Some Good News from South Asia

First, a major milestone in polio eradication has been reached in India; the country has gone a full year without a reported case of the disease. The Indian government worked closely with local religious leaders to spread the message and increase cultural acceptance of vaccination. The World Health Organization and Sabin Vaccine Institute are hopeful this strategy can be copied in central Asia and in west and central Africa, where polio is still endemic.

But perhaps the even bigger story is the continuing democratic reforms in Burma. The reforms began after elections in 2010. Though there were widespread charges of fraud and the election was boycotted by Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD), Burma's military junta ceded some of its power to the new Parliament.

Suu Kyi was freed from house arrest in November 2010 and is running for Parliament in upcoming elections. Laws censoring the press have been relaxed and websites like Youtube have been unblocked. Construction of the controversial Myitsone Dam in northern Burma, which would endanger the Kachin people's cultural identity and (seeing as it's located near a major fault line) their lives, has been suspended. The government has signed a cease-fire with Karen insurgents in the east. Political prisoners, including student protesters from 1988 and Buddhist monks from 2007's "saffron revolution," have been released in two batches, first in September 2011 and then again this month.

The U.S. has been engaging with the Burmese government. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited the country after the first batch of political prisoners was released. After the second, the U.S. announced that it would exchange ambassadors with Burma for the first time since 1990. The Obama Administration should be lauded for how they have handled the situation, though reforms have resulted more from conditions on the ground than diplomatic engagement.

So why has the Burmese government started these reforms? Partly there is a desire to ease Western sanctions, which have restricted travel of prominent members of the regime, frozen their assets, and limited foreign investment in the country. More importantly, argues Marie Lall of the University of London, is the government's desire to chair the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2014 and for greater economic integration with the rest of the ASEAN community.

Whatever the reason, let's hope that Burma continues down the path of democratic reform.

America's Epidemic

President Obama has canceled his trip to the Golden Temple in Amritsar, which was supposed to be one of the stops on his up-coming trip to India. Apparently, the administration canceled this portion of the visit out of domestic political concerns that Americans would see images of President Obama in the traditional Sikh head-covering necessary to enter the temple and interpret this to mean that he is a “secret” Muslim. Aside from the fact that Sikhism and Islam are two completely different religions with completely different histories, cultures, etc., the cancellation and concern of the ignorant reaction of the American people point directly to the ridiculous bigotry of the American public towards Muslims and those perceived to be Muslim.

First of all, this is the Golden Temple. It’s insanely beautiful, and it's an important piece of India. If you are lucky enough to have the opportunity to go there, how could you ever pass it up?!?

Furthermore, there is absolutely nothing wrong with a president, on a state visit to another country, participating in and experiencing important elements of the cultures of that country. It is crucial for building stronger relations and developing understanding between the two countries. India is an extremely diverse country and having the opportunity to learn about the cultures and hopefully educating the American public through exposure, all while continuing to foster stronger positive relations, is amazing – definitely not an opportunity to be squandered. And again, the Golden Temple is beautiful.

That the White House has to be worried that 1) most Americans apparently don’t know what Sikhism is, and 2) the American public is so unreasonably fearful of Islam or things that “look Islamic” are absolutely ridiculous. Today, Juan Williams was fired from National Public Radio for his comments on The O’Reilly Factor, espousing his fear of Muslims (thank you, NPR!). What was even more concerning than his comments were the comments of readers, posted below the story, that felt that he was correct in his statements and that the statements made were not bigoted or hateful. It seems that the best way to combat such pervasive ignorance, fear, and hatred is through exposure to improve cross-cultural understanding. Who better to lead such an initiative than the President of the United States?

The fact that a substantial proportion of Americans believe that Obama is a “secret Muslim” is reminiscent of John F. Kennedy’s comments regarding the freedom of religion in the United States when he was campaigning in 1960. President Kennedy stated that there are far more critical issues facing the country and that “they are not religious issues, for war, hunger, ignorance, and despair know no religious barrier.” Obama has emphatically and publicly stated that he is a Christian, but honestly, it should not matter at all, nor is it any business of the American people. In the words of President Kennedy:

...It has become necessary for me to state once again, not what kind of church I believe in, for that should be important only to me, but what kind of America I believe in. I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute…and where no man is denied political office because his religion differs from the president who might appoint him or the people who might elect him…today I may be the victim, but tomorrow, it may be you, until the whole fabric of our harmonious society is ripped apart...

