OBAMA AND INDIA-PAKISTAN DYNAMICS

President Obama’s inauguration has gone down in history as most watched and most participated event. And true to its significance, Obama’s ascendancy to power, his administration, his policies over next four years will be a big influencing factor on the changing world dynamics. Indian Americans have had a good run with President George Bush and his contribution to Indo-US Nuclear deal has been immense so now it remains to be seen how far does Obama stand by India especially in these trying times when Pakistan has been a tricky wicket in the South Asian region. India has been a peaceful nation all along quite contrary to Pakistan which could do nothing to prevent its land being used for anti-India, anti-peace activities by the terrorist organizations, some of which are a product and extension of its own agency – the ISI. If Pakistan wants to gain its respect in the world community, it will have to take a hard stand and work on eliminating the terrorist forces from its region. How the Obama administration deals with this situation will have a huge impact on the peace in this region. As Indian Americans we hope he can look through the situation objectively – that is by not just considering America’s interests and latching it to Kashmir imbroglio.
-S K Desai, New Jersey

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
I heard Dev Patel, the protagonist of Slumdog Millionaire say in one of his interviews that it is not possible to please 1.3 billion people in India and every one has right to his or her opinion and that his film is about getting them to talk. I completely agree with him. As a cinematic expression, Slumdog brings the reality of modern Mumbai to the screen but it is after all the storyline and the message that strikes a chord with millions. This entire debate about Slumdog making it to Oscars though does leave one wondering why do we need the approval from West for our movies. That any film rakes in a big business by screening in foreign countries is in itself a huge recognition. What’s the point if one movie gets all the awards but makes no money. Slumdog fortunately doesn’t fall in that category. However I would have liked it better if an Indian had made that film. After all the script is based on a book by an Indian diplomat, the film is based in Mumbai, the music director, the cast, the technicians are Indian so why did it need a British director –scriptwriter? Not that we have anything personal against them but just a remark on the creative abilities of our film industry, which generates films worth millions each year.
-Vivek Sharma, California

ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN
The recent news about retail giants such as Circuit City and Starbucks too going out of business and closing outlets, respectively, have contributed in increasing the woes of common Americans. Hundreds of more jobs will be lost adding to the already grim situation. However, I came across this report which said that despite the turmoil the Indian American community is not doing that bad..it has been affected but not in a mess which is heartening to know. I am curious though to find out why is it so. Is it because Indian Americans are hardworking people? But then would it mean others are not or rather not hardworking enough. Or is it that Indian Americans being a migrant community tend to stick to their saving habits while the rest of the tribe here is known to give in to consumerist temptations? But as per demand and supply logic, doesn’t a consumerist economy propel growth…more money spent, more money circulated, more goods bought, more goods made, more investments made…the cycle goes on. The way the stores are flooded with clearance items, it is apparent that the cycle is broken, people are not spending as they don’t have the money to spend.
- D. Senthil Kumar, Chicago

BRAVE HEART
S u l l y Sullenberger, the pilot of the US Airways flight that was ditched in Hudson is a true hero. It would have been a horrifying tragedy had the plane hit some busy area with unimaginable loss of life and property. And given the e x t r e m e weather conditions that day, one has to applaud the well established disaster mechanism which saved every soul aboard that flight. As television reports said, 15 minutes in that weather were enough to cause hypothermia and those passengers were out in open, over a freezing river. The pilots experience and timely decision are highly commendable and he should receive highest honor for his efforts from the government.
- Jaya Bhattacharya, Florida.