“I had Pakistani roommates in college who were very close friends of mine. I went to visit them when I was still in college; was in Karachi and went to Hyderabad. Their mothers taught me to cook,” said Mr Obama.
“What can you cook?”
“Oh, keema … daal … You name it, I can cook it. And so I have a great affinity for Pakistani culture and the great Urdu poets.
According to Dawn, it was the “first-ever one-on-one interview by any US president to the Pakistani media.” One lobbyist takes credit for making it happen.Twenty-seven-year-old Taha Gaya runs the Pakistani American Leadership Center (PAL-C). In a recent interview with The National, an Abu Dhabi publication, he’s described as the “only paid representative of the Pakistani-American community in Washington, which is buzzing with politically active, well-connected lobbyists of Indian descent.” Gaya expressed disappointment to various DC officials that Obama hadn’t spoken with a Pakistani media outfit and soon after Obama had his keema-and-dal moment with Dawn.
California-born Gaya worked for Congress on the House Judiciary Committee before joining PAL-C, and the interview suggests that when he started he might have known more about the US political system than the country where his parents were born — not surprising, I think, if he grew up in the US, studied law here and worked for Congress. “He admits that when he was hired, two years ago, he wouldn’t have been able to identify Asif Ali Zardari, now Pakistan’s president.”
That was ok with PAL-C’s cofounder, an LA-based engineer who started the group in 2004, after witnessing post-9/11 discrimination against Pakistani-Americans. He “needed someone like Gaya — a Pakistani who is more American than Pakistani” to make headway on the Hill. (link)
The choice of a politically savvy second-generation desi to head PAL-C might lead you to think that the group is interested in influencing domestic issues and laws that would be of interest to the second generation, but PAL-C has been focused on foreign policy issues related to the Pakistan/US relationship, like eliminating conditions on aid to Pakistan that would require its “co-operation in dismantling nuclear material supply networks.” Gaya basically acknowledged this as an attendee at the National South Asian summit a few months ago (also attended by Taz and Abhi) and attributed it to current events bringing Pakistan to the attention of the US. He mentioned that the group’s domestic focus includes civil rights issues and maybe it will devote more of its energies for that kind of work in the future.
But for now, PAL-C like other South Asian lobbying groups, seems to be taking inspiration from one of the most powerful lobbying groups, AIPAC.
In its lobbying efforts, India has unashamedly taken inspiration from the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Gaya says even Pakistani-Americans consider AIPAC “the gold standard”. “They talk about the Jewish lobby as though it is the most powerful institution in the world,” he says. The India lobby ranks a close second: Gaya can reel off a litany of victories that he attributes to Indian-American efforts, none greater than last year’s US-India nuclear deal. (link)
Related on SM: A comments discussion about the value of lobbying and whether emulating AIPAC is desirable, as well as Abhi’s various posts on the topic of USINPAC.
Ehh, Pakistani culture is just North Indian culture, nothing distinct or “Pakistani”. But anyways, it’s good that Obama reached out with some cultural diplomacy and actually gave an interview with Dawn. Very impressive on his part.
I definitely think AIPAC is a model for other lobbying groups who aspire to become influential. It took India long enough to cotton on to that! Good thing PAL-C is recognizing AIPAC’s influence quickly.
From the article: It’s a basic fact of India-Pakistan relations that they always want to know if the US loves them more than the other,†says Teresita Schaffer
How sad.
Pakistan had incredibly powerful backers on the Hill all through the Cold War years. It is true most of them have withered away.
I think Pakistan is being smart in getting someone like Gaya as a lobbyist.
Forget Israel, the most powerful lobby on the Hill (without being overt) is UK*** (DeGaulle once commented that UK’s natural ally is US, and not continental Europe). Irish lobby (all the different factions, and religious denominations included) is incredibly influential (a few years ago a guy was killed in a pub allegedly by IRA, and her sisters lobbyed here, and Gerry Adams from Sinn Fein had to do lot of damage control in US – right from Senator Kennedey to people like once Senator George Mitchell).
