Intriguing question by a fellow blogger
US a country none in the world can afford to ignore. Their President came visiting India and we gave a piece of our mind by staging protests on a massive scale. I actually chose not to write on this topic as i was not sure what to write.
I, for one am clearly against America’s hegemonistic foreign policies and iraq invasion etc.
But there is an another side to it.
Sridhar raises a very valid point.
Where were all the protestors when leaders from Russia, China came visiting us?
Are they all exactly the very embodiments of human rights?
Are not the Russians (erstwhile Soviet Union) the root cause of the present state of Afghanistan? How friendly, hospitable and trustworthy are the Chinese? Why the world comes tumbling down when Bush comes visiting and not exactly when others with equally glaring record come to India? Where was Arundhati Roy when Musharaff visited us? What’s her views on Baluchistan atrocities? Why not an article in HINDU on these?
AR is still my favorite writer but i agree with sridhar’s viewpoint here.
Sure, Bush is no saint and America is no philanthropist either. But then so is China. Did we not wage war with China and Pakistan? What is so friendly about Chinese invasion and Kargil? And heck, they are not even democracies.
Roy had every right to stage protests, write articles, but she too seem to suffer from selective amnesia. The same mistake that Bush is accused of perpetrating.
Maybe attacking Bush gives you media coverage like no other.
March 6th, 2006 at 10:56 pm
how many people in india know wen jiabao or hu jintao.not many.but everyone knows bush.bush matters.people love to hate bush.
as for russia yeah it is responsible for afghanistan but that’s past.now the country is in america’s hands and hence it will have to bear the brunt of opposition.as for putin him self i don’t think people are as aware about chechnya and his authoritarian policies as about bush.
as for musharraf the less said the better.
btw i wanted to write the same thing but mr sridhar has beaten me to it.i guess will have to wait for some other time.
March 7th, 2006 at 3:56 am
For that matter we have freaking fantastic relationship with all possible authoritarian regimes in the world. Libya, Cuba, Burma, Iran we supported the afghan invasion by russians, the Indian communists supported the Chinese during the Indo-china war. The list goes on!! We have provided arms to the Northern alliance in Afghan war. The list goes on and on.!!!!!!!
March 7th, 2006 at 8:37 am
As simple as it goes..Indians didnot protest Bush’s visit..Muslims did !
March 7th, 2006 at 11:22 am
PK,
I think there is definitely a difference between Bush and other dictators (?). What America is doing is trying to play internal police whereas other countries listed in your blog have imposed their authority on limited domain. Ofcourse, limited authority does not meaning being good but its the magnitude of atrocity I am talking about. Still worse, America always projects itself as doing good when its actually the reverse. Atleast in this sense, the other countries have been straight forward. Just because we haven’t opposed China, Russia, doesn’t mean we support Bush!
March 7th, 2006 at 11:49 am
paurna
u have a point.
vijay,
seriousa… why this moral highground with bush alone.
outraged,
i think i’ll have to agree with you.
ravi,
when there r thiefs, all shud be condemned. the degree may vary but stil all shud be condemned. u cant turn aaway from someone and then cry hoarse abt someone else.
why dont all this protesting parties express soliarity with fellow muslims killed in baluchistan? are they not their brethren? i bet they wont.
most of them who come for protests do not know why they r protesting and for what purpose.
US has been perpetrating all its policies since WW 2 when they bombed japan. this is nothing new…
IMO, this ‘hate US’ campaign is as politically motivated as US’s actions.
March 7th, 2006 at 5:47 pm
MUST WATCH VIDEO
March 7th, 2006 at 8:24 pm
PK, I agree partly with your POV. But I think there is more to it, which I may not be able to explain clearly.
The point of all theifs should be condemned doesn’t hold really true. For example a pick-pocket vs a minster looting money is different. Anyways, that aside let me see if I can put forward my POV.
The policies of US affect our polices drastically where as the policies of China/Russia really doesn’t affect our as much. Any deal signed with the US has a very good implication on our economy and our dependcies with US. China/Russia didn’t go to war rampage like the US did for one underlying reason which we all know.
Just because US has been perpertrating all its polices (or been bombing nations all along) just because doesn’;t mean that we budge to them.
I am neither justifying nor supporting protests by any means. While the protests by the protestors had more reasons (which probably I do not know) to it, as I see it the Indo-US nuke deal could have gone worse than it is and if I were forced to protest, I would have done just to make sure that this deal doesn’t hurt India’s people/growth/economy.
March 8th, 2006 at 6:39 am
NK,
I am not a big fan of FDI in everything mantra NK. Thats a diff thing.
i dont clearly know what exactly the conditions and implications would be. maybe u can write a post of this visit by Bush.
Whatever it is, i dont think the protests were becos of the economic implications.
from whatever little i read, it clearly was against Bush’s invasion of Iraq, his stand in Iran etc.
Honestly, i dont care.
if i am ot bothered about Chinese aggression in Tibet, why should i bother abt US’s morality? What they face in Iraq is their issue.
Where were all these protestors when our flight was hijacked to kandahar? They could’ve protested against hijacking of innocent passengers, right?
March 8th, 2006 at 8:21 am
PK, As I said in the final para, my main reason for the protest would have been the Nuke deal. Nothing more than that. But as you said, the protestors protested more on humanitarian grounds. The only reason I can see on humanitarian grounds is that the Bush government went on a rampage in Afghanistan and Iraq like no-other and all this on the name of “freedom and democracy”. and just because the US government has the power and weapons to do it!
Protesting against hijacking: Yeah, possible but protest in front of whom? In Bush’s case, he is the head of the big machinery of ofregin policies etc, so portesting in front of him makses sense, but hijacking — whom should they protest in front of?
FDIs — I don’t care much either!
March 8th, 2006 at 8:32 am
NK,
i dont know much abt the nuke deal and how its going to affect india. if its against india’s interests, then it should be condemned. no second thoughts. but i dont know the facts and dont want to comment on the same.
>>protesting in front of whom?
In front of whom did all the danish cartoon protests take place?
You mean to say they protested in front of the cartoonists?
It was a token measure right?
A way to show their anger and hatred? Why not the same to terrorists? Why not show the terrorists that they are all happy as Indians and Islamic fundamentalism can go elsewhere?This despite the fact that the majority of the minority ppl in general are peace loving like u and me.
You look at what happened in Varanasi. Why do i dont see any solidarity marches/protests - a public display of sympathy?
Bush is no saint. I totally agree.
Atleast in Bush’s case we get to see the goriness in detail, thanks to media, not much revelations has been made public abt other countries atrocities. that is my whole point.
March 8th, 2006 at 10:58 am
you hit the nail on its head. Attacking Bush gives you media coverage like no other. thats precisely the point.