SNAPSHOTS OF A CHICAGO SUMMER

A view of Lake Michigan from Navy Pier.

Navy Pier's other two-legged visitors. The seagulls get nice and close.

Chicago is a great city for anyone interested in architecture. This is one of Frank Lloyd Wright's creations in the historic Oak Park area. Of the many beautiful homes in the neighbourhood, this one is my favourite.

Another Frank Lloyd Wright creation. His designs are versatile and this one is influenced by the Tudor style.

The Art Institute of Chicago, famous for its huge collection of Impressionist art.

The Lions outside the Art Institute have stood there for over 114 years. Made of bronze, they were installed in 1894 after Edward Kemeys exhibited the plaster model the previous year at the World's Columbian Exposition held in Chicago.

Sears Towers (behind the first brown building). It was the world's tallest building between 1974 and 1998. It's structural engineer was Fazlur Rahman Khan, a Bengali American, widely regarded as the "Einstein of structural engineering".

Plenty of strange encounters and photo-ops on Michigan Avenue.

A puppeteer outside the Art Institute of Chicago. His puppets are old, shabby and torn but he does a pretty neat job getting them to sing some blues.

Stop here, make the right move and walk on. An ongoing game of chess on the sidewalk on Michigan Avenue. It is a great place to wander aimlessly.

The 'Taste of Chicago' food festival is largely a waste of time. The food is lousy, people with greasy hands are jostling for space and everything is over-priced. Besides, how much can you eat? Actually, I take that back. Even if you can eat up a storm, the 'Taste of Chicago' is skip-worthy. You won't miss a thing.

The Chicago River flows through downtown Chicago and originally emptied into Lake Michigan. Since this ended up polluting the waters of the Lake it's flow was directed towards the Mississippi River Basin. Just follow the river to look at some of Chicago's fabulous buildings.

I found this store inside a building in Wicker Park. I didn't have the time to go in so, sorry, I can't tell you what exactly the 'Scandal Sale' was all about. Besides, part of it was censored.

The ornate Marquette Building inside the 'Loop' in downtown Chicago. The original colour of the building was more red but years of soot and dust have blackened the exterior considerably. This early steel frame skyscraper was completed in 1895 and was named a 'National Historic Landmark' in 1976. Step into its lobby to see some shimmering mosaics and sculptures. This is just one of Chicago's many splendid buildings.

Lunchtime in downtown Chicago.

Part of the 'El' tracks that form the 'Loop'. Ring a bell from Gotham City in 'The Dark Knight'?

Lunchtime in downtown Chicago.

The open area in front of Daley Plaza attracts all kinds of Chicagoans. There are people doing intense reading, some talk loudly on cell-phones, some eat lunch, men in suits take a break from work and children slide down the strange looking sculpture in the background. The piece of public art in the picture is an untitled sculpture designed by Pablo Picasso. It was the first major public art work in downtown Chicago and is today a major landmark.

ASIAN AMERICANS FOR THE MATH PROFESSOR

Daniel Biss speaking to members of the Asian American community. He is a Democratic candidate for the Illinois House of Representatives in the 17th District. Biss is currently Assistant Professor of mathematics at The University of Chicago.

Asian Americans who came out to endorse Daniel Biss, listen to his speech as he spells out some of his key priorities if elected.

In a small crowded room in Skokie in Illinois, leaders of the Asian American community gathered on July 10th to endorse Daniel Biss. 30 year old Biss, an Assistant Professor of mathematics at The University of Chicago is a Democratic candidate for the Illinois House of Representative in the 17th District.

Speaking before an audience of around 25 people on a stormy night, Biss said, “The most important thing is that though I’m not Asian American I can pledge to you with absolute confidence that if bad decisions continue to be made they will never be made because no ones listening to the community and they’ll never be made without actively seeking out the community for advise and support.”

Judge Sandra Otaka, the first Asian Pacific American appointed to the bench by the Illinois Supreme Court introduced the speakers and endorsed Daniel Biss. She said, “We do not need to continue to elect same old same old.”

The other endorsement speeches were made by Jerry Clarito a Filipino-American and Vice President of the Skokie Park District, Gina Lee, a Korean-American and social worker at the YWCA and finally Pramod Shah an Indian American and Niles Township Trustee.

Pramod Shah said, “As one of the few elected officials of Asian descent it is obvious to me that Asian Americans are under represented at all levels of government from the city of Chicago to suburban municipalities and last but certainly not least at the state level.”

Shah added, “After working with Daniel I can say with certainty that he will be an advocate for the Asian American community.”

Daniel Biss is a mathematician with a Ph.D from MIT and an undergraduate degree from Harvard University. He volunteers as a math teacher at a charter school in Chicago and feels strongly about improving education in Illinois where per pupil spending is one of the lowest in the country. Calling it “shameful” he said, “It’s an indication that Springfield’s priorities don’t have anything to do with investing in the state of Illinois’ future.”

To change that he is counting on the support of the nearly 13,000 Asian Americans residing in the 17th District to show up to vote for him on November 4th. He said, “This election wouldn’t be possible without the Asian American community.”

Everyone laughed when he said, “You can cash that in after I’ve won.”

MIND-BLOGGING

Every time I come across an interesting factoid or a beautiful line in a book I have tried to re-read it, to commit the words to memory. Of course it doesn’t work. The interesting detail on the next page quickly erases the previous one.

There is usually only a faint flicker in the memory bank when I later come across a book I have read, naturally leading to much disappointment.

“What is the point of reading?” I have asked myself in frustration.

Still, I dithered from keeping a diary of anecdotes, quotes and factoids. Diaries can get lost and they also pile up quickly, collect dust and hurt trees.

But finally, I have found a solution. It’s so simple that I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before. I’m going to put everything up here on the blog.

That way, it can be with me forever and I can also share it with you.

I can refer to my own blog if I need to use the information in my writing and best of all I can finally remember a good book long after finishing it.

'THE VERY DEVIL TO PAY'

The police firing upon Gujjars in India recently killed 26 people. That figure is part of a long tradition in crowd management by the Indian police.

For instance, in 1932 when Gandhi and the Indian National Congress re-started the civil disobedience movement the police and government responded swiftly and ferociously. Congress leaders were imprisoned and the police charged ruthlessly upon the crowds. People were killed and wounded and more than 100,000 arrested.

