, अंतराळ तंत्रज्ञानाबाबत सहकार्य, आर्थिक आणि व्यापारी सहयोग तसेच सामरिक सहकार्य यांचा समावेश असावा नरेंद्र मोदी यांनी पंतप्रधानपदाची सूत्रे हाती घेतल्यापासून परराष्ट्र धोरण आणि देशाची सुरक्षा यांना प्राधान्य देण्याचा प्रयत्न चालविला आहे. त्यामुळे हिंदुस्थानचे इतर देशांशी संबंध सुधारत आहेत. पंतप्रधान मोदी अमेरिकेच्या पाच दिवसांच्या दौर्यासाठी रवाना झाले आहेत. त्याआधी २४ तारखेला परराष्ट्रमंत्री सुषमा स्वराज या अमेरिकेला गेल्या आहेत. मोदींचे ‘रेड कार्पेट’ स्वागत करण्याची ओबामा प्रशासनाने जय्यत तयारी केली आहे. हिंदुस्थान आणि अमेरिका यांच्यातील आर्थिक, व्यापारी तसेच सामरिक सहकार्य वाढविण्यावर दोन्ही देश भर देतील. अमेरिकेसोबतच्या सामरिक सहकार्याचा विचार केला तर ही भेट महत्त्वाची आहेच, पण यासंदर्भात हिंदुस्थानने दीर्घकालीन धोरण आखणे आवश्यक आहे. पंतप्रधान नरेंद्र मोदी यांच्या अमेरिका भेटीत अनेक करारमदार होतील. त्यात अर्थातच आर्थिक, व्यापारी आणि सुरक्षाविषयक करारांचा समावेश असेल. हिंदुस्थान आणि अमेरिका यांच्यातील द्विपक्षीय संबंधांमध्ये सुधारणा करण्यावर दोन्ही देशांचा भर असेल. गुजरात दंगलीच्या पार्श्वभूमीवर १२-१३ वर्षे अमेरिकेने मोदींना व्हिसा नाकारला. मात्र आज हिंदुस्थानचे पंतप्रधान या नात्याने मोदींचे ‘रेड कार्पेट’ स्वागत करण्याची जोरदार तयारी ओबामा प्रशासनाने केली आहे. या दौर्यात दोन्ही देशांमधील द्विपक्षीय भागीदारी नव्या उंचीवर नेऊन आर्थिक आणि व्यापारी सहकार्य वाढविण्यावरही ओबामा प्रशासनाचा भर आहे. या संबंधांमध्ये दोन्ही देशांच्या योगदानाची दखल घेण्यासाठी आणि आगामी शतकाला दिशा देणारे संबंध जोपासण्यासाठी ३० सप्टेंबर रोजी ‘हिंदुस्थान - अमेरिका भागीदारी दिवस’ साजरा करण्याचा ठराव अमेरिकन सिनेटने एकमताने संमत केला आहे. यावरूनही मोदींच्या या दौर्याचे महत्त्व अधोरेखित होते. हिंदुस्थान हा संपूर्ण आशियाई-पॅसिफिक भागात स्थिरता निर्माण करण्याबाबत एक शक्ती म्हणून काम करू शकतो असा अमेरिकेला विश्वास वाटत आहे. त्यादृष्टीनेच मोदींच्या दौर्याकडे पाहिले जात आहे. २००४ मध्ये दिल्ली आणि वॉशिंग्टनमध्ये सुरक्षा सहकार्य करार झाला होता. अमेरिकेने हिंदुस्थानसोबत नागरी अणुसहकार्याचा करार केला. तो आपल्या देशाच्या ऊर्जाविषयक गरज पूर्ण करण्यासाठी आवश्यक आहे. आपल्या देशाला ८० टक्के खनिज तेल आयात करावे लागते. शिवाय आपल्या देशातील कोळसा कमी प्रतीचा असल्याने ऊर्जाविषयक गरज पूर्ण करण्यासाठी हिंदुस्थानसमोर अणुऊर्जा हा एकच पर्याय उपलब्ध आणि सोयीचा आहे. अमेरिकेसोबत जो अणुसहकार्य करार केला तो याच दृष्टिकोनातून. मात्र अमेरिकेच्या अणुऊर्जेसाठी आवश्यक साधनांचा पुरवठा करणार्या पुरवठादार कंपन्यांनी अणुऊर्जा प्रकल्पावर काही संकट ओढवले तर त्याची जबाबदारी स्वीकारण्यास नकार दिला होता. मोदी यांच्या सध्याच्या दौर्यात ही कोंडी कशी फुटते यावरच आपल्या देशाच्या औद्योगिक प्रगतीचा वेग ठरणार आहे. सध्या अमेरिका आपल्या देशामध्ये नव्या तंत्रज्ञानाच्या