*** Ask any Canadian why UK is closest ally of US, instead of them. Maureen Dowd of NYT being of Irish origin writes a lot about it in historical sense in her columns. John Kennedey Sr was openly anti-English being Irish himself.
I had no idea that the unhealthy, and self destructive obsession with India has spread to Pakistani-Americans, too. Sad!
I’ve also noticed that Pakistani diplomats have way better handle over words (including Haqqani), in a diplomatic sense, than any Indian diplomat. So, I see them as serving their country better.
I don’t think Obama realizes that. He seems very distant to anything Indian.
John Kennedey Sr was openly anti-English being Irish himself.
Sorry, I meant Joe Kennedy, he had a very complicated relationship with Britian.
“Ehh, Pakistani culture is just North Indian culture, nothing distinct or “Pakistani”
Maybe Razib can comment on the genetic component, but culturally speaking, people living in the area which is between the Indus River and Do-Aab region are the same people for the most part.
Do-Aab: Ganga and Jamuna
Maybe Razib can comment on the genetic component, but culturally speaking, people living in the area which is between the Indus River and Do-Aab region are the same people for the most part.
i’ve seem nothing to contradict this genetically. though you have to pool indian american punjabi samples with pakistani punjabi ones to compare; the indian gov. had some weird rules about blood samples for a long time so pakistanis were used as the south asian representatives in the human genome diversity project.
It is a basic fact that entire cohorts of the international relations community in the US deludedly imagine that other nations long to be loved by the US. Schaffer is no exception and doesn’t seem to have learned from Kissinger. And many among these have made a career spinning yarns about supposedly attention-seeking Indians etc.
Indian bureacrats and ministers are seasoned politicians and understand the cut and thrust of diplomacy very well. Babu Jagjivan Ram in 1971 when he was Defence Minister already had >35 years of experience in politics rising from the panchayats through state legislatures and the parliament, and was as usual misunderestimated!
Politics and diplomacy isn’t an elite pastime.
All those poor, unfortunate brown staffers of Indian descent whom I now see all over D.C….did they know what they were getting in to, when, with excitement, they accepted plum jobs with the administration? A cold, distant President who is petty?
I am impressed with your intimate knowledge of all Indian diplomats, specifically their command of language; that’s huge in a profession which is all wordplay, no swordplay. Do they have trading cards with various diplomatic stats on the back? Maybe standardized test scores so we really know who’s better? That would be awesome.
Well, if by spread you mean…he’s doing the job he’s paid to do…?
… … … … … … … … …
Personal opinions are fine, but let’s keep the incendiary crap to a minimum, for ONCE on a Pakistan-related thread. Consider it a call for decency from all of you, either side, whether you’ve commented yet or not. TIA.
awww… poor zee didnt get a janmashtami card from o, it seems like
I’ll trade you my two Shashi Tharoors for your Ban Ki Moon!
Anna, what I meant was anything, concerning India (not of Indian-descent or Indian-American). There has been several articles about aloofness of the current administration towards India, and how Hillary’s visit was meant to assuage some of the egos. I was trying to draw attention to that. Will link (to those numerous articles) when I get time.
I was actually praising the Pakistani diplomats (esp Haqqani), and was saying that I was not unimpressed with Indian diplomats. I guess you read what you want to.
ANNA, I think we can all agree that the real question here is if the Pakistani lobby is going to prevent Shah Rukh Khan from meeting Obama.
No, I read what is there. 🙂 I got the “praise” part, not so much the other. I could just see the angry mobs gearing up with their, “How dare you”s and “Indian English is fust-class!” etc ad nauseum. Look:
Anytime someone says Pakistan is better than India (or v.v.) in ANY capacity, it’s incendiary– and utterly unwelcome on SM. That’s all I meant. Well, that and diplomatic trading cards would be cool.
Please…back on topic, everyone, now that we’ve cleared that up.
Anna –
“In its lobbying efforts, India has unashamedly taken inspiration from the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).”
In light of the incendiary statement above, how do you expect the discussion to be “crap” free.