Ainslee T. Embree in his book 'India's Search for National Identity' quotes from a letter written by an Indian observer to Ramsay MacDonald, then British Labour Prime Minister.

“The police in India, ill-educated, ill-paid, and drawn from the lowest strata of society and accustomed to rough modes, when actually authorized and encouraged to strike persons in the streets, irrespective of station, age or sex, cannot be expected to restrain themselves. Stories of inhuman and barbarous chastisement go about, creating bitterness and racial and communal rancour. Believe me, there will be the very devil to pay for another generation.”

We must be that generation.

US IS RIGHT ON MODI

The US has eroded its credibility on human rights but on Narendra Modi the State Department has got it right. The credit for it goes to a few strident advocacy groups.

It is now highly unlikely that Modi bhai will visit Uncle Sam this year, simply because he won't get a visa.

Modi was invited for the World Gujarati Conference in New Jersey in August. But even before he could apply for a visa advocacy groups in the US and Canada uniting under the banner of 'Coalition Against Genocide' (CAG) wrote to the Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice saying, "We urge the State Department not to allow Mr.Modi to enter the country under any conditions, as the circumstances under which he was denied a visa in 2005 remain largely unchanged, and the minority communities in his state continue to face systematic human rights violations."

In 2005 the State Department denied him a diplomatic visa because the purpose of his visit was not deemed to be so. They also revoked his tourist and business visa and Modi had to end up addressing an NRI gathering via video link. CAG had also been busy on other fronts. They lobbied Chris Matthews, TV anchor for MSNBC's 'Hardball', to decline from speaking at a convention where Modi was the chief guest. Sponsor 'American Express' also pulled out.

The CAG's plea has been backed by a US government agency, the Commission on International Religious Freedom which also urged the State Department to "reaffirm its past decision." Commission chair Felice D. Gaer said, "As official bodies of the government of India have found, Narendra Modi is culpable for the egregious and systematic human rights abuses wrought against thousands of India's Muslims. Mr. Modi must demonstrate to the State Department and to the American people why he – as a person found to have aided and abetted gross violations of human rights, including religious freedom – should now be eligible for a tourist visa."

This is the right question to ask a man who has been entirely unrepentant and who has unfortunately gone unpunished in India. Modi may yet scoff defiantly at these words but they should also tell him that Newton's third law of motion, which he so infamously quoted after the riots, is back to bite him.

Meanwhile, Modi's popularity with certain NRI groups reflects poorly on them. Economic development and administrative efficiency are often invoked as a justification for their support. But this argument makes serious mockery of the word "development" when people can be lynched and raped on the streets of Gujarat and no justice is done to them six years later. These admirers of Modi should in fact use their proximity to pressure him to apologise for what happened.

In the US some people conflate criticism of Israel with being anti-Semitic. Similarly conflating criticism of Modi with being anti-Gujarati or anti-Hindu has become a popular way to abuse those who seek accountability for 2002. But any rational person will tell you the difference.

Also, jaded arguments about Modi being "democratically elected" do not concede that he has not been made to answer for his culpability in the riots.

So till his friends in the US and elsewhere confront him on his complicity in 2002 their support will be morally suspect.

Meanwhile the US administration is right in taking a tough line. And for those fighting against his hateful, communal brand of politics this is a shot in the arm. These symbolic snubs will have to suffice for now till real action can someday be taken.

Published on the NDTV.com website on July 14th, 2008.

THE FALL AND RISE OF DEVON

Ann Kalayil, Director of SAAPRI

Padma Rangaswamy, Director of SAAPRI

A view of the main Devon Avenue with all the South Asian restaurants and shops.



The meeting in progress at the Indo-American Centre after the release of the SAAPRI report.

On Devon Avenue in Chicago you can find anything for a South Asian wardrobe or kitchen - from a sequined saree to sweet paan, it’s all available here. What you can’t find though is parking. And that is having a huge negative impact on this once prosperous neighbourhood.

Susan Patel, who runs Patel Brothers Handicrafts and Utensils on Devon Avenue said, “Businesses have grown but infrastructure on Devon has not.” That in turn is now impacting the growth of business. The parking problem is just the most obvious in a whole range of issues facing the community.

For years all sides have complained - residents about the shop owners and shop owners about each other and the police. Resentment was building up but no serious dialogue took place. However, the ice is starting to thaw a little as all sides realize they could use each others help.

That participatory approach was on display at the Indo-American Centre on 19th June at the meeting of the West Rogers Park community of which Devon Avenue is a part. Perhaps for the first time nearly 60 residents from ethnically diverse backgrounds and a few South Asian business owners got together. The occasion was the release of the South Asian American Policy and Research Institute’s (SAAPRI) report titled ‘Developing Devon: Creating a Strategic Plan for Economic Growth through Community Consensus’ It forced all stake holders to sit down together and discuss the neighbourhood’s problems.

Ann Kalayil, Director of SAAPRI has lived in Devon since 1972. She said, “You cannot look at resolving the problems on Devon Avenue without residents.” Deb Rigoni, who has lived there for 28 years said, “We’ve felt that they (South Asian business owners) don’t care about what we care about but that’s not the case.”

Having brought people together, K.Sujata, Director of SAAPRI announced, “Now that you’re here, we’re going to make you work.” The audience was broken up into four groups which the report identified as areas for improvement - building leadership, improving infrastructure, promoting business development and creating a better place to live and work. It was the beginning of a dialogue.

But besides the talk, real action has already been taken. The local chamber of commerce had started addressing many of the problems identified in the report. One of its priorities is to educate business owners about the various funding opportunities available to improve their stores. Amie Zander, Executive Director at the West Ridge Chamber of Commerce said, “When I first used to go to the South Asian stores to tell them about the Chamber and that we were there to help, people would immediately have their guard up. I guess they didn’t have such government funded bodies to help in India or Pakistan and so it just didn’t occur to them to come take our help.”

For instance, the chamber launched the Small Business Improvement Fund or SBIF which offers up to 50,000 dollars to shop owners to remodel and spruce up their establishments. Less than a block away, Seyedisa Hashimi was cutting fresh meat for an Indian customer who watched Udit Narayan crooning on TV while waiting for his order. Hashimi opened his halal meat store seven months ago. Neither had he heard of the Chamber, nor the opportunities for funding.

