Barackface

Wednesday, December 03, 2014

Nitish Has Valid Points On Indian Muslims And The BJP

हिन्दी: देश के उप राष्ट्रपति मोहम्मद हामिद अंसारी पटना में पूर्व मुख्यमंत्री सत्येन्द्र नारायण सिन्हा(छोटे साहब) की 94वीं जयंती पर आयोजित व्याख्यानमाला श्रंखला पर पूर्व सांसद किशोरी सिन्हा और मुख्यमंत्री नीतीश कुमार के साथ (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Former Bihar CM Nitish Kumar questions NDA's good governance claim

questioned why a single Muslim was not among its 282 Lok Sabha MPs from BJP ...... he wondered if the low representation of Muslims in BJP was just a coincidence or it was part of a well thought-out strategy. ..... though BJP got an absolute majority for the first time, a significant aspect was that its vote share was only around 31 per cent. ..... the party has only 22 Muslims out of the total 1,352 MLAs.

Friday, November 21, 2014

Obama, Modi, And The Sling Shot Effect

Barack Obama was the most exciting politician on the planet in 2009. Today that person is Modi. But Modi is also that Jupiter around which Obama can give himself additional momentum through the sling shot effect. In getting close to Modi, Obama can give his final two years in office new life. He need not be a lame duck. He can approach his final two years in office with renewed vigor. And proximity to Modi can help.

Obama's act on immigration reminds me of the guy I volunteered for in the 2007-08 cycle. The guy I volunteered for was, is bold. He need not go quietly into the sunset.

India is the new Britain. Britain being America's closest ally served the Cold War purposes. That era ended a while ago. In the current struggle known as the War On Terror, India is the new Britain. India is America's new best friend. This War only ends after every Muslim country has been turned into a vibrant democracy. And India is the laboratory that can make it happen. The separation between mosque and state has to be first established fully in India. And then it can be taken to the rest of the Islamic world.

Obama going to be Chief Guest at India's Republic Day celebrations in January is a great sign. He will come back to America after that trip as if he just won an election.

We must live in a decidedly post-colonial world where the rulers of the two largest democracies look like Gandhi and MLK.

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Politician Number One: Modi

East Asia & G-20 Summits: PM Narendra Modi most sought-after leader at Brisbane meet

It is not Barack Obama or Vladimir Putin or Xi Jinping or Shinzo Abe or Angela Merkel - leaders of the five most powerful countries of the world - who are most sought after at the East Asia and G-20 Summits. Instead it is Narendra Modi, elected to the high office only six months back, who has received maximum requests for bilateral meetings from his counterparts and heads of state on the sidelines of East Asia, ASEAN and G-20 Summits in Myanmar and Australia later this week. ..... the emphasis is on meeting leaders such as German Chancellor Merkel and former British PM Gordon Brown (in Brisbane) whom the PM has not met yet ..... Besides, Modi could meet leaders of France, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Mexico, Argentina and Nigeria in Brisbane on the sidelines of the G20 meet. Meeting with the Canadian PM, South Korean President and European Union leaders are also on the cards.