Author Archives: Abhi

About Abhi

Abhi lives in Los Angeles and works to put things into space.

ARTWALLAH is back- Los Angeles, June 24th

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ArtWallah ’06 is now less than a month away in Los Angeles. SM readers have heard me sing the praises of this organization and its annual festival before. I appreciate what they do and what they are about so much that I have been wallahnteering to help run the festival for the past three years. This year I decided to retire and actually cool out to all the artists and just enjoy myself…or so I thought. Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in. I’m the new “CashWallah.” I will leave it to your imaginations what that job entails.

Last year I decided to entice SM readers to come out to the festival with a little multimedia tour which made it pretty obvious why anyone within a hundred miles of L.A. (at least) should show up. I hyperlinked to some new musicians, artists, dancers etc. This year the ArtWallah Press Team has saved me the trouble and made a detailed program FULL of interesting hyperlinks to artists many of you have never heard of. It took me an hour to click through them all and appreciate what I saw. It was an hour well spent.

…this year’s ArtWallah festival [at the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center] will present the works of over 40 artists through dance, film, literature, music, spoken word, theater, and visual arts – showcasing the personal, political, and cultural celebrations and struggles of the South Asian diaspora (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka).

Click on “Continued” below for a quick lick.

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Arnold: "Must be a cultural thing"

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Recently Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California spoke at the 2006 TiEcon conference in front of a large group representing the Indian American business and entrepreneurial community. The conference was held in Silicon Valley and dealt mostly with the intersection of California, business, and Indian Americans. A mash-up clip featuring the highlights of his talk are available on the internet. It is worth seeing (scroll down just a bit on the linked page) especially for the zinger that Schwarzenegger unleashes about a quarter way through the clip when he notices that all of his co-panelists are men. What’s up with that?

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Affirmative action: Here and over there

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Over the tipline we are often asked by Indians living in India why we (as individuals) don’t blog more about certain Indian issues (especially those dominating the Indian media). The simple answer is that you most likely wouldn’t want to read what we have to say about many Indian issues. We aren’t Indian nationals, we all reside in North America, and we are all U.S citizens (except for our current guest blogger who runs our Canadian operations). This means that our opinions, at best, would provide some with a broader perspective on a given topic, and at worst could come across as ignorant or ill-informed. There are better places to read about Indian issues if that is what you are looking for. And yet, those of us who write for SM have definitely felt some resentment at times from parts of the Indian blogosphere, both when we blog an “Indian issue,” and when we don’t.

I know that the current hot topic in the Indian media is the battle over a quota system in Indian universities. I wasn’t going to write a post about it because the Indian educational system doesn’t affect me in any way. However, my mom mentioned the debate to me over the phone and we got to discussing it. I realized how similar and how different the debate in India is as compared to the affirmative action debate in the U.S. Being a graduate of the University of Michigan, the central battlefield for affirmative action in the U.S., I have some definite opinions on the subject and am generally in favor of affirmative action and the type of educational environment it leads to when implemented and executed properly.

My mom opined that she kind of supported the protestors in India. I pressed my mom on the matter a bit since I am more inclined to support a quota system of some kind. What about 3000 years of class oppression? You can’t just erase that with pithy protest slogans like:

DON’T MIX POLITICS WITH MERIT; QUOTAS: THIS CURE IS WORSE THAN THE DISEASE; MERIT IS MY CASTE, WHAT’S YOURS?… [Link]

Time Magazine Asia breaks down the central arguments in the debate:

“Modern India should be built on merit, not caste,” says Dr. Sudip Sen, 34, a Ph.D. student in biochemistry at AIIMS. “What’s next — are we going to let a slow runner represent India in the Olympics? No, we are going to send our best runner out for the 100 meters, no matter his caste. It should be the same for all fields.”

Countless other Indian medical workers who have gone on strike this week feel much the same as Sen, which is why India’s sudden battle over affirmative action makes the ongoing divide in the U.S. over racial preferences seem tame by comparison. Public hospitals across the country have shut their doors to all but emergency services; private hospitals in some Delhi suburbs are following suit; trade unions have called for a morning of civil disobedience; and students at India’s elite business schools are meeting to plan their own protests. In spite of the disruption, the government has sworn that it will not back down, regardless of who resigns or how many protest. Increased quotas, it claims, are the only way to foster social equality at the institutions that are driving the Indian economy forward.