That’s precisely the gap SAAPRI hopes to fill. Padma Rangaswamy, Director of SAAPRI said, “Our contribution has been to alert people about what resources they have.”

Even as common infrastructure problems have been addressed, an organized South Asian voice was missing. That changed in March this year when Susan Patel witnessed the harassment of a driver by the police right outside her store. She said, “This man was pulled over and there was a larger police presence in a very negative way. There was no cultural sensitivity.” She took photographs of the incident and called a meeting with the police commander. Since then the group she started called the Concerned South Asian Business Owners of Devon is actively tackling the infrastructure problems and business challenges confronting them. She said, “There was so much that we agreed upon but noone was doing anything about it.”

And they need to because the present gritty feel of a deteriorating neighbourhood is putting people off. Rachna Wadhwani who lives in the heavily South Asian populated suburb of Schaumberg said, “Walking around Devon you don’t get that good feeling. Everything looks shabby and run-down.”

Besides, she doesn’t even need to come to Devon anymore because a plethora of South Asian grocery stores and restaurants have opened up in her neighbourhood.

Devon business owners now realize that they need to get more creative if they have to bring people back. Most people are proud of the ethnic diversity of the area with Hindus, Muslims, Jews and Irish-Catholic from different parts of the world living there. Shop owners realize that one way to improve business is to exploit that feature.

But it has been surprisingly difficult. Deb Regoni stood up at the meeting and said, “I don’t feel well-schooled about this neighbourhood. There are certain stores where I feel I’m in the way. So we need to get back out on to the street and be like old communities used to.” Another senior citizen remarked to her, “Chicago is a community of individual conglomerates.”

That idea got immediate traction and neighbourhood tours are proposed. Rohit Maniar, Vice President of the National Republic Bank of Chicago on Devon said, “If we have a tour of the residents and they are introduced to the merchants both sides will feel easy.”

Alderman Bernard L. Stone said, “I don’t see any pessimism along the street. I see a lot of enthusiasm in spite of generally a pall over the entire country.” Whether that’s true or not Devon’s South Asian business community is certainly starting to organize to improve business because hard times are calling for urgent action.


Published in India Abroad in the July 4th issue.

LOOK CLOSER HOME BEFORE INVOKING AMERICA

America has been invoked in recent times after every terror attack on Indian soil.

Experts and ordinary Indians react in anger, naturally, to the violence, and urge the Indian government to look at the American example of counter terror.

After all, as we’ve been reminded many times before, there has not been a single attack on American soil since 9/11. In India on the other hand, there have been at least 15 major terror strikes after the Parliament attack on 13th December 2001.

But this analysis is over simplistic because during this time when American citizens have been safe in their malls and subways, their country’s “war on terror” has actually destabilized large parts of the world - the Middle East and India’s own neighbourhood of South Asia.

So, if we just for a moment apply more stringent conditions in examining the US record in protecting its citizens it becomes clear that it has come at the cost of someone else’s safety. US policies have hurt the security of the region and in fact India as well. The result of the American effort in protecting Americans – no further attacks – is good; but the approach is heavily hypocritical and morally unjustifiable. It sends out the wrong message that the means in this “war” don’t matter. So those who invoke the US should be reminded that there is little to emulate and for various reasons.

Some simple numbers first. The 9/11 attacks killed a little less than 3000 people. Within a month of launching strikes in Afghanistan the US surpassed that number in Afghan civilian casualties. You can imagine what the figure must be like seven years on. The US military, however, does not document civilian deaths or “collateral damage” so the exact number is unknown but according to the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, in the last
two years alone nearly 8000 people have been killed.

In Iraq the numbers are much higher. According to the Iraq Body Count Project more than 85,000 people have died.

So, collateral damage is a euphemism which means that some people are killable under some circumstances (like Afghans and Iraqis) while American citizens are not under any circumstance.

There are more double standards. For instance, democracy is good in some places but not good in others. It is not good in Pakistan because it slows everything down. Oh bother! So as long as Musharraf - the Undemocrat can get things done then he gets Washington DC’s support.

Admittedly, Pakistan has been a very difficult question for the Bush administration but it beggars belief that they continue to studiously support Pervez Musharraf even after voters rejected his party. On the other hand, Pakistani lawyers who have surprised the world with their tenacious movement to have the judiciary restored have not received any support from Bush and Co.

So even while propagating the virtues of democracy as the antidote to terrorism and war the US stoutly supported a military autocrat. While Indian admirers were looking at America’s secure shores they didn’t notice the damage being done just across the border even if Pakistan’s own leaders should get a fair share of the blame.

Beyond the double standards the major problem with the war on terror in South Asia has been that it was relegated to second place. Iraq’s witless war had to be won and so Afghanistan was ignored. The best troops and equipment were pulled out and diverted to Iraq. During that time the Taliban and Al Qaeda regrouped in Pakistan and today they are launching vicious attacks inside Afghanistan. NATO says they need at least 10,000 more troops to be effective in the country.

These policies negatively impact India as well albeit in a less direct fashion. Today Indian reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan are running up against a nasty old foe in the Taliban. Pakistan’s reckless military has allowed these fundamentalists to regroup even as the US was too busy in the battle in Iraq. In the past the mujahideen have turned their attention to Kashmir so this Talibanisation of Pakistan is just bad news for everyone.

America’s actions abroad belie the lofty language it has used in the war on terror. I smile ruefully when the US is invoked after terror strikes because the world is possibly more unsafe because of America. South Asia doesn’t look rosier for sure.

So, for those who still think the “tough” measures of the US are admirable, here is a beautiful question from the late Catalonian cellist Pablo Casals. He asks, “The love of one’s country is a splendid thing. But why should love stop at the border?”

It does and that is the problem.

Published in the Indian Express on July 3rd 2008.

OVEREAT OR THROW?

When I was a wee lassie I was taught not to waste food. Thanks to that early lesson I try really hard to finish everything on my plate and in my cup. Sometimes I will even overeat just to clean the dishes.

But America has skewed its sizes and now I'm struggling to marry good habits to good health.

Here's what I mean. I'm trying to write a travel piece right now but I don't know if it should be a travel piece or a piece on culture and whether its tone should be serious or funny. To clear such cerebral fogs I always need a cup of coffee. It is the fuel that drives a stalling brain.