मदतीने आणि पारंपरिक स्रोतांशिवाय अन्य स्रोतांपासून वीजनिर्मिती करते. यामध्ये सौरऊर्जा, समुद्राच्या लाटांपासून वीजनिर्मिती, समुद्रात असलेल्या वेगवेगळ्या नोड्युल्सपासून (GAS HYDRATES) वीजनिर्मिती आदींचा समावेश आहे. अशा विविध प्रकारच्या ऊर्जानिर्मितीसाठी अमेरिकेमध्ये प्रचंड मोठ्या प्रमाणात नवनवीन तंत्रज्ञान विकसित करण्यात येत आहे. हे तंत्रज्ञान अमेरिकेकडून आपल्याला मिळाले तर त्यातून आपल्यापुढील ऊर्जा संकटाचा प्रश्न सुटण्यास मदत होईल. मोदींच्या अमेरिका भेटीने अमेरिकेशी आपली मैत्री अधिक दृढ होईलही, पण आणखी तीन देश असे आहेत की, त्यांच्याशी आपले मैत्रीपूर्ण संबंध प्रस्थापित होण्याची गरज आहे. या देशांचे अमेरिकेशीही चांगले संबंध आहेत. कोरिया हे अमेरिकेचे मित्रराष्ट्र असून तंत्रज्ञान आणि लष्कराच्या दृष्टीने हा देश समर्थ आहे. याशिवाय हॉंगकॉंग आणि तैवान यांच्याशीदेखील आपले संबंध दृढ होण्याची गरज आहे. चीनला शह देण्यासाठी या तिन्ही देशांसोबत केलेली मैत्री आपल्याला फायदेशीर होऊ शकते. आजपर्यंत चीनसमोर हिंदुस्थानी राज्यकर्ते नेहमीच न्यूनगंडाने पछाडल्यासारखे वागत आले आहेत. चीनला काय वाटेल या भयाने आपण जपान अथवा अमेरिकेबरोबरच्या संबंधातही विनाकारण आवश्यकतेपेक्षा दक्ष राहिलो आहोत. ही प्रथा बदलून चीनसोबत समपातळी आणि सारख्या अधिकारवाणीने संवाद साधणे आवश्यक आहे. आपल्या देशाच्या परराष्ट्र नीतीतील सामरिक स्वायत्ततेच्या दृष्टीने (स्ट्रॅटेजिक ऑटोनॉमी) दृष्टीने हे पहिले पाऊल ठरेल. हिंदी महासागरामध्ये चीनच्या वाढत्या सामर्थ्याला शह देण्यासाठी हिंदुस्थानला नौदल सक्षम करणे आवश्यक आहे. त्यादृष्टीने अमेरिकेबरोबर नौदल सहकार्य सुरू करणे आवश्यक आहे. कारण अमेरिकेचे नौदल हे महाकाय आणि महाशक्तिमान आहेत. त्यामुळे त्याची मदत आपल्याला होऊ शकते. अमेरिका ही लष्कर, आर्थिक आणि अणुशक्तीच्या दृष्टिकोनातून जगातील एकमेव महासत्ता आहे. अमेरिकन शस्त्रास्त्रे आणि तंत्रज्ञान जगात अव्वल मानले जाते. आता अमेरिका अनेक शस्त्रांची हिंदुस्थानात निर्मिती करण्यास तयार झाली आहे. तसे जर झाले तर त्याचा लाभ हिंदुस्थानलाही आर्थिक आणि सामरिकदृष्ट्या निश्चितच होईल. अमेरिका, हिंदुस्थान आणि पाकिस्तान या त्रिकोणात अमेरिका नेहमीच पाकिस्तानला झुकते माप देत आलेली आहे. त्यामुळेच पाकिस्तानची आपल्या देशावरील दादागिरी सातत्याने वाढतच राहिली आहे. पाकिस्तानच्या या वाढत्या कारवायांवर अंकुश ठेवण्यासाठी अमेरिका-हिंदुस्थान यांच्यातील सामरिक सहकार्याबाबत दीर्घकालीन धोरण आवश्यक आहे. या धोरणात लष्करी सहकार्य, लष्कराचे प्रशिक्षण, अणुशक्ती सहकार्य, अंतराळ तंत्रज्ञानाबाबत सहकार्य, आर्थिक आणि व्यापारी सहयोग तसेच सामरिक सहकार्य यांचा समावेश असावा. असे केल्यास हिंदुस्थान-अमेरिका संबंध सुधारू शकतात. मोदी यांनी म्हटल्याप्रमाणे अमेरिका हा हिंदुस्थानचा ग्लोबल पार्टनर बनू शकतो. शिवाय या महाशक्तीच्या पाठबळाच्या जोरावर आपलेही राजनैतिक वजन आणि शेजारी राष्ट्रांवर आपला दबाव वाढू शकतो.