The American public is infected with an epidemic of fear, arising from ignorance and the lack of interest in at least attempting to understand different cultures and religions. For those Americans who cannot appreciate the freedom of religion and are seemingly incapable of tolerance, what is it about this country that you just don’t get?

Interesting Discussion on HH XIV Dalai Lama's Visit

Democracy Now! hosted a very interesting discussion with Robert Barnett, director of the Modern Tibetan Studies Program at Columbia University. The discussion focuses around several issues involving Tibet and His Holiness, including democratization, international security, economics, and water politics. The interview is approximately 11 minutes long but worth watching in its entirety.

Dalai Lama Hospitalized in India

His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama has been reportedly hospitalized in Mumbai after complaining of abdominal discomfort. The full article as follows below:

Dalai Lama in hospital with "discomfort"

By Bappa Majumdar

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, has been admitted to a hospital in India with "abdominal discomfort" but there was no cause for concern, doctors said on Thursday.

The spiritual leader, who cancelled two foreign trips after he complained of fatigue was "cheerful" after reaching the hospital in Mumbai, a hospital spokesman said.

"He has just been admitted for abdominal discomfort, investigation will commence tomorrow morning and there is no cause for concern," Mohan Rajan, the spokesman, said from Mumbai.

"We cannot tell you for how many days he will stay in the hospital at the moment."

The Nobel Peace Prize winner returned to Dharamsala, the north Indian town where Tibet's self-proclaimed government-in-exile is based, on Sunday after a two-week visit to France.

The visit focused mainly on lectures on Buddhism, but during it he also criticized Chinese policies in Tibet.

He told Le Monde in an interview that Chinese troops had fired on protesters in eastern Tibet on August 18, and that since protests against Chinese rule broke out in March, 400 people had been killed in the Lhasa area alone.

On Wednesday an aide told Reuters the 73-year-old was due to travel to Mumbai, India's financial centre, to undergo "routine medical tests" in hospital.

"All I can say is that he is fine," Chhime Chhoekyapa, the Dalai Lama's aide told Reuters from Mumbai on Thursday.

On arrival, the Dalai Lama was escorted by hospital officials to his room, where doctors carried out a preliminary check-up, his aide said.

"He is resting and has not had any visitor since he reached the hospital," Chhoekyapa, who accompanied the Dalai Lama, said by telephone.

The Dalai Lama spends several months of the year away from Dharamsala, delivering religious lectures and speaking about what he calls the suffering of Tibetan people under Chinese rule.

In recent years, doctors have increased medical checks to ensure that the Lama was in good health.

"His holiness is in good health, he retires early in the evening and gets up early in the morning," Chhoekyapa said.

Musharraf Resigns

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf resigned earlier today, saying that he would put the nation ahead of "personal bravado." Muhammad Mian Soomro, the president of the Senate, became the acting president. The move is mostly good news for Pakistan. In the long term, home-grown reform and true democracy will probably lead to a more stable Middle East. In the short term, Parliament can now focus on a poor economy and insurgents in the tribal, border areas, instead of their conflict with Musharraf.

However, the ruling coalition in Parliament may splinter without the glue of opposition to Musharraf holding it together. An amalgamation of Parliament and the four regional assemblies must decide within the next 30 days who should replace Musharraf. Asif Ali Zardari, the leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party and Benazir Bhutto's widower, seems to want the post, but he is opposed by the head of the Pakistan Muslim League-N, Nawaz Sharif. Sharif may agree to Zardari's appointment if the president is stripped of the powers to dissolve Parliament and choose the army chief.

Sharif and Zardari also disagree on judicial appointees. Sharif wants 57 supreme and high court justices removed by Musharraf to be reinstalled to their posts. Zardari wants those appointed in the interim to maintain their posts.