However, I just want enough of it to recharge but not so much that I'm up for the next twelve hours. But there seem to be no options for those with smaller stomachs. The smallest size looks like a jug compared to a regular cup of coffee in India. Starbucks even calls its smallest size 'Tall'.

If I throw away half I waste food, or drink in this case, and money, but if I drink it all up I get over caffeineated. Theres no way I'm saving the other half because the only thing worse than stale coffee is perhaps stale tea. Why must I be confronted with ethical questions in this simple act of buying coffee? Curses.

With food I always bring a doggie bag home but I can't eat hardening ravioli or darkening lettuce leaves for another three meals. So I invariably have to trash that as well after one meal at home.

There are ways to get around the problem. Maybe I should just tell the guys making my coffee to fill only half the cup although I will have to pay full price. I will also stoically suffer their 'is-she-a-lunatic' expressions. Or I could buy a coffee-maker and brew my own little muggies. But why can't there just be smaller quantities available?

Till I establish why sizes have been skewed let me just say that there is a discernible bias against small stomachs. Don't think we don't get it.

In fact, I'm marking my protest here.

AIR INDIA WOULD HAVE KEPT ME SINGLE

I was delighted to hear Praful Patel, the Civil Aviation Minister say that Air India either needs to perform or perish. Personal experience suggests it is successfully doing the latter already.

My husband and I were alone in a hotel room in Frankfurt four days before our wedding in India. But we weren’t feeling at all romantic. No…it’s not what you think. We were in love and wanted to marry. The problem was how do we get there? How to get home?

Both of us were students in the U.S and followed the “cheap works best” approach to flying. So, when Air India offered us the lowest fares to Mumbai, we took it. Zero in-flight entertainment, robotic air-hostesses and wailing babies cannot deter two people bent on getting hitched. Despite dealing with rude staff, we boarded a sickly yellow Air India Boeing 747 from O’Hare International Airport, Chicago, with the proverbial song on the lip. In a few days we would wear weighty clothes and ponderous garlands, exchange some solemn vows and walk away into the sunset to live happily ever after.

Little did we realize that our path was littered with obstacles. We weren’t supposed to be populating hotel rooms on the way there and how it all came to be is a story of betrayal by our embarrassing national bird, Air India. I want to kick the protruding backside of the smiling maharaja when I see one.

There was a happy hum on board our flight from Chicago where it all began. Fellow Indians were pinching the cheeks of children and enquiring about their names and health. An English movie of grainy print played on a single giant screen at the front of the aircraft. It was extracted no doubt from a Hollywood archive shelf marked ‘Ancient’. Not in the mood for it, I would’ve certainly finished ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ instead, except that my panel lights didn’t work. Neither did my husbands and neither did his neighbours’. We had both carried only books to entertain ourselves and therefore had nothing to do. Everyone slept, but like alert owls we sat quietly in the dark. Oblivious to the impending food crisis I grumbled about the service instead of just being thankful for meals at least.

A few hours and much wakefulness later the lights came on and one small but tough croissant was placed before us. The hungry and tired don’t fuss about such things and we ate our “breakfast” content with the thought that we would soon land in Frankfurt for two hours, stretch our legs and then sleep all the way to Mumbai. From there my husband would fly home to Calcutta and me to Chennai to attend my first ‘ladies-only’ function on the 24^th of December. I had budgeted three days of R and R because brides need that.

But Air India had other plans. They usually do.

We were asked to disembark at Frankfurt and once without, informed casually that two of the engines had failed while landing. Surely, they needed time to repair them and so if passengers would be considerate enough to wait for two more hours things would be set in order and we would be on our way again.

Now, my husband is a business consultant, which means, he has been dodged and duped by airlines all his working life and doesn’t buy these “slight delays” or “technical snags”. So when he heard the words “engine failure” his heart started a downward descent.

But since there was nothing we could do about the vital organs of an ageing 747 we waited patiently in the lousy Frankfurt airport. It was uncomfortably cold, uncarpeted, overcrowded and under-seated and the most exciting food available was cheese toast. Four hours became six, six became ten and ten became fourteen. We should have been in the motherland by then but were stuck instead in the fatherland. And, I, the bride, deprived of sleep and good news, grew older.

Those with American passports had long been allowed to leave for a comfortable hotel while we went about the airport like IDPs. Meanwhile the smiling maharaja became the silent maharaja. There were simply no updates or announcements!

Finally, a little before midnight, rumour circulated that Air India was collecting passports to get visas because the plane of our dreams was grounded. By then my husband and I were gummy-eyed, sleepless, unfresh and angry. Parents, aunts and cousins back home were frantic. Flights to anywhere in December are packed and to India, forget it you must be kidding. How were we going to get home? The only thing available was first class on Lufthansa – 10,000 dollars for both of us. Nope. We’d just have to stay single.

Air India wasn’t saying anything. They were about to put us up in a hotel and my husband was sure that an engine failure basically meant - get a different plane. Would Air India do that? When would they do it? More importantly, I would have no time to go through my fittings, beauty sleep, bridal pampering, and my round of personal invitations. The salad had been tossed up and was falling to the floor.

With heavy feet we reached the hotel and with heavier hearts we went to bed but not without making a plan. We decided we would sleep for just a few hours and get to the airport before all the other passengers. Everyone would be trying to get their tickets written over so we needed to be first in the queue at the AI counter.

The next morning, the restaurant downstairs was full of cheerful chatter. This unexpected German holiday was quite a nice surprise for some. But I thrust a bun with poppy seeds into my bag and off we went to the airport.

An hour after waiting at the Air India counter a German lady finally appeared. We told her our story stressing that a union was at stake. She was a stern sort and didn’t say much. But suddenly she produced two tickets on Kuwait Airways that would take us to Mumbai but with a layover in Kuwait. That wasn’t good enough. We wanted to fly straight home. What if we got stuck in Kuwait? By then she saw how anxious we were and the cockles of her heart began to warm-up a little. Hammering away at her keyboard she scanned for seats. And voila! A few minutes later she produced two direct tickets on Lufthansa to Calcutta! Wow! Hurray! But wait, what about our four bags full of wedding stuff?

Oh.

By way of a joke she said, “I’ll try and get them out but I hope your wedding dress is not in there.” Ha. Ha. My husbands stuff was but what good is a wedding suit if it makes you miss your wedding? So we ditched our bags, hoping they would come on the Air India flight, whenever, and sprinted across the confusing Frankfurt airport to reach the Lufthansa counter to get our seats confirmed. We realized that we had under-reported our wedding story. We had to use it to full effect now. We repeated it to the young blonde at the Lufthansa counter who was lovely and sympathetic. But she had bad news. My husband was confirmed. I was not.