NARENDRA MODI VISIT TO US-BEST WISHES INDIA

Folks, Watch Times Now, NDTV, Headlines Today and CNN IBN from 25th Sep onwards for live coverage of Modi's grand speech from New York and Washington. Arnab Goswami of Times Now, Brakha Dutt of NDTV, Rahul Kanwal of Headlines Today are already in US. 35 meetings are planned for Modi during the four day US tour, including summit level talks with President Obama, post which he will attend the UN meeting. Top 10 US CEOs are meeting one-on-one with Modi. 20000 seats filled already for Madison Square meeting. No world leader has booked Madison Square till now for a gathering of this size. All tickets were issued through lottery. 20 front row seats were sold for USD 50000 per seat that goes towards the cost of hiring Madison Square. Three state governors, mayor of New York, senate leaders, Bill Clinton and Hilary Clinton , NGO heads have confirmed their presence for face to face meetings. 400 organizations from NGOs to temples, from student bodies to regional, ethnic, and linguistic associations, have registered as ''welcome partners'' for the community reception. New York Metro and Bus services are arranging special coaches and additional transport on the morning and evening. 800 core group volunteers are working 24/7 taking care of the events. Modi will be speaking on a rotating stage. By the time he's done with his speech, he would have made a 360° turn. Live telecast on large screens of his speech in times square arranged by Fox news. More than 5000 people are expected to assemble in Time Square. Modi is going to stay in the White House guesthouse which is not given for a leader when he is on UN related visit. Two dinner meetings, one breakfast meeting, 3 business meetings, 3 memorial services, 3 community engagements & 3 country leader meetings with Heads of Sri Lanka, Nepal and possibly Pakistan are scheduled. He is landing on 26th afternoon and within one hour his schedule starts for next 4 power packed days. External Affairs Minster Sushma will go to US before Modi and accompany him in several meetings. First time in history, on the side lines of an UN meeting, an Indian External Affairs Minister will meet about a 100 countries' counterparts. India has received 55 billion USD commitment from Japan and China in the last 3 weeks. India is already at 160 billion USD with US. Modi wants to triple the figure. "Make in India" was launched on 25th Sept. In this mega event, 3000 Global and local corporations heads were invited for this launch. Top 10 companies from top 10 sectors from top 30 countries are shortlisted. 30000 additional companies are targeted and approached through other media. An 8 member expert team will review the proposals submitted. India at present needs an entrepreneur to follow 12 procedures, which on an average takes 27 days to 27 months. With this new model, a new business can be started in less than 72 hours. Please wait for more information on the Swach Bharat programme that's getting launched on 2nd Oct. Facebook and Melinda Gates Foundation are partnering with Indian govt for this initiative. GOD BLESS INDIA

GOOD HEALTH EASY BACK EXERCISES

Easy and Effective Back Exercises Back pain is one of the most persistent, chronic pains we must deal with in our lifetime, and we'd be hard pressed to find someone who hasn't had to deal with them from time to time. That is why it's important to work on the right areas and muscles that not only prevent muscle pain by lowering the stress on our back and lower back areas of the spine, but also help to alleviate the pain that comes with it. Here are 4 simple yet effective exercises you can perform a few times a week to protect your back in the present and in the future... The Bridge 1. Lay on your back, feet on the floor, knees bent, legs slightly apart, at the width of your hip. 2. Clench your buttocks and lift it upwards, slowly, vertebra by vertebra, until you get to about shoulder height. 3. Count slowly to 3 and slowly lower yourself, vertebra by vertebra, while keeping your stomach muscles clenched. Sets: Do this 10-12 times for a complete session. What it does: This exercise neutralizes the daily stress the spine deals with. It stretches the muscles that bend the thigh and stengthens the back stabilizers and the lower back muscles. Also, it works your stomach muscles to keep your balance and keep more pressure off your back. Note: Remember to be patient and go slow. The Ox 1. Stand on six (hands, knees, tip of feet) touching the ground, knees at hip height, your elbows a bit bent, your palms at a width with your shoulders. Keep your stomach tight but don't move your back of twist your hip. 2. At the count of 3, raise opposite hand and leg to a horizontal level and keep them there for 3 seconds. 