SAJAforum

POLITICS: Shashi Tharoor on the campaign trail

Photographer Jay Mandal sent us these highly entertaining shots of the former New Yorker and UN under-secretary general Shashi Tharoor, who is quickly reinventing himself as an aspiring Congress politician in Kerala.

From Arun Ram in the Times of India:

At the core of his agenda is his own demystification — to break out of his high-profile image and present himself as a Keralite who can hold the common man’s hand and say, in Malayalam, that he is the best bet. He insists that you speak to him in Malayalam.

‘‘I’ve begun to forget my English,’’ he quips, as he enjoys a quick breakfast of appam and stew at his mother’s house. Beginning his day’s campaign from the Udiyannoor Devi temple at 8 am, Tharoor is the typical Malayalee, in white shirt and mundu, drinking holy water from the priest as if it is the elixir of his success. As he walks past, giggling women whisper about his handsome looks. Tharoor does charm.

And from IBN:

Both Tharoor and his constituency are new to each other and added to that is the language barrier.

His Malayalam is not very fluent, but he takes that more as a challenge than a handicap.

Tharooor assures rural voters that their voices would be heard in Delhi both in English and Hindi. He is also spending more time reaching out to them.

"Well I think you can see me talking to the common man. But in my case because my experience has been a bit different, people seem to think that I can thrive only in air conditioned offices. I want to prove them otherwise," says Tharoor.

A little controversy over the national anthem, from Outlook:

In his complaint, human rights activist Joy Kaitharath had alleged that on December 16 last, Tharoor had interrupted the national anthem after a public lecture at Kochi. He took a microphone from the table and directed the audience to stand the way people do in the US with their right palm placed on their chest instead of the attention posture followed by Indians so

Tharoor told reporters at the court premises that such an incident did not take place and the allegation was a lie.

Financial Express:

ETHNICITY: Texas legislator wants Asians to Americanize their names

When I was younger I thought it a bit unseemly for Indians to have Anglicized names like "Sam Patel" or "Ken Singh." Who's that guy trying to fool? It felt like a nomenclatural comb over.

In time, I got over it. The fact is, names like that aren't all that common in the desi community in the first place, and probably have/had their utility among certain segments, eg., business people making inroads in rural America and the like (and of course, politicians). It's not like Jewish America, where there are a whole lot of people whose Eastern European surnames were shortened back on Ellis Island.

Which is why the Betty Brown furor seems so anachronistic. Brown is a Republican member of the Texas state legislature, and during a legislative hearing on voter ID standards, she said a couple things that have gotten her in trouble. Scroll to 3:23 of this clip for the money quote.

She was addressing Ramey Ko, a representative of the Organization of Chinese Americans. Ko's point, which he made repeatedly--and which I ask him about, lower down--was that many Asian American immigrants have problems in this country because they often have two sets of IDs: one that lists, say, their original, Chinese-sounding name (transliterated into English) and another that has an Anglicized name (like Ken). This causes problems when they go to vote.

But Brown wasn't really listening:

“Rather than everyone here having to learn Chinese — I understand it’s a rather difficult language — do you think that it would behoove you and your citizens to adopt a name that we could deal with more readily here?” Brown said.

Brown later told Ko: “Can’t you see that this is something that would make it a lot easier for you and the people who are poll workers if you could adopt a name just for identification purposes that’s easier for Americans to deal with?”

The issue was politicized before Brown even made her comments because Texas Republicans want to prevent voter fraud and Democrats say the actual occurrence of voter fraud is negligible, and that this is just a veiled attempt at suppressing votes from minorities, who tend to vote for Democrats.

But her remarks have taken the issue in a whole 'nother direction. She's received press in the San Francisco Chronicle, UPI, the UK's Telegraph. There's now a really fun "Betty Brown Name Generator"--I plugged in "Arun" and was told my new name is Roy "Chicken and Dumplings" Brown. If you try Shivashankara Venkataraghavan you get Billy-Ray "Golden Corral" Brown.

POLITICS: The Case of Varun Gandhi and the Fake Degrees

At just 29 years old, Varun Gandhi is widely regarded as a rising star in his political party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BJP, which could sweep to power in India’s upcoming national elections when the results are announced on May 16th, is a Hindu nationalist party with a history of anti-Muslim rhetoric.

Recently Gandhi caused uproar when he was caught on tape using such rhetoric. In the aftermath it was discovered that he had lied about academic credentials from the London School of Economics (LSE) and the School of African and Oriental Studies (SOAS), both constituent colleges of the University of London.

The young Gandhi is an asset to the BJP because he is a high-level defector. His family is a political dynasty in the Congress Party, the secularist party currently holding on to power with a thin majority in the Lok Sabha (lower house of parliament). His aunt Sonia Gandhi is currently leader of the Congress. Additionally, his grandmother is the late former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi (Congress) and his great grandfather, Jawaharlal Nehru, was the first Prime Minister of India (Congress). After a family feud, Gandhi and his mother joined the BJP in 2004. (He explains his conversion to the BJP in a 2005 interview with the BBC.)