We took the chance and raced to the gate where passengers were boarding for Calcutta. Seconds before the gate closed and the last confirmed passengers had boarded, an efficient German lady finally put us through. We couldn’t believe it. We were finally going home! We would attend our wedding after all! We looked terrible, we hadn’t changed our clothes in 48 hours and our bags were left behind. But it didn’t matter. We collapsed into clean seats in a fresh white plane, looked at each other and burst out laughing.

We landed in Calcutta like a set of beggars without any possessions except each other. But it was alright because we still had a beautiful, fun wedding. We made it in time and took our solemn vows. One of them is to never fly Air India.

Published on the ndtv.com website.

PEOPLE'S TRIBUNAL HARASSED IN KASHMIR

The Indian government has often successfully prevented the internationalisation of the Kashmir conflict. Anyone who attempts to unearth some of the dirty secrets of the Indian government in the state is often reminded that they are venturing into very murky waters. Reproduced below is a press release from the International People's Tribunal whose members were recently harassed and intimidated while carrying out their investigations into the mass graves.

On June 20, the 'International Peoples Tribunal on Human Rights andJustice in Indian-administered Kashmir' visited the northern districtof Kupwara, a heavily militarized zone about 95 kms from Srinagar, toconduct its investigations in the area, as part of its ongoing work tobe conducted in 2008-2009.

The team comprised of Tribunal Conveners Dr. Angana Chatterji andAdvocate Parvez Imroz, with a Tribunal staff member and camera crew.They first visited a mass grave in Trehgam village and interacted withinhabitants of the area. After which the team reached Regipora around3pm and stopped at a hotel for lunch. After the team came out of thehotel two persons were sitting on the ladders, one in a blue checkshirt and another in a white shirt, introducing themselves as SpecialBranch Kashmir (SBK) and CounterIntelligence Kashmir (CIK) personnel. They questioned the Tribunalstaff member about the purpose of their visit. After responding,Tribunal members proceeded with the fact finding.

The Tribunal team then visited the martyrs' graveyard in Regipora,after which they stopped at a nearby tea stall to speak with localpeople about the graves. Four persons, including the previous two thatintroduced themselves as the SBK, CIK personnel again questioned themembers of the team: Who are you?, What are you doing here?, How manyvillages you visited from the morning?, Who are the persons whom youinterviewed from the morning? Are you a foreign national? (to Dr.Chatterji who is a citizen of India and resident of the US). The teamagain answered their questions without any argument.

After this episode ended another four persons establishing themselvesas SBK and CIK personnel came to the scene. The personnel asked themembers, how many foreigners are there in the team and are they carryingpassports with them? The personnel again asked, Who is the Lady? Whatis she? Which are the places you visited from the morning? And whomdid you talk and interviewed from the morning?

Three more persons, who were at different locations in the market, andseen making phone calls constantly, again questioned the Tribunalteam: 'Did you take any footage and pictures from the places youvisited?' The team again answered to their queries. In total, therewere 12 intelligence personnel. The questioning by the personnel tookaround one hour. Then the team proceeded towards Srinagar. While theteam rode back, a car started to follow the team. The team detouredfrom the highway and went to another mass grave in the area.

After the Tribunal team left the last site, they were stopped atShangargund, Sopore, at around 6:40 pm by three persons in civilianclothing. The personnel ordered the driver of car to get down and tookhim aside. The driver was asked, 'Which places you visited?' hereplied them and then the three persons without proving their identityforcibly boarded the Tribunal car, which was already filled tocapacity. These personnel without proving their credentials oroffering justification ordered the Tribunal team to Police Station inSopore. When the members asked for identification, they responded thatthey would introduce themselves at the police station.

Police Station Episode:At the police station Advocate Imroz, Dr. Chatterji, and thecamerapersons were asked to give details of their identity, thepurpose of their visit to Kupwara, and asked to hand over the tapeswhich the police alleged contained 'dangerous' and 'objectionable'material. Dr. Chatterji and Advocate Imroz stated that the Tribunal, apublicly announced process, ongoing since April 05, 2008, had beenundertaking its work peaceably, lawfully, with informed consent oflocal people and that they had not visited restricted areas, andstated that the police had no lawful reason to demand the seizure ofthe tapes. At the police station, where the Tribunal members weredetained for 16 minutes, the Tribunal team received calls frompresspersons and other concerned citizens. After several calls tosenior police persons, the police released the Tribunal team.

After the team left the police station a red colored Indica car, whichcame out from the Police Station Sopore, tailed the Tribunal teamagain up to Sangrama.

In addition, there are Intelligence personnel stationed at Dr.Chatterji's hotel. On June 21, she was followed from her hotel byIntelligence to the Tribunal's office in Lal Chowk, Srinagar, whereabout 8 personnel have been stationed the entire day questioning anyperson that leaves or enters the office.

The Tribunal is gravely concerned that team members are being singledout for intimidation and harassment by the government - Police,intelligence, and other agencies. As well, Dr. Chatterji was stoppedand intimidated at Immigration while leaving India for the US whereshe is a professor of anthropology, in April after announcing theTribunal, and again on her re-entry in June.

The Tribunal is extremely concerned at the harassment and intimidationdirected at the team and how some of its members are surveilled. Weare concerned that such intimidation and harassment makes furtherdangerous the work of the Tribunal which remains daunting under thebest of circumstances. We remain gravely concerned that suchinterventions stand in the way of the Tribunal carrying out itsresponsibilities to communities affected by the culture of violence in Kashmir.

We hope and expect that the Tribunal will not be harassed, intimidatedor threatened and that its members, as human rights defenders, cancontinue their work. We call on our colleagues and allies to supportus in this crucial process and request that they remain attentive tothe tactics of intimidation and violence in Kashmir.

'THE IDEA OF INDIA'

Dr. Angana P. Chatterji makes her acceptance speech after receiving the IMC's 'Tipu Sultan award for courageously serving India.

Robin Phillips and Omar Khalidi share a laugh before the panel discussion begins.

The husband and wife team of Harpreet Kaur and Manmeet Singh. The duo made the film 'The Widow Colony on the Sikh widows of the 1984 pogrom.