4. Slowly and patiently, raise that time up to 10 seconds. Add a motion of raising and lowering your opposite hands and legs, while keeping your stomach tight and your elbows locked. Sets: Repeat this 6 times for each side. What it does: Strengthens your core muscles, strengthens the area of the shoulders and the stabilizing muscles, improves on posture and coordination - to help the spine perform day to day activities such as walking, running, dancing or carrying. Side Position 1. Lay on your right side in a straight line, legs continuing the line of your main body. Lean on your arm, while you make sure the elbow is at a straight line under your shoulder. 2. Clench the stomach muscles lights and gently lift your hip from the floor. 3. Hold this position for 20-40 seconds (according to your progress) and gently lower yourselves (no dropping down!). Sets: Do this 3 times for each side. What it does: The exercise builds up the strength and stamina of the stabilizing muscles, strengthening your waist and lower back. Forward Lunges 1. Stand up straight and put your hands on your waist. 2. Make a lunge forward, while bending the knee on the forward leg to 90 degrees and bending the knee on the back leg until it comes close to the floor. 3. Again, do NOT hurry. Do this slowly, and remember it's important to keep stability, no wobbling. Keep your stomach tight. Sets: Do this 8-10 times for each leg. What is it good for: The exercise improves the body's posture and strengthens your control of your core muscles. This is key to protecting the spine while walking, running or climbing stairs. The exercise uses all the important stabilizing muscles. Tip: Try to get to a stage where you can actually touch the floor with the knee of your back leg. Cover photos courtesy of: cooldesign / freedigitalphotos.net Source: Frederick T.

MODI VISIT US:EXPECTATIONS

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-09-23/once-banned-modi-embraced-by-u-s-as-china-interests-mesh.html Bibhudatta Pradhan and Shobhana Chandra Sep 24, 2014 3:24 PM GMT+0530 A decade ago, the U.S. saw Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as an international pariah. Next week he’ll address a sell-out crowd at Madison Square Garden and stroll down the red carpet at the White House. Modi starts a five-day trip to New York and Washington on Sept. 26, the first since he was denied a U.S. visa over 2002 anti-Muslim riots in his state of Gujarat. His landslide election win in May sent the Obama administration scurrying to rebuild ties with the new leader of the world’s biggest democracy -- an effort now starting to bear fruit. “The primary objective is to reset the relationship with Modi as an individual,”Milan Vaishnav, an associate in the South Asia program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, said by phone. “The president wants to indicate that whatever may have happened in the past, they should begin a new chapter in the relationship.” Warmer relations between the U.S. and Modi would help them counter China’s growing assertiveness over disputed territory, a goal they share even as India courts investment from Beijing’s leaders to revive Asia’s third-biggest economy. Closer ties would also yield more energy and defense deals between the world’s largest weapons exporter and biggest arms importer. “The emergence of a strong and capable India will alter the Asian strategic framework in a manner that is conducive both for India and U.S. interests,” C. Uday Bhaskar, director of the Society for Policy Studies in New Delhi, said by phone from the capital. “As the last decade has demonstrated, an empathetic India-U.S. relationship makes Beijing more malleable when it deals with Delhi.” Lagging Trade China overtook the U.S. as India’s largest trading partner in the past decade, with total commerce growing twice as fast in that period. U.S. trade with India fell 3 percent last year to $65 billion, or $3 billion less than its total trade with China, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Modi won a pledge from China to invest $20 billion over five years during a visit last week from President Xi Jinping, which included a riverside dinner in Gujarat. That added to the $33 billion in loans and investment Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe promised Modi when he visited Tokyo on Sept. 1. “Unlike in the cases of China and Japan, the U.S. government is in no