ANNA: Welcome back! We missed you 🙂
I missed most of you, too. 🙂
I did NOT miss incivility, pettiness, hate mail, bickering, pleas for homework assistance, (and the worst two:) entitled people, people who cannot follow directions…
Seriously, back on topic though– which one of you knows Taha Gaya and has wedding-toast-worthy stories about him? Don’t let me down! 😉
“Ehh, Pakistani culture is just North Indian culture, nothing distinct or “Pakistani”. “
Sridhar, as a Pakistani-American, I agree with you to an extent (though many other Pakistanis would brand me a traitor for saying this) but I think you are over simplfying a bit. Post-Partition Pakistani culture is quite different from generic North Indian culture, particularly because of the ways in which Islam has played out in Pakistan over the past 62 years. That said, yes, keema, dal, and Urdu poetry are pretty much generic North Indian culture.
“It’s a basic fact of India-Pakistan relations that they always want to know if the US loves them more than the other,†says Teresita Schaffer
How sad.”
Ikram–yes, it is really sad, a bad case of sibling rivalry
I saw Taha working in/with student government at UCLA, circa 2000-2002. That he is now lobbying for Pakistan in D.C. is, therefore, not too surprising, except for his rapid rise. Congrats, Taha!
Um, I didn’t go to undergrad with Taha. Please disregard my previous comment.
Yay! glad to see a civil discussion, without condensing sarcasm.
Maybe we can actually see the diplomat’s performance and judge for ourselves. That would be super awesome. If only there was a way to find interviews of prominent diplomats on the intrawebs.
. . . http://www.google.com/search?q=hussain+Haqqani+site%3Apbs.org http://www.google.com/search?q=naresh+chandra+site%3Apbs.org
Seriously, back on topic though– which one of you knows Taha Gaya and has wedding-toast-worthy stories about him? Don’t let me down! 😉
=) i know Taha ji in real-deal life and am honored to call him a friend and member of my ‘all-star crackstar squad’ (i have to; he came up with the moniker ;)). he’s a rocking ROCKSTAR. that is all.
california misses surfer-Taha, and i’d give all the daal and keema in the world to have him back on the left coast so we could eat ice cream together and practice being king-fu filum esstars. still, i’m so proud of the work he’s doing, and am sending him many oopar paanches!
wonder how this dude would be treated if he were a 2nd gen Indian-American who opted for USINPAC over SAALT ? Apparently we grade on a curve here
This dude is trying to get us to think that keeping AQ Khan’s network intact is a good thing for the US & the rest of the world? If he pulls that off he should be put in charge of marketing at Marlboro
I save my rants for
IDateNetIP.I asked my “guys” at the usual rounds–they said that the “triple-Y” (i.e., Yankee, Yehudi, Yindu) alliance is still on track, even though Obama himself is sliding more “Islamic.” More than enough $$ is pushing the other way. Sikhs still welcome to come on-board. Jains–meh–what would it mean to have you on our side? 🙂
” Manpreet on August 11, 2009 11:44 AM · Direct link
I had no idea that the unhealthy, and self destructive obsession with India has spread to Pakistani-Americans, too. Sad!”
Pot, meet kettle.
” Sridhar on August 11, 2009 01:44 AM · Direct link
Ehh, Pakistani culture is just North Indian culture, nothing distinct or “Pakistani”. But anyways, it’s good that Obama reached out with some cultural diplomacy and actually gave an interview with Dawn. Very impressive on his part.
I definitely think AIPAC is a model for other lobbying groups who aspire to become influential. It took India long enough to cotton on to that! Good thing PAL-C is recognizing AIPAC’s influence quickly.”
Sridhar, I don’t think Pakistani culture can simply be defined as Indo-Aryan culture because Pakistan is also the home for Pashtuns and Balochs who shared many of their culture with their brethren in Afghanistan and Iran.Just like India cannot be defined as merely an Indo-Aryan culture because South Indians and Northeast people are Indians too. But since Punjabi and Sindhi represent roughly 80% of Pakistani population, yes, the culture of Pakistan seem to match closer with the Indo-Aryan culture found in Northern India.
your “guys” must be the pathologically deluded hindutva jingo crowd.