Musharraf's resignation has received mixed reactions internationally. The US offered faint praise, with spokesman Gordon Johndroe saying, "President Bush appreciates President Musharraf's efforts in the democratic transition of Pakistan as well as his commitment to fighting al-Qaeda and extremist groups." The Afghans believe the move will allow Pakistan to crack down harder on militants and improve democracy in both countries.

India is more wary. New Delhi has learned how to deal with Musharraf and is worried about an apparent power vacuum. Indian officials are unsure who is running the show in Islamabad: "Is it Prime Minister Geelani, Nawaz Sharif, Asif Ali Zardari or General Kayani? We don't know."

Headlines: 29 April 2008

• Democrats Divided Over Gas Tax Break
  

  Clinton wants to suspend the gas tax for the summer driving season. Obama argues that lifting the tax would remove the disincentive to pollute, take away money from maintaining highways, and save consumers little—about $30 over three months. Gonna side with Obama on this one.
  

• Cheney Lawyer Claims "Congress Lacks Constitutional Power" to Investigate VP's Role in Torture Approval
  

  Luckily, Cheney lacks the constitutional power to stay in office past January.
  

• Iranian President's Visit Tests India
  

  Singh welcomes Ahmadinejad to get oil and to prove his independence from the U.S. Not sure how I feel about this.
  

• Georgia "plans war in Abkhazia"
  

  Georgia and Russia point fingers at each other over a tiny breakaway republic no one has ever heard of.
  

• Obama's Wright Response
  

  Obama should clearly repudiate Rev. Wright after his crazy media tour:
  

A Judge and a Lucky Bastard

CNN International reported today that India's top court is indefinitely suspending an arrest warrant against American actor and humanitarian Richard Gere for offending cultural sensibilities by kissing Indian Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty at an AIDS Awareness event in April 2007.



In the immortal wisdom of Jon Stewart, that would offend "cultural sensibilities" in the United States, too.

Next time, act less like an American and learn a little something about the people of a country you've been visiting for over 30 years. It's easy. Just ask for a transfer off Ethnocentric Express and take the B-Train to Relativism because the Lucky Bastard line isn't always in operation.

Why the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya, India Should be Rebuilt

This is the rebuttal I gave for my MC 202 debate supporting the reconstruction of the Babri Mosque that was torn down by radical Hindu nationalist groups inciting riots across India. It is also my first official post as J-Mad.

India is a country established and envisioned to be a civic nation in which there is a legal political community and equality of all citizens. As Khilnani describes, this is an image of India where its history follows the Nehru view of a series of cultural interactions and exchanges. Khilnani argues that “citizenship was defined by a civic and universalist rather than ethnic criteria, which guaranteed a principle of inclusion in India’s democracy” (173). The result is that Indians acquired a modern self, a political identity guaranteed by the state (194).

In civic nations, such as India, following a classic liberal model of democracy, it is the duty of the government to protect the rights of all individual citizens. In the events surrounding the destruction of the Babri Masjid mosque in Ayodhya, the government failed to fulfill its duty of protecting its citizens from the actions of radicals that constituted terrorism. The United Nations defines terrorism in all its manifestations as, “activities aimed at the destruction of human rights, fundamental freedoms and democracy, threatening territorial integrity, security of States and destabilizing legitimately constituted Governments.” Such actions are viewed by the international community as unjustifiable under any circumstance regardless of the “political… ideological, racial…religious or other nature that may be invoked to justify them.”

In 1992, when the BJP, VHP, and Shiv Sena tore down the Babri mosque inciting riots leaving more than 2,000 people dead, these groups were participating in terrorism. By holding these parties accountable for their actions and supporting the reconstruction of this historic building, the Indian government is acting within the realm of a civic nation and fulfilling its duty of equal, liberal democracy to all of its citizens.

Works Cited:

51/210. Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism. December 17, 1996. United Nations General Assembly. February 20, 2008.

Khilnani, Sunil. The Idea of India. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1997.

Timeline: Ayodhya Crisis. July 5, 2005. BBC News. February 20, 2008. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1844930.stm>

UNODC and Terrorism Prevention. 2008. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. February 20, 2008. <http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/terrorism/index.html>