position to provide direct or indirect financing to India,” Eswar Prasad, a former International Monetary Fund economist who teaches economics at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, said in an e-mail. “India is really counting on obtaining more financing from private investors in the U.S. by convincing them about the economy’s robust long-term growth prospects.” China Competition As Modi courts the world’s powers to invest in India, he’s also criticized China’s “mindset of expansion” and called for talks on their disputed border. During Xi’s visit last week, hundreds of Indian and Chinese troops were engaged in a standoff in a remote Himalayan area claimed by both sides. While Modi won’t abandon a policy of non-alignment, he’ll enhance ties with the U.S. and Japan in the face of strategic competition from China, according to Patrick Cronin, a senior director of the Asia-Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New American Security in Washington. “There is no doubt that China is still the big competition,” Cronin said. “India has a fixation on China and that is why the U.S. partnership makes more and more sense.” Since Modi’s win -- the biggest for an Indian party in 30 years -- a slew of officials from the Obama administration have visited India, including Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. Garden Appearance As part of his visit, Modi will address 18,500 people at Madison Square Garden -- a venue that usually hosts sports teams and rock stars -- in an event organized by the Indian American Community Foundation. He’ll also address the United Nations General Assembly, meet with Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton, and share a private meal with President Barack Obama. Modi’s scheduled to meet with New York Mayor Bill De Blasio on Sept. 26 and former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP, the next day. Modi will also address the UN Assembly on Sept. 27 before the Madison Square Garden event on Sept. 28. Modi will meet top officials of 11 U.S. companies, including Pepsico Inc., Google Inc., General Electric Co., Boeing Co., International Business Machines Corp., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and KKR & Co. LP. He then heads to Washington for a Sept. 29 dinner hosted by Obama, with formal talks the next day. Modi’s trip will focus on trade and investment, energy, science and technology, defense relations and maritime security, Syed Akbaruddin, Indian foreign ministry spokesman, said in a briefing yesterday. Visa Denial The U.S. denied Modi a visa in 2005 over his alleged failure to control 2002 riots that killed about 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, in the state of Gujarat where he was chief minister. He was barred from the country under rules that ban officials who were responsible for “severe violations of religious freedom.” Modi has repeatedly denied the accusations, and a Supreme Court-appointed panel found no evidence he gave orders that prevented assistance from reaching those being attacked. A 2005Wikileaks cable said Modi had a reputation as an “international pariah” and cited members of his Bharatiya Janata Party saying “Modi ‘will never forgive the U.S.’ for his treatment.” In an interview with CNN ahead of the U.S. trip, Modi said ties between the two countries would deepen. He said relations between India and the U.S. go far beyond links between political leaders in Washington and Delhi. Investment Obstacles India, a Cold War ally of the Soviet Union, moved closer to the U.S. under President George W. Bush, culminating in the accord that ended a ban on trade in nuclear fuel and technology imposed after India tested an atomic bomb in 1974. U.S. companies continue to face obstacles in selling atomic equipment and technology to India because of India’s tougher nuclear liability law. Under Indian rules, companies such as General Electric Co. and Westinghouse Electric Corp. are liable for damages in the event of a nuclear accident if found to have supplied defective equipment or material. India’s defense purchases from the U.S. include Chicago-based Boeing Co.’s C-17 military transport plane, as well as Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed Martin Corp.’s C-130J military cargo aircraft. “The U.S. feels this is the time to make fast progress on many pending issues and do some serious business with the government of India,” said Naresh Chandra, former Indian ambassador to the U.S. and former cabinet secretary. “The visit will set the right trend for further follow up of India-U.S. relations.”