That fast-growing economy often makes it easy to forget India’s rigidly stratified past. But any country hurtling along the path to modernization is at risk of being occasionally slowed down by the weight of its own history, and in this case, India has been yanked to a crawl by 3,000 years of a strictly codified social pecking order. [Link]

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We aren’t all the same

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Some of you may consider it good news that the top three finalists in the the Geography Bee, hosted by the great Alex Trebek himself, were Indian American. I do not. Some of you may also think fondly on the fact that the last four contestants in last year’s Spelling Bee were also Indian American. I do not.

“Well Abhi,” you say. “Aren’t you at least happy that the top Intel Science Award ($50,000) went to an Indian American?”

No.

I am afraid. I am afraid that most Americans aren’t able to tell us apart anymore. We aren’t all “the same.” I come from a vastly different culture and tradition than those people. I am nothing like them and I am tired of all the “so-called intellectuals” that are all “bhai-bhai” and want to give us all a common label. They don’t care about us so why should we be friendly to them? Ever since Indian-American kids started winning these types of competitions I get strange looks on the subway when I am reading a book. I can hear their whispers and their suspicions. “I know what he is up to,” they think. “All those people are the same. They just sit and study vocabulary lists and almanacs. They just come to ‘our country’ to win our competitions.” Nobody sits next to me sometimes, even during rush hour, all because they think we are all the same. I’m sick of it. I can’t even take pictures at tourist attractions anymore. Park security always comes up to me and asks me if I am forming a database of important geographic sites. Last time a guard mentioned to me that his son had “lost to one of you guys in a preliminary round.”

The solution is clear to me but will take some time to implement. Through forums like this we need to do a better job of educating the public. They need to know that some of us can’t spell and instead rely on readers or co-bloggers to point out spelling errors in their blog posts. They need to know that some of us don’t know which river the Port of Rotterdam lies on. Most importantly they need to know that they having nothing to fear from the vast majority of us.

I don’t know if you guys are like me but every time I read about another “incident” in the news I think, “Great. Now they will think that we are all capable of this kind of thing.” Here was the latest:

A woman teacher in Bhubaneswar has been arrested for inflicting three children with burn injuries on finding mistakes in their homework, police said on Sunday…

On Friday evening, Kabita allegedly lost her temper after she found mistakes in the home work of the kids. She punished them with a hot iron, a police official said. [Link]

Moderates in the community need to come forward and speak out against these types of heinous acts. We can no longer afford to remain quiet while a radical minority dictates our image. We should denounce this sort of thing immediately and work to educate the community by pointing out that a lot of us are only average in intelligence and will work to demand the same from our children.

I just wanted to get a dialog started on all of this before next week. In fact, usually I am a little afraid to even leave the house during this period which I often refer to as “hell week.”

Thank you all for your attention. I look forward to a productive dialog.

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Why we blog

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I know that I am truly blessed for having a website like Sepia Mutiny to blog on. So few people are granted the chance on a daily basis to voice their thoughts and opinions on the type of megaphone that SM has turned into. Every so often though something comes across my desk that makes my skin tingle, puts everything into focus, and reminds me why I do this every day…why I blog. Today something like that came to my attention. Instead of a story that was particularly newsworthy, or some important cause involving persecuted individuals faceless to me, this one hit home. This one involved a close friend. I may not be able to save the world by blogging for SM but at least I can help to try and right a wrong for my friend.

This morning my old roommate Sandeep emailed me this article featuring another old roommate of mine, Eric Amin:

If civil-liberties-minded New Yorkers were already annoyed by the USA Patriot Act, the recent arrival of the worst allergy season in 50 years (this month, the city jumped from 88th to 11th on the list of worst U.S. cities for allergies) has really made it hit home. The revision of the act, signed by President Bush on March 9, takes aim at an insidious threat to our nation: Sudafed, Claritin-D, and Children’s Motrin. These over-the-counter meds use the decongestant pseudoephedrine (PSE), which is also used to make crystal meth. The revamped Patriot Act, which went into effect in April, limited each sale of PSE-containing drugs to 3.6 grams (about 120 pills) per person per day. In September, drugstores will be required to move them behind the counter and enter the buyer’s name in a registry that tracks sales. Many larger chains are already requiring I.D., turning checkout into something Soviet-esque. Within days of the new regulations, parents were already getting sniffly (“I hate that I can’t buy more than one box of Claritin-D at a time; I missed out on a great sale”) on Urbanbaby.com. New York DEA agent Matthew Barnes explains that it takes about ten packages of Sudafed, combined with ingredients such as antifreeze, lye, battery acid, and fertilizer, to produce one ounce of meth. Despite the fact that 70 percent of meth is smuggled in from Mexico-border “superlabs,” Barnes says that the new restrictions will help hinder meth production in “small toxic labs” throughout the country. Lawyer and Rite Aid customer Eric Amin worries the government registry could be used to track and deport sneezy immigrants. To avoid the hassle of giving his information, he bought nasal spray. [Link]

With the article Sandeep included the following note that he emailed to our common friends, including Eric:

the story below made you look like a total p*ssy

“ohhhh, i’ve fallen and i can’t get up…..”

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A wtf? moment at the Whitehouse press briefing

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Tony Snow, the new Whitehouse Press Secretary, got a strange question on Tuesday at the daily briefing. I am not sure who asked it (perhaps the Foil?), and I am not even sure if I understand the question. I thought it was kind of funny though. Anyone care to shed some light on this for me?

Q A question on Iran. As far as Prime Minister of Israel’s visit is concerned, here at the White House is the first meeting after so many threats from the Iranian President — Iranian President and Hamas work on one, they are both friends and — so what do you think that is possible to have peace in the region when Iran President making so many threats, even today, that nuclear weapon he is making is supposed to be used on Israel?

MR. SNOW: Well, again, we’re engaged in ongoing diplomatic efforts to try to make sure that the government of Iran not only becomes a good neighbor in the region, but also renounces any nuclear ambitions.

Q On the economy, what message you think the President has for small investors and small businesses, because 20 years ago I invested $1,000 in an Indian-American Liberty National Bank in Washington. Today the value is $180, after 20 years — $1,000. I bought it from a credit line, 21 percent. So what advice will he have today for small investors as far as the economy is concerned?

MR. SNOW: You’re asking me what advice the President should have because you put your money in a bank account 20 years ago? I think I would encourage you to contact your personal investment counselor.

Q Today, what advice the President will have for me. Should I put $1,000 elsewhere? Should I invest it?

MR. SNOW: The President does not engage in handing out personal investment advice. [Link]

Come on. This is funny people! What the hell was all that about? Is Liberty National even an Indian-American owned bank?

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The taming of Diego Garcia

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“outrageous, unlawful and a breach of accepted moral standards.”- Sir Sydney Kentridge QC

A British court has just issued a decision that has significant implications for both the former inhabitants of Diego Garcia and for the U.S. military:

In a decision that could have ramifications for the huge US airbase on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, a British high court ruled earlier this month that attempts by the British government to keep the former residents of the Chagos islands from returning to the islands (which include Diego Garcia), even after they had won a court ruling in 2000 to do so, were “outrageous, unlawful and a breach of accepted moral standards.”

The British government expelled the Chagossians, the original inhabitants of the islands, some 40 years ago so the US could build the airbase at Diego Garcia, but a British court ruled in 2000 that the islanders had a right to return to their home. After the decision, then Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said the British government would not appeal the ruling.

But under pressure from the US, London changed directions in 2004, using what was called “Royal Perogative” to overrule the original decision. Government lawyers had argued that in a territory like Diego Garcia, the Queen (and her ministers) have unlimited power and can use Royal Perogative powers in these territories, despite the fact that she lost the right to use such powers in Britain in the 17th century. [Link]

NPR’s Morning Edition also featured a story about this on Tuesday morning. Roughly 2000 people were forced to leave Diego Garcia at the hands of the British in the 1960s. Domestic animals were gassed and most inhabitants were relocated to slums in the nation of Mauritius. The expulsion by the British involved a deal that would lease the island to the U.S. who needed it as a strategic base during the Cold War (good place for long-range bombers to take off from). The trade? The U.S. gave the Brits the Polaris missile system. About 2000 U.S. military personnel now live there. Ironic when you consider the number of people forced to leave was almost exactly the same. Continue reading →

The saga continues in Lanka

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Things in present day Sri Lanka have been taking a depressing turn of late:

At least 150 people have fled the village of Allaipiddy in the northern Sri Lankan peninsula of Jaffna.