“Raped, raped, raped, raped, raped, raped, raped.”

Film-maker Harpreet Kaur let the words echo through the room seven times even as the audience shifted uncomfortably.

She was driving home the horror of seven rapes experienced by one of the victims of the 1984 pogrom against the Sikhs in Delhi. She doesn’t want people to forget because 24 years later the Sikhs are still awaiting justice.

The lack of justice in India was under the spotlight at the 4^th annual conference of the Indian Muslim Council, USA (IMC-USA). Jawad Khan, President of the Chicago chapter says, “IMCs founding members were Muslims and hence the name. But it is for all minorities, not just for Muslims. Our effort is to safeguard (everyone’s) rights.” It was formed in 2002 after the Gujarat genocide and one of its lobbying successes has been being part of a coalition that got the US State Department to revoke Narendra Modi’s visa.

Nearly 450 people gathered at Meadows Club outside Chicago for the conference on the subject ‘The Idea of India: Challenges and Prospects.’ Most people spoke in Urdu, greeting each other with a warm, “Salaam Alaikum.”

The keynote address was delivered late in the evening after 8.30 by Tarun Tejpal, CEO and editor-in-chief of the investigative magazine, Tehelka. He spoke of the need to move away from the “politics of difference and back to the politics of ideas.” He said, “India is a free country and it is incumbent upon us to stand up for our rights and get them, and that is the beauty of the founding principles of this country.” IMC awarded him the Moulana Muhammad Ali Johar Award in Journalism. He received a standing ovation as Zakia Jafri, widow of Ahsan Jafri who was killed in the Gujarat genocide, handed it to him.

The conference, began at mid-day after namaaz with the screening of four short films. All four examined the violence visited upon different minority groups – ‘The Widow Colony’ about Sikh widows of the 1984 killings, a CBS documentary by CNN’s Christian Amanpour on Dalits in Tamil Nadu, ‘Encountered on Saffron Agenda’ a documentary on encounter killings in Gujarat under Narendra Modi and an NDTV documentary on the murderous attack on Christians in Orissa called ‘In the Name of God’.

The films set the tone for the day’s discussion – minority groups are increasingly threatened even as perpetrators of violence are going scot-free.

A panel discussion on “Impunity: A Roadblock to Justice” saw panelists raise several human rights abuses taking place in India. Munaf Zeena, a member of the Muslim Council of Britain had flown in from the UK especially for the conference. He said, “The numbers in Gujarat don’t matter because it shocks the conscience of humanity. Just as Rwanda did, so did Gujarat.” He added, “India is afraid of international accountability for its actions.”

Another panelist, Rahul Deepankar, a doctor and a peace activist, raised the issue of lack of development in India, remarking, “My school today in rural Uttar Pradesh is worse than when I left.” Harpreet Kaur minced no words while reminding the audience of the 1984 killings. She said, “The world’s largest democracy is raping its mothers and brutally butchering its men. How can India call itself a democracy?”

The audience was asked to write down their questions for the panelists which were then read to them by an IMC member. But there was such a flood of paper that most questions went unanswered. Manmeet Singh who co-produced ‘The Widows Colony’ with his wife Harpreet Kaur was asked if the Sikhs had received justice after Manmohan Singh became the Prime Minister. To nods of approval from other panelists he said, “Lets create social bonds. Lets not leave Christian issues to Christians, Muslim issues to Muslims and Dalit issues to Dalits.”

After a quick coffee break the second panel discussion began on the topic, ‘Strengthening India’s Secular Democracy.’ Dr. Angana P. Chatterji, a rights activist and professor of social and cultural anthropology at the California Institute of Integral Studies questioned the very basis of India’s secular experiment saying, “Secularisation has become concomitant with Hinduisation. We need to re-formulate and question the notion of our secularism.” Dr. Chatterji was also given the Tipu Sultan award for courageously serving India. With her right hand placed gently across her heart she appeared genuinely moved in accepting it.

Robin Phillips, executive director of the Advocates for Human Rights, explained the definition of human rights but also took it out of an academic context by asking, “How can we ensure that good people are not silent in the face of human rights violations?” Here she urged her audience to be more attentive in small everyday acts and conversations.

Dr. Omar Khalidi from MIT and Harvard University’s Aga Khan programme for Islamic Architecture echoed Harpreet Kaur’s sentiments by questioning whether India was a democracy at all. He said, “Since 1958, Kashmir and North East India have been under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (which gives them impunity from due processes of law).” He was in agreement with Dr.Angana Chatterji’s assessment of the Hinduisation of society saying, “If you cannot prove that you are Muslim or Christian during a census then you are automatically a Hindu!”

It was a long day at the conference but most people appeared to have found the speakers very engaging. India’s democratic credentials were heavily challenged given that large minority and subaltern groups simply live below justice.

APNA GHAR WALKATHON

Participants at the walkathon cool off in the grass at Lincoln Park.

Kanta Khipple seated under the shade of a tree as the walkathon started. She is one of the early founders of Apna Ghar. Now in her mid-seventies, she recently started a programme at Apna Ghar for elderly women victims of abuse.

“I have a personal story. When I came to the US 25 years ago, my husband used to abuse me.” But reluctant to discuss anymore, she (name withheld) disappeared into the crowd of blue T-shirts gathered at Lincoln Park.

On a bright and typically windy morning in Chicago, nearly 200 people from different parts of South Asia got together for the “Stride Against Violence.” Most of them wore the event organiser’s blue T-shirts with this message on the back. In its second year, the walkathon and fundraiser was organized by Chicago-based Apna Ghar, a shelter for victims of domestic abuse. As honorary event chair, Illinois State Senator Heather Steans also joined the walk along with her husband.

There was a carnival-like atmosphere with lion dancers spicing things up before the walk. After a quick session of stretches the walkers set out at 9.30 on June 8^th on a 5 kilometre route, to the sound of drum-beats around the Lincoln Park area.

As the crowd took off, sitting on a chair, under the shade of a tree, Kanta Khipple smiled proudly. “In our culture we don’t speak about domestic violence. We tend to tolerate it,” she recalled. “But today we are preventing drastic abuse.”

