[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by stanjohn123

Ya who gives a **** if Obama celebrates Diwali..Who is he tryin 2 please???..Man he was out of my books the day he discouraged Indians in the IT industry by bringing a plan to reduce the intake of Indians in US(infact it was not reduce..it was to stop once and for all)

And we Indians still think of him as a big deal...OMG

I read somewhere that historically the Republicans in the White House have repeatedly turned out to be more 'India Friendly'

[passion4cars]

lol sorry guys I wasnt wearing my glasses & having a rough look at the post's headline , I read it as

OSAMA CELEBRATES DIWALI

lol

[DKG]

Originally Posted by stanjohn123

who gives a **** if Obama celebrates Diwali..Who is he tryin 2 please???

A million people of Indian origin !

The gesture is important to those living in the US. I know what it feels like to always be a second citizen in a foreign country. I spent 14 years of my life abroad. These gestures, symbolic as they may be, are very welcome and just make you feel a part of the mainstream culture. That is all.

After partition many muslim families migrated to Pakistan from India thinking they finally had a place where they wouldn't feel compromised. Guess what they got - branded as Mohajirs they still are made to feel like outsiders. So if Pakistan changes and accepts all such immigrants and stops making them feel they are alien its a sign of maturity.

America electing a black President and now officially acknowledging a community culture as part of the American mainstream is a sign of moving on or maturing.

[Sudipto-S-Team]

Originally Posted by aerohit

I dont even know why this is a news. If president of Kenya or Argentina did the same would you have made hoohaa about it? No. Why?

Because ( with all due respects to the Kenyans and Argentines) US means a lot more to India or to any other country in the world, than Kenya or Argentina. This is because of the size of their economy, their global political clout and their military strength - all three are co-related, not to speak of their technologies and other softer issues like educational institutions, hospitals etc etc.

It will be foolhardy to ignore any of these by any country.

However, I still think these gestures are just smart PR. Public figures don't believe in anything. Even if they do, they don't bring it out in the open. They are just good at articulating what they know is the majority view and what will make them more popular. They are like pop singers. They know what the audience wants to hear and write the songs accordingly.

In American society it is now politically correct to show your multiculturism. You become more acceptable now if you publicly go with minorities like Indians, hispanics, vegans, gay etc etc. That, I agree with DKG, is a huge change in the American mindset. But this I think is more of a demographic change issue than change in the mindset of the average white American in small town America.

There are an estimated 2.5 million Indians in America, which is less than 1 per cent of their population and an even less number of them are actual voters. So these gestures are not necessarily targeted at the Indian vote bank. But to the larger multicultural America.

[maddy42]

dude aerohit whats this anger man? Cmon a person was doing something for his country and you have a problem with that?
Him wishing India is a sign that atleast they consider that we cannot be ignored man. I know we always get emotional about it but they see a lot of business from us now.

PS: DKG my bank cheque leaf has english as well as spanish in it. And i am in the south east

[sujaylahiri]

Originally Posted by vivekiny2k

I would also like to emphasize that most politicians in USA get into politics for making connections and serving people (surprised?). The money that comes with politics and attracts criminals in India does not exist (to that extent) in US. politicians are sent to jail for crimes involving 5000 USD if they are caught, which is pocket change to an MLA in rural india. Ever fancied getting an MLA thrown in jail for a 2.5L bribe? or having resigned because he was listed on a prostitute's cellphone? If they find a better job, they actually quit politics and join that. However it's true that those jobs come because of connections, but it's still not as bad as in india.

Do you honestly believe in that? Although as a whole, American politicians might be a little more ethical than the Indian ones, but American politicians are known to be some of the most corrupt in the world, and from both the parties. Compared to them, Indian politicians look like petty thieves.

If you look at how much they get in terms of campaign donations from some of the biggest corporations there, you'd be surprised. And then when it comes to returning the favour, they are extremely generous. Now I don't want to name any companies here, but if you look up which companies got "preferential treatment" for the rebuilding of Iraq and Afghanistan, you'll find your answers right there.

I'm trying my best to be neutral here, but if you look at Bush Jr's victories for two consecutive terms, you'll know what I mean. And as far as Obama is concerned, although I have a lot of respect for him, with him being such a well-educated and open minded man, the only reason he came to power was because his party could not find anyone else suitable for that position. It's got nothing to do with him being black or white or mixed. Sure it's a good thing for America and brings multiculturalism to the front, but the Democrats were simply afraid to let Hillary win and McCain was probably one of the weakest candidates ever fielded by the GOP. And if you do some research on Obama's campaign contributions, you'll notice that it was one of the highest ever, and way more than McCain. And now he has to return all those favours to them.

So a lot of the politics has always been controlled by corporate America, and it's been like that since WW1.

[anoopap]

One interesting news article:
Outrage in Washington over Obama's Japan bow- ET Cetera-News By Industry-News-The Economic Times

Now, if we see Obama celebrating Diwali with this perspective, it indeed looks like a bold step by "americans" as a whole. They appear to be very sensitive with what their president is doing.

[vivekiny2k]

I say it was long due. since 1945 actually.

[ksethuram]

US needs India badly to keep up global dominance because that is the only way to counter China. We can see more celebrations in the near future.