It follows last weekend’s murder of 13 Tamil civilians. The navy has been accused of the killings – they deny it.

Police and international truce monitors have both launched investigations into the incident.

The killings came only two days after Tamil Tiger rebels launched a suicide assault on a naval convoy in which 18 sailors died. [Link]

To take your minds off of the grim reality of the present I feel that I must point you to animator and SM commenter Nina Paley’s website. She has just released the newest segment of the her multi-part saga, Sita Sings the Blues. It is titled “Battle of Lanka.”

A pivotal scene from “Battle of Lanka”

Battle of Lanka was made about a year ago, and is chapter 4 in Sita Sings the Blues, after Hanuman Finds Sita and before Trial By Fire. In this episode, Rama, Hanuman, and the monkey armies cross the sea to Lanka to conquer Ravana and the rakshasas, and rescue the captive Sita. Assisting me was Jake Friedman, the only animation apprentice I’ve ever had. Jake wanted to learn Flash and had excellent animation chops and a good eye, so he came to Brooklyn almost every day for a month. Jake animated much of the monkey-on-demon violence: monkey swinging axe, monkey throwing axe, monkey bashing demon with club, monkey kicking demon, etc. A panorama of Jake’s animation occurs at 1:28, in which I took pretty much everything he’d animated on the project and composited it into a single scene. It’s worth multiple viewings, to catch all his lovingly considered variations. Thanks Jake… [Link]

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Guest Blogger: Neeraja Viswanathan

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Somebody told me that this blogosphere was small
we use to live in the same city, go to the same high school
and never met before
until I’m blogging on Sepia Mutiny
and peep this Indian queen from NYC
writing on her blog
while she’s practicing street law,
said she workin’ on a post and
could my click check her out,
she said she loved my posts from near Fargo
and that Kaavya sucks,
and now she’s stepping on this stage
to take a piece of our hearts…

My deepest apologies to both our readers and to The Roots. Sometimes I forget that I’m just a blogger and nothing more.

Our newest guest blogger is a lawyer, a blogger, and a published author, BUT NOT related to the disgraced chick-lit author. She’s the real deal. It turns out that we went to the same elementary, middle, and high school at the same time but have never met. Crazy.

But what really “got me” was this entry. Sublime. Please help me welcome Neeraja.

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The cell phone as an anti-militancy weapon

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An article by Reuters provides us a contrasting perspective on all the phone tapping and data mining that has been causing many of us here in the U.S. heartburn of late. India, where civil liberties may not be as pressing a concern when compared to terrorism, has found tapping quite useful:

Minutes after a bomb exploded recently in Kashmir and wounded Indian soldiers, a senior member of an Islamist rebel group called local newspaper offices to claim responsibility for the blast.

A few hours later, troops smashed the door of his hideout and arrested the militant “commander” after a brief gun battle.

Indian intelligence officers credited the bust in south Kashmir to the tracking of his mobile phone.

Until a few years ago, intelligence officials resisted attempts by the federal government to lift a ban on cell phone services in the region, fearing mobile phones would aid militants in planning attacks.

Now they know better and security officials say troops have eliminated many militants by tracking their mobile phones and tapping conservations, citing the example in south Kashmir.

“Such a quick strike operation was just impossible three years ago,” a senior intelligence official told Reuters.[Link]

Not only is India using wiretapping to capture terrorists and prevent terrorism, it is also disseminating cell phones in order to help win the hearts and minds of those who they may eventually end up tapping. Huh?

In 2003, New Delhi allowed mobile services, eight years after the rest of India, now the world’s fastest-growing market for cellular services.

At that time, India said it was a move to win the hearts and minds of Kashmiris, weary and alienated after years of conflict in India’s only Muslim-majority state which is also claimed by neighbor Pakistan.

After three years, there are now more than 850,000 mobile phone users in a state of 10 million people. And the spin-off for anti-insurgency operations has enthused security officials.

“So far, we have arrested or eliminated dozens of them (militants) including many senior commanders through mobile-tracking,” the intelligence officer said. [Link]

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