In contrast to his usually soft demeanor when speaking to the media in English, Gandhi recently made a series of fiery Hindi speeches in Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh, where he is the BJP’s candidate for the Lok Sabha. In them he threatens violence against Muslims, saying for example that after the election the “Lotus Hand” (the BJP’s emblem) would cut the throats of the “circumcised.”  That is of course a derogatory reference to Muslims that has more or less the same effect as the ‘N’-word in American politics. A video is available here from IBN, and it is not pretty to watch.

JOBS: APIAVote looking for new executive director

An important opportunity for those interested in U.S. politics.

The Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote) is pleased to announce the re-opening of its Executive Director search process.

 You may be familiar with our work and our partnerships with local and national AAPI community based organizations.  APIAVote is a progressive 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that promotes civic participation of the Asian and Pacific Islander community.

The position of Executive Director requires strong field strategy and management experience.   APIAVote's primary goal is to build the field and organizational capacity of our local and national partner organizations, through coalition building and training.  Its program focus addresses voter registration, get-out-the-vote (GOTV) initiatives, media/communications strategy and voter file operations.

The Executive Director reports directly to the Board of Directors and oversees a small staff that does administrative, field, communications, and program management tasks. S/he is responsible for day-to-day operations including its effective staff administration, fundraising, communications, field organizing, training and partner relationships.

This is a wonderful organization that addresses a distinct community need.  It is also a great opportunity for a qualified and innovative candidate.  Please forward this to your networks, and any interested parties.  If you have any questions regarding APIAVote, please take a look at our website (www.apiavote.org/jobs), or contact the ED Search Committee at APIAVotejobs[at]gmail.com.

Thank you for your help.

Sincerely,

Jeanette Moy
Executive Director Search Committee
APIAVote Board of Directors

Vida Benavides
Interim Executive Director
APIAVote

SLUMDOG: India's Congress party buys rights to "Jai ho"

India's Congress party has paid $200,000 for the rights to "Jai Ho," according to the BBC. The song, by AR Rehman, received one of the eight Oscars that "Slumdog Millionaire" took home. Congress plans to use the song during general elections in April and May:

"The campaign is ready for launch. It has been sent to the party for approval. It should be out on television and radio in a few hours subject to its approval," Harindra Singh, vice-chairman and managing director of advertising firm Percept, told the BBC on Thursday.

Percept negotiated the song's rights with T-Series, which holds the song's copyright.

"The tune of the song and the Jai Ho phrase have been used in the campaign. The lyrics have been written by a combination of people, they will be projecting what the Congress wishes to communicate," Mr Singh said.

JINDAL: "60 Minutes" profiles Bobby Jindal

[See SAJAforum's extensive collection of Bobby Jindal posts, including a special one-hour webcast ABOUT Jindal on the first anniversary of his taking office]

After Gov. Bobby Jindal's widely-panned speech after President Obama's appearance on Tuesday, the last thing I would have expected was a profile of him on the top-rated CBS newsmagazine "60 Minutes." But that's exactly what's happening tonight, 7-8 pm:

He's been called the Republican Obama and some think he may run for the presidency some day. But his opposition speech after the president's address to Congress this week caused some to say he's too young and inexperienced. Morley Safer profiles the governor of Louisiana. Deirdre Naphin and Katy Textor are the producers.

UPDATE: Here's video of the piece (transcript below):

Watch CBS Videos Online

After seeing the segment, please post your comments below.

We asked Mike Sager, writer of the most extensive magazine profile ever done on Jindal ("Bobby Jindal, All-American" - as part of Esquire picking the governor as among the six most influential people in the world) and author of "Wounded Warriors: Those for Whom the War Never Ends," to comment on this week's Jindal news. He told SAJAforum:

POLITICS: Bobby Jindal gets some "slum love"

The reviews for Bobby Ji have been a little less than fabulous: his Tuesday night response to Obama's speech to Congress has been derided on the right, left and center, and the Facebook group "Bobby Jindal is Kenneth the Page" has 13,538 members as of this moment--that's the group's clever little photo composite of Kenneth, a character from 30 Rock, and the guv.

But don't count the man out. If anything, he may inadvertently get some sympathy after the exchange below, between talk show host Curtis Sliwa and RNC Chairman Michael Steele. Via Politico:

SLIWA: Now, using a little bit of that street terminology, are you giving him any Slum love, Michael?

STEELE: (laughter)

SLIWA: Because he is — when guys look at him and young women look at him — they say oh, that's the slumdog millionaire, governor. So, give me some slum love.

STEELE: I love it. (inaudible) ... some slum love out to my buddy. Gov. Bobby Jindal is doing a friggin' awesome job in his state. He's really turned around on some core principles — like hey, government ought not be corrupt. The good stuff ... the easy stuff.

So..... slumdog = brown??

If anyone could translate that exchange for us, much would our appreciation be.

