It sounds just like another mallu name doesn't it,but it's not.The Peter Noozhumuri Varghese I'm referring to is a key person;both for India and Australia.
A few facts about Peter:
He was born in Africa(Kenya) in 1956
B.A(Hons)from Queensland University
Joined service in Dept.of foreign Affairs in 1979
Since then has held key positions including International Adviser to the PM in 2003
Married to Margaret O'Sullivan and has one Son
What makes him special are two facts,namely: he being the first Indian to be deputed from Australia as High Commissioner to India,and India currently on an economic boom.
The thing that immediately comes to mind is the attacks on the Indian students a few months ago and more recently the Indian students being left high and dry after many colleges close down courses.And not to forget the issues with Uranium being refused,on what grounds everyone knows.
Economic Pundits have been proclaiming India as the inevitable economic giant for years now,but the way it is positioned in another 10years,India may finally arrive.
Now that half of the world seems disillusioned with China's games at helping only themselves,their doubt able stance on Tibet,supporting Pakistan to spread terror in India and their own military enhancements;powers like the US are looking at redefining their relationship with India.Lets be honest,its all about vested interest.There is no free lunch and Hillary's visit to India was a multi-purpose one;some of it we can only guess,but some were obvious.China may well be the Frankenstein the US wants to ignore,and India the pacifist democracy with a booming economy.We have a lot to gain and so does the US,from the alliance.You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours.But a line needs to be drawn.Now,Australia also wants a share of this giant pizza( I prefer that to pie).No harm in it,its business after all and we all have something to gain.
Now,what can Peter do for India and Australia is the big question.He has a tight rope walk ahead of him.He will be doubted as an Australian ally in India and maybe the same in Australia.Only time will tell as he will be hit as soon as he assumes office,by the attacks' issue as that is fresh in memory and will take predominance.He will need to be very tactful,as this has become a very sensitive issue for Indians.It will be safe to assume that his deputation is a wise move by Kevin Rudd to try and appease India.Whether it pays off or not remains to be seen.
Its going to be one of the toughest deputations for Peter and more so because of the high hopes pinned on him from both sides.Lets wait and watch if his shoulders are strong enough to carry this responsibly and smoothly,or he will crumble under pressure.I read that he has a very sharp mind,hope that comes in handy.I will sign off by wishing Peter all the very best and that God gift him the strength,wisdom,courage and vision to see him through.Jai Ho
Showing posts with label Indian students. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Indian students. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
calm in sydney
Hi guys,sorry for the delay in posts but I was waiting to comment on something concrete regarding the attacks on students in Sydney and Melbourne.Unfortunately,it seems that China has hijacked that issue and the media and government seem more content in being answerable to them.Very enraging and demeaning but true.Now why is that? By that, I meant,why is China being given more importance.
Now,as a student in New York I did fairly well in F.I.T,which for the uninitiated stands for Fashion Institute of Technology and is considered the Harvard of Fashion when I studied there during 1994-1996.My only competition were Israeli and Chinese students who took more credit per semester than any of us.Credits were the points allocated for a certain subject and an average student would take up to 16 credits which could equate to 4-5 subject depending on how much credit each subject held.It was tough competition from Israeli kids as they were smart,hardworking