Kanta Khipple and Prem Sharma, still with the organization, are part of the original founding five members of Apna Ghar. The idea was developed after Prem Sharma set up an Indo-Crisis hotline in 1984 to answer calls from women in distress. “At the time I had no idea how prevalent domestic violence was. But with our answering service we documented each and every call and found that it was very high,” said Prem Sharma.

They also found that women from South Asia would visit existing shelters but because of difference in language, food and culture, they would leave mainstream American shelter homes in just a few days. To serve all these needs, Apna Ghar was started in 1989.

The walkathon has become an important event in the fundraising calendar of the organization. Apna Ghar’s development director, Sharmila Kana said, “I think we have managed to raise approximately 20,000 to 25,000 dollars from the walkathon.”

After the walk, participants sat around in the grass at Lincoln Park cooling off, snacking and enjoying a lovely summer day. In a tent with a stage the entertainment programmes were rolled out for them. It included tap dancing, bhangra, a lottery and even henna amongst other things. Even a few curious residents of Lincoln Park stopped by briefly to watch.

Close-by in the registration tent the impending rain was providing some clues as gusts of wind kept blowing papers and empty water bottles off the table. As the year’s second fund-raiser was drawing to a close, Rehmah Sufi, a development associate said, “The federal government is cutting social service funding and we are trying to figure out how best to respond to this.”

Prem Sharma remarked, “Right now we are 80% dependent on the government and 20% on funding. We need to change that.”

Apna Ghar offers a range of services to its clients who are distressed women victims of physical, mental, emotional and sexual violence at home. It operates a 24 hour helpline, a shelter home, transitional housing along with a range of rehabilitation services and legal services. It has recently even started taking in elderly women who are victims of neglect. The need for these services has not gone down. Munching a sandwich, Neelam Kacker, the Treasurer said, “It is a bottomless pit and we need help all the time.”

One female participant said after the walk, “I support this cause because I was also once a victim.”

As the day drew to a close, dark clouds appeared over Lincoln Park. When the last thank you was said by compere Sharmila Kana, and the crowd began to leave, almost on cue, the rain suddenly started to come down in big, heavy drops, drawing to a close an event that raised money to help the stigmatized but brave women who left their homes after suffering domestic violence.

Published in India Abroad. in the June 20th, 2008 issue.

A BLOG CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE

“I think blogging is for jobless people,” declared a friend over lunch one day.

It is totally untrue.

I’ve been blogging for three years and have found the experience useful, educative, interesting and even therapeutic. My conclusion therefore is that blogging, quite simply, can be good for you and the world around you. Heres why.

First, it is truly democratizing communication. For instance, celebrity blogs like Aamir Khan’s and Amitabh Bachan’s allow people to directly listen to what they are saying. These actors in turn can be rid of the mainstream media (MSM) hounding them and then misquoting them or editing their words out of context.

Watching the harassment of Aarushi’s family by the media, I thought of how a blog could have solved a couple of things. The family could have communicated with the press, if they wanted to, through a blog and also removed the menace from their doorstep by giving the media the quotes they need to file stories.

Second, blogging has immense untapped potential as a political instrument. What happened in Burma last year bears testimony to it. A young generation of Burmese students witnessed for the first time the violence of the junta. Angry but motivated they ducked into internet cafes to blog about the repression as blood flowed on the streets of Rangoon and other towns. Their pictures and first-hand accounts were picked up by the MSM which immediately internationalized the issue. The junta could not be dislodged but they were forced to allow a UN human rights investigation, something that hasn’t happened in Burma in three years.

One tiny voice can become a loud echo. Imagine if honest government servants begin to anonymously blog about their political bosses. They could name names which the MSM could investigate. The thought is delicious and it’s possible.

Third, blogging can challenge and complement the mainstream media. It challenges the media by acting as a watchdog of the watchdog. It was a blogger who exposed the touch up job of a Reuters photographer. The photographer had added a few extra plumes of smoke to a picture of an Israeli bombing of Beirut in 2006.

Bloggers also exposed CBS and its anchor Dan Rather for failing to authenticate documents used in one of their stories. Quite obviously the media is fallible and here bloggers can complement it. The first pictures of the Indian Ocean tsunami were taken by bloggers. The New York Times was calling bloggers in Chennai and Bangalore to get more information. So if you see something you can do something about it.

Fourth, blogging is actually good for health! It’s not such a wild idea if you think about how sharing a painful experience can lighten your burden. A study published in the Oncologist reported that cancer patients who engaged in expressive writing just before treatment felt physically and mentally better compared with those who did not. That’s why some hospitals have even started hosting patient-authored blogs on their website.

The reason it’s different from keeping a diary under your pillow is that sympathetic or similar people can connect with you.

And for anyone who thinks it is technologically challenging let me say that if you’ve figured out email you can figure out blogging.

But while blogging can be rewarding its also true that too many people are blogging and too few are making any money off of it. There are 9 million blogs out there and 40,000 new ones are added everyday. Many of these talk about excruciatingly dull things like brushing of teeth and combing of hair.

The credibility of blogs is also a problem. After all anyone can write one and say what they please. The interactivity of blogs is also a double-edged sword. I was so rattled by anonymous hateful comments on my blog that I had to disable the feature.

But a good blog that follows some self-censorship can be deeply satisfying and eventually finds its readers. Blogging is much, much more than a pursuit of the jobless. Best of all, it’s free, it’s easy and it can be empowering. And although there are so many blogs out there a well-written blog behaves like a magnet – it draws readers to it.

Published on NDTV.com

WHAT'S WRONG WITH INDIAN TV NEWS

Keep in mind an old Indian road safety sign while watching the latest Indian television news.

“Speed thrills but kills.”

Yes, speed is killing some of the most basic tenets of journalism on television, such as accuracy and challenging power. Being wrong is pardonable, but being late, absolutely not. Viewers have many choices today, so keeping it fresh draws more immediate benefits than keeping it honest. That’s why Indian television news has competed in one rapid race, but to the bottom. And viewers are insulted.

The double murders in Noida have become a lightning rod for viewer criticism of this trend. The media’s split personality is under scrutiny. It is a crusader, but also a moral leper. It is a watchdog, but also a vulture. It is high-minded, but also hypocritical. And competition, which is normally a good thing for the consumer, is driving such extreme behaviour. Competition has killed critical thinking, so, dear editors, do something about it.