That is the servile mentality of the macaulayite crowd who pass for an “elite” in the subcontinent.
I don’t know how indian egos were “assuaged” by Hilary’s visit to the most impoverished regions of the world: India, Africa and Indonesia.
Clinton has spent a lot more time in Africa than she did in India. That should tell you what americans think of India.
I definitely think AIPAC is a model for other lobbying groups who aspire to become influential
Yeah, and a mistake for AIPAC’s American supporters. I really hope UNINPAC and PAL-C fail. This sort of nation-of-origin lobbying is detremental to the welfare of interests of Indians and Pakistanis in North America.
First, by linking American-desis with the interests and needs of a foreign government, when we have no say and no claim on those governments.
Second, by creating division between Americans who may otherwise find that they have common interests, whether on an occupational (Doctors, convenience store workers), regional, or class basis.
Lastly, and not least, by siphoning off talented public-spirited desi Americans (Taha incuded), people who could be playing a role in improving the lives of Americans, not improving the life of Asif Zardari.
I suppose as long as there is a succesful USINPAC, there is a arms-race persepective that demands a successful PAL-C, but I’d rather if PAL-C’s supporters gave peace a chance and diverted their contributions to the Edhi foundation.
UNINPAC mostly exists to whet the paranoid fantasies of the Hinduvta brigade in the US. I am sure they have no problems with crazed loons like Sadhvi Rithambara who is is going to visit the US shortly and efforts are underway to have her visa cancelled.
I am just quoting news articles (here, here), that refer to symbolism of Hillary’s visit to India, while not entering Pakistan. Clinton’s visit to different countries was for different reasons: Indonesia, to laud its recent elections. She also visited Thailand, to thank them of little known support this country provided for US military. And don’t be so condescending towards Africa: it is a country with amazing diversity with countries doing better than some of the South Asian countries, esp wrt to democracy.
A little too bitter, aren’t we about India ?
Bhim – “Clinton has spent a lot more time in Africa than she did in India. That should tell you what americans think of India.”
Not what Americans think of India, but what Obama thinks of India, which is not much, unfortunately. Hopefully, Indian-Americans who care about U.S.-India relations will donate their hard earned monies to the right candidate in 2012.
Actually, as Indians we do. I am unsure about other countries in the subcontinent.
Jews similarly have the right of aliyah to Israel so they also have a tie to and a claim on its government. That claim may not be as strong as the people there, but it is a connection nonetheless.
Prema: Africa is a continent so its not comparable to a single country.
dang! I meant ‘Africa is a continent with amazing diversity and with countries….’.
Yes, the USA is funny that way–we will placate Those-Whose-Name-Must-Not-Be-Spoken for a while (by, e.g., refusing Modi or Rithambara a visa), then bomb them to smithereens w/out so much as a declaration of war. I’m lovin’ it. >:-p
40: I did not see any Iraqis or Afghanis protest Modi’s visa. Maybe you cannot comprehend why a mass murder accomplice like Modi’s entry to the US might not pass muster with the State Department for reasons apart from placating Those-Whose-Name-Must-Not-Be-Spoken.
41: That would be correct–I can’t understand. Some people count; others don’t. Read your history. Y3 FTW.
While I despise Modi and his ilk, I don’t understand why he is singled out for the visa denial, especially when leaders from other parts of the world, whose hands are bloodier than Modis are granted American visas. Why was there no hue and cry by the concerned about Gen.Musharaf’s visa: after all he did instigate a war in Kargil, and helped America bomb Pakistan’s border areas, in which hundreds of Muslims were killed, and are still dying. Such hypocrisy – when Modi was denied the visa for the first time, the person living in the white house and his secretary of state were responsible for the the deaths of hundreds of thousands of muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan. Heck even Barack Obama is responsible for the death of hundreds of Muslims so far: every time he signs an executive order to bomb civilian area in Pakistan and Afghanistan, innocent Muslim children, women and men die; every day he allows the war in Iraq and Afghanistan to continue, innocent Muslims die. And lest we forget American visa holders, Putin and Hu, who, too, are complicit in the murder of innocent Muslims in the thousands.