See earlier: "After Obama speech, Prime Time for Jindal"

JINDAL: After Obama's speech, prime time for Bobby Jindal

[See SAJAforum's extensive collection of Bobby Jindal posts, including a special one-hour webcast ABOUT Jindal on the first anniversary of his taking office]

UPDATE: A screengrab from 10:25 pm ET. Standing by for transcript. What did YOU think? Post in the comments section below!

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On Tuesday, Feb. 23, at 9 pm ET, President Obama makes the equivalent of "The State of the Union" address to Congress (this is not an official SOTU speech - those happen each January starting with the second year of a presidency). All eyes will be on Washington, D.C., as he discusses the landscape as he sees it.

Immediately following his speech, the official Republican reply/rejoinder/rebuttal will be delivered by Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. This is a sign of the amount of importance the Republican leadership places on Jindal right now, especially as he has cast himself as opposed to portions of Obama's stimlus bill (more on that below).

PHOTO FORUM: The Believers: Indian Christians Under Attack, by Massimiliano Clausi

The SAJA Photo Forum presents the work of photographers covering South Asia and its global diasporas in order to highlight important but often overlooked stories.

The Believers: Indian Christians Under Attack

Text and photographs © Massimiliano Clausi

 

In August and September 2008, a wave of violence perpetrated by Hindus on Christian villages swept through the Khandamal district in the in the Indian state of Orissa. Most estimates put the death toll between sixty and one hundred people, with dozens of churches destroyed and thousands of homes burned to the ground. More than 50,000 people were displaced from their homes. The official reason for the violence was the murder, blamed on Christians, of a widely followed religious and political leader. But the roots of hatred lay deep in a mix of poverty and political interests undermining the fragile peaceful coexistence of faiths and ethnic groups in Orissa.

Khandamal is a mountainous area where every plain is cultivated with rice, the major source of income for the villages. Most of the inhabitants belong to the Khanwa tribe; hence the district's name. The Panos, who are the dalits at the bottom of the caste ladder, form the next big group and converted to Christianity generations ago. The percentage of Christians in Khandamal – 25 percent – is high compared to the 2.4 percent for India as a whole.

On August 23, 2008, 81-year-old Swami Lakshmananda Saraswati, a leader of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, a political party, was gunned down at night in the district. Notwithstanding the fact that Maoist guerrillas took responsibility for the murder, Christians were immediately blamed by politicians belonging to the major Hindu parties. Two days later, hordes of Hindu militants were attacking Christian homes and places of worship in Khandamal, mainly at night. Whole families were forced into hiding in the nearby forest for days with no food or water. Those who stayed behind, the old and sick or those simply not willing to surrender their land and belongings to the assailants, were killed, mutilated and burned, or severely injured.

Three months after the peak of the violence, the situation is deadlocked. While Christians are still stuck in inadequate relief camps, the local government is encouraging them to go back to their villages. But they say the threat of fresh attacks is too high, and the local police force is unable to protect them. Every week new assassinations of isolated Christian peasants are being reported, and the promised compensation of Rs. 20,000 is not enough to rebuild a house.

A relief camp near Dopakia village. There are now 12 state-run relief camps hosting displaced Christians.  The situation is still tense, with the killings of Christians being reported every week.

An estimated 20 churches were burned. At least 15 Christian leaders, including Lutheran pastors, Catholic priests, and Christian missionaries, were killed while guarding their places of worship.

MEDIA WATCH: Ramesh Ponnuru as NYT columnist?

Conservative columnist William Kristol is no longer with the Times. He wrote his last piece 3 days ago--now begins the Times' Quest for a Conservative. It's already prompted plenty of speculation. George Packer of The New Yorker thinks Peggy Noonan, Andrew Sullivan and David Frum are all possibilities. He also suggested Ramesh Ponnuru:

Ramesh Ponnuru, who often writes guest Op-Eds, is one of the few writers at National Review Online’s Corner who didn’t embarrass himself during the campaign. (On the other hand, there’s his recent book about Democrats. It’s called “The Party of Death.”) Ponnuru is a reformist, but he still seems hemmed in by orthodoxy and shrinks from taking the rebuilding project as far as Ross Douthat, who writes for the Atlantic.

Ponnuru is a youngin: he's not yet 35. And like another prominent Indian-American conservative, Bobby Jindal, is a convert to Christianity.

UPDATE: Coincidentally, Ponnuru wrote an op-ed for the NYT today, a day after this post. It's called "Social Security on the First Date."  Here are some earlier Times op-eds he's written:

• How to Move the Middle (Nov. 7, 2008)
• Taxing the Hand that Feeds Us (Sept. 20, 2007)
• Reactionary Moderates (Nov. 12, 2006)
• How to Win by Losing (Sept. 13, 2006)
• Why Conservatives are Divided (Oct. 17, 2005)
• Partnership in Insecure Times (June 11, 2002)
• Bush's Better Inclination (Oct. 5, 2000) - with Rich Lowry

Check out Ponnuru's appearance on The Daily Show, where he defends his book before a somewhat skeptical Jon Stewart. To see his bio and bylines, visit Ramesh's NRO page here.

Earlier on SAJAforum:

• BYLINE WATCH: Ramesh Ponnuru's Right Matters on WashPost site