Category Archives: Politics

Rajan Zed and Aseem Shukla, Queried

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Let’s start with the funny. Prem Panicker, on his blog, gives a list of public statements from Rajan Zed, the “acclaimed Hindu American spokesman,” during the month of August (go to Prem’s blog for links to the original news stories):

Rajan Zed fears a Julia Roberts-starrer will depict Hinduism in bad light. [A reference to “Eat, Pray, Love”]

Rajan Zed says that ‘namaste’ is a greeting that symbolizes love and respect.

Rajan Zed asks that the makers of the Cities of Love series [New York, I Love You, etc.] include Mumbai in the list because it is home to the largest movie industry.

Rajan Zed wants prominent Australian entertainers to respond to AR Rahman’s gesture and hold concerts in major Indian cities.

Rajan Zed urges celebrities to explore the spiritual side of yoga.

Rajan Zed believes AR Rahman opening a studio in LA will help further popularize Indian music.

Rajan Zed argues that the Oscars will gain added credibility by introducing a Best Bollywood Movie award [the gent clearly hasn’t heard of Marathi, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Orissa, Bengali and other vibrant language movie industries] where Hindi movies can compete among themselves. (link)

Looked at one way, Rajan Zed sure seems awfully preoccupied with Hollywood, movies, and entertainment, much more than one would expect of an “acclaimed Hindu American spokesman.” Of course, Zed isn’t the author of these articles; he’s getting called by reporters for a brief comment, and he can’t help it if reporters want a quote about Julia Roberts rather than the Rg Veda.

That said, remember that though he does have one great achievement to his credit (the invocation in the U.S. Senate), Rajan Zed is not exactly Swami Vivekananda. (You can see a little bit of his CV on Wikipedia, and decide for yourself whether “acclaimed” is the right adjective.) Continue reading →

How about those of us who aren’t famous

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Fame just isn’t what it used to be. On Friday, New Jersey Police stopped Bob Dhillon Dylan for suspicious activities, i.e. walking around in a minority neighborhood in the rain and looking at a house for sale, and refused to let him go until he produced identification.

Then today, as Phillygrrl reported, SRK was detained at Newark. But at least he got privileged treatment, they let him make a phone call after an hour, and the Indian government was able to step in. (This isn’t going to help suppress rumors that it was all a publicity stunt for his film)

But what happens to people who aren’t famous? Let’s say they’re Muslim, Brown, Pakistani and working for the US government? Then it seems you can be detained and not even the government agency you’re working for can get you out:

Rahman Bunairee is a Pakistani journalist who works as a contract reporter for VOA’s Deewa Radio and for a privately-owned Pakistani television station. The 33-year-old planned to join VOA [Voice of America] in Washington for one year, and arrived at Dulles Airport on Sunday with a visa issued by the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad. It is not clear why he was detained and why he is still being held in U.S. custody… The journalist, whose home was destroyed by the Taliban last month, was taken into custody on Sunday. [link]

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Mr. Policeman is your friend

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When I was little, we were told that the policeman was our friend and that if we were ever lost or scared, we should go to a cop for help. And the NYPD makes an effort to look friendly by doing things like playing cricket to build bridges with desi muslim populations.

At the same time, I’d find their friendly face a bit more convincing if they didn’t throw arrest obviously wrong people, (allegedly) call them “sand nigger” and (allegedly) throw them in the clink without giving them the phone call they’re entitled to.

Recently, poet and professor Ravi Shankar was arrested and detained for 30 hours for a crime that had obviously been committed by somebody else:

I hadn’t been read my rights or granted a phone call. After an hour my arresting officer returned — but only to take me for a mug shot and digital fingerprinting. Eventually he showed me my arrest warrant. It was for a 5-foot-10, 140-pound white male. I happen to be a 6-foot-2, 200-pound, Indian man. I pointed out the discrepancy. “Tell it to the judge,” he said. [link]

The music world is lucky they didn’t pick up Norah Jones’ dad on that same warrant. I mean, we all look alike, even when some of us are white.

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Posted in Law

Also from the streets of Jersey

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If you get a chance, check out the full slide show of the parade from this past weekend in Jersey that I wrote about in the previous post. In one or two of the pictures I observed a level of militancy and jingoism that made me feel uneasy. I am pretty far removed from such sentiment so I am not sure how strong such opinions are in Indian Americans. I believe nobody should ever parade children this way:

I want to stress that most of the pictures in the set are of perfectly appropriate displays. This one really threw me off though.

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Christie floats through Corzine’s “safe” zone

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Does incumbent NJ Governor John Corzine have a lock on the state’s “desi vote?” Well apparently he didn’t take the time to build a float and enter it into the Indian Independence Day Parade in NJ over the weekend (but instead sent U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone in his stead). His opponent, the slightly-ahead-in-the-polls Chris Christie did enter a float (although Rose Parade this was not):

The presence of GOP gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie’s float at the Indian Independence Day Parade on Sunday came as a broadside to Democrats who didn’t field a rival “Corzine” four-wheeler in what is generally a Democratic Party safe zone.

As reported over the weekend on PolitickerNJ.com, Sheriff Kim Guadagno, the Republican lieutenant governor candidate, stood front and center behind the parade’s main banner before going back and climbing aboard Christie’s campaign mobile, where she and her sons waved to the crowd.

A 19th District candidate float commanded by Peter Kothari likewise contributed to a sense of GOP dominance. [Link]

You know who wasn’t happy about this float? New Jersey Assemblyman Upendra Chevy-Cola Chivukula:

“Perhaps the presence of the GOP Lt. Gov. Candidate Kim Guadagno caused a media buzz because it is rare to see Republican top brass at Indian-American events,” Chivukula said. “There was a very strong presence of Democrats at the Indian Independence Parade as a demonstration of our party’s long-standing commitment to diversity, not one that surfaces only at election time.

“As the only South Asian lawmaker in the New Jersey General Assembly, I say this with conviction and from experience.” [Link]

Come on Corzine. You can’t afford to be this sloppy. Next time just build a freakin’ float and throw some jalebi or barfi into the audience and say something Indian national-isty. Continue reading →

Is there already a “Draft Goyal” website?

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Hottest rumor of the day (passed to me from co-blogger Anna)? Twenty-nine year-old Jay Goyal is being considered by Gov. Ted Strickland of Ohio for the soon-to-be-open Lt. Governor position. I blogged about Jay just last month, speculating he’d make a run for Congress. This wouldn’t be a bad gig either. Strickland is reportedly looking for “someone with considerable youth and a like-mindedness on issues.” From Ohio Daily:

OhioDaily has learned that Governor Ted Strickland’s search for a Lt. Governor may be nearing completion and his short list includes at least two members of the House leadership team : Mansfield-area Representative Jay Goyal, and Toledo-area Representative Matt Szollosi. Goyal is the House Majority Whip and Szollosi serves as the Speaker Pro Tempore.

In 2006, Goyal became the first Asian-American elected to the Ohio Legislature, and at his current age of 29 would likely become one of the youngest (if not the youngest) Lt. Governors in the country. In addition to serving as Majority Whip, Goyal is Vice President of Goyal Industries, a manufacturing firm in Mansfield specializing in metal fabrication and transportation equipment. His full bio appears on his campaign website here, but it doesn’t mention that Bibi Magazine, “the largest-circulated South Asian fashion magazine in the country,” named Goyal as one of the Bibi Sexy 7 : the 2007 Sexiest Men of the Year. [Link]

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Lobby of One

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taha.gaya.jpg
You might recall Barack “I’m a desi” Obama reaffirming his skills in desi cookery and also sharing his love for Pakistani culture in a June interview with Pakistan’s Dawn.

“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. Continue reading →

Kalpen Modi At Your Service

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Kal Penn and Obama.jpgKal Penn e-mailed me this week. That’s right. THE Kal Penn. When I went to check my personal gmail account two days ago there was an e-mail from “Kalpen S. Modi” sitting in my inbox. I gotta admit. I got slightly Desi girl giddy.

Dear Friend [he called me friend!],

Last month, President Obama unveiled United We Serve, an extended call to service challenging all Americans to help lay a new foundation for growth in this country by engaging in sustained, meaningful community service.

To encourage participation in service this summer and beyond, the Serve.gov website features a volunteer matching platform called All For Good that allows people to search for volunteer opportunities based on location and interests … The Administration is seeking to further engage the Asian American and Pacific Islander community and amplify outreach efforts in the cause of volunteerism.

Kalpen Modi, Associate Director, White House Office of Public Engagement

I shortened the letter a bit, and as you may have guessed, it was a mass e-mail Kalpen sent. Not a personal one to me. All the same, the e-mail basically told me two things. 1. Kalpen Modi is now officially working in the White House. 2. Kalpen Modi might actually be doing some real work for the AAPI community. How could I tell? On Thursday’s conference call presenting the campaign to community leaders, Modi hosted it. Quite professionally. And nary a pot reference. Continue reading →

Abuses by India’s Border Security Force; Questions about Media Coverage

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Via the New York Times blog, The Lede, I’ve been looking at a number of links regarding India’s Border Security Force (BSF). The starting point for the coverage in the Times was the news in the Deccan Herald that 178 women have, for the first time, joined the force. But the real story The Lede blogger, Robert Mackey, is interested in are the numerous reports of abuses by the BSF, specifically the killing of unarmed people on both sides of the India-Bangladesh border, including both Bangladeshis and Indian citizens. The Lede embeds the following BBC Channel 4 report on the abuses, which is pretty horrifying:

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The Economics of Piracy

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The econ blogosphere is heavily linking a new article in Wired about the economics of Somali piracy. In addition to being a slickly produced piece (including an online game where you can dabble in some “Cutthroat Capitalism” yourself), Wired editor Scott Carney managed to get ahold of a Somali pirate and got unusually candid answers about the $$ and cents of their operation & the details often turn out to be incredibly, well, mundane & rationale.

“Ships with African or Indian crews are never profitable.”Far from fashionable excuses that the pirates are avenging illegal offshore fishing or represent some sort of anti-neo-colonial insurgency, the truth of the matter is a pretty basic risk vs. reward calculation –

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