For instance, 24-hour news places immense pressure on reporters and editors. So, if the police make a new statement theorizing about extra-marital affairs or honour killings, it is dutifully reported “as it happens”, since wall-to-wall coverage requires that things move forward. Newsrooms do not debate the merits of a police statement. That responsibility has been abdicated. Besides, there is no time to grapple with such professional and ethical niceties because the competition has already put it on air. It’s up to the viewer to think and evaluate.

But anyone who justifies this blind reporting is making a very self-serving argument. An editor of a Hindi channel recently defended his channel’s actions in the Noida murder coverage as merely “reporting what the police was saying”. Yet, the same channel has also started a parallel investigation by hiring private detectives. Clearly, it doesn’t believe the police, so why report it?

Also, take a closer look at the cast of characters who appear on the screen when there are such stories of investigations into murders, frauds, scams or controversies. Usually, the most vulnerable are on air as in this case — a grieving family and friends. Rarely will you see the policeman or politician involved turn up in a studio for the evening news, open to being grilled.

Jayalalithaa had nearly 44 corruption cases against her. But be sure you’ll never see her in a studio.

The bureaucratic and political establishment has learnt how to game the system by feeding the news machinery with a meaningless and quick sound byte while entering or exiting a building. Yet, you would imagine that if 25 reporters decided they weren’t going to budge till they got an interview, corrupt government servants would eventually have to answer some tough questions. They are duty-bound to. But that seemingly simple option doesn’t happen because of the pressure to produce. The 24-hour hungry beast waits for no one and people such as Jayalalithaa have figured it out. Dodge the media a couple of times and they give up. Grieving families and poor folks don’t know that and are made to believe they are obliged to talk to the press.

There is a sub-culture even among reporters. Better to sink together than stand alone. For instance, to avoid getting into trouble with each others’ editors, reporters may decide to collectively abandon a painful wait for a politician. Dodge-them-and-they-go-home works exceptionally well. Thus, competition has given us some variety but also more of the same.

Who will break this vicious cycle? Who will show the courage to construct a fiercely independent style? Who will endeavour to cultivate an intelligent audience? The decision has to be made at the top and the foot soldiers on the field will follow. Whoever decides that things need to change will show leadership, courage and critical thinking — qualities television news can profit from.

Published in Mint on June 5th 2008.

ROLE OF CASTE IN CONTEMPORARY POLITICS

“A process has begun where caste might be losing its salience in Indian politics.” This was the core argument that Professor Suhas Palshikar made to a small group of research scholars and professors on South Asia at the University of Chicago.

He was invited to speak on the complex subject of ‘Making sense of caste-politics interaction in contemporary India’ and he did it crisply; gently hand-holding his audience for an hour through the different elements he wove into his talk. It was a well-distilled laying out, of all the things we actually don’t know about the great churning going on in Indian politics of 2008.

Professor Palshikar is also the co-director of Lokniti – a comparative democracy programme of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies in New Delhi. The programme’s greatest contribution to political science has been their study of Indian elections since 1995-96. Believe it or not, between 1971 and 1996 there is hardly any data available to thrown light on social changes.

That’s perhaps why he says that the wrong questions are being asked by Indian political scientists. For instance, he says, “There are changes taking place in the experiential nature of caste due to urbanization.” He also draws attention to the changing Dalit image of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). He points out, “The BSP these days talks about being a ‘sarvojan samaj’ party, which means a party for the whole society. They are no longer a party just for Dalits.” Professor Palshikar presented these ideas to underscore the as yet unexplored question, “Is caste influencing politics today in the traditional manner that it did in the 1960s and 70s?”

A rattling door that refused to shut tight didn’t seem to distract his audience. He held their interest throughout; making a point-by-point progression with pre-emptive clarifications to questions that might’ve popped up in the listener’s mind. Explaining why caste alone can’t be the framework within which Indian politics can be examined, he cites a small study conducted in his home base of Pune. He says, “Out study found that barring Dalits, in no other caste group are more than 40% practicing the same occupation as their father or grandfather.” He cites that as an extremely important statistic because it indicates that “the internal material interests of caste groups may be disintegrating” since the majority have experienced some form of upward mobility. The caveat he adds quickly is that this is true of Pune and could be different elsewhere which in turn shows how valuable a worms-eye view can be. “There has been an over-emphasis on creating macro-level data when what we might really need is constituency level information which we don’t have at the moment.”

In his analysis, political parties with national aspirations have had to evolve from appealing only to caste-identities because the politics of reservations and social justice eventually reach a dead-end. He says, “Now we are witnessing that caste-appeal becomes inadequate,” an assertion that is of a piece with BSP leader and Prime Ministerial aspirant Mayawati’s new inclusive “sarvojan samaj” message. He substantiates his claim by saying, “That’s why Mulayam Singh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party who appealed strongly to the Yadav community in Uttar Pradesh could not make much headway in Maharashtra because there are no Yadavs there. That’s why it is complicated for the two national parties, the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party, to come up with any uniform caste-based strategy.”

But even as the national stage requires the de-emphasis of caste, Professor Palshikar points to a curious trend of the caste identity becoming more accentuated in cultural life with the formation of caste-based associations. He says, “Apart from acting as pressure groups demanding seats and reservations for their communities, they also act as gate-keepers, ensuring that young people marry within the community. Furthermore, they are demanding greater cultural space for their caste by demanding statues and renaming of libraries etc. after their caste heroes.” And interestingly enough they also perform some economic functions like a caste-based barbers association which fixes the amount that they will charge customers!

Overlaying the occupational and social changes taking place within Indian society and inside caste groups with the evolution of political parties themselves Professor Palshikar left his audience with a set of questions to frame their enquiry on Indian politics. “To what extent will caste be an effective unit of mobilization? And to what extent does caste constitute a unit that actually defines the interests of various groups in society?”

He says, “Region, religion, caste, material interests inter-weave in such a complex manner and at such different levels that we need to find out then where the contemporary moment in Indian politics lies?”

Rochana Majumdar, an associate professor at the University of Chicago and a historian says, “Palshikar offered new materials on the everyday operation of caste in contemporary India which opened up a whole new set of questions for researchers of Indian history, politics and anthropology.”

Unfortunately, scientific polling data on elections started only as late as 1996 leaving a bit of a gaping hole for researchers. What is clear though is that the notion that Indian politics begins and ends with caste needs to be discarded immediately.

Published in India Abroad in the May 30th, 2008 issue as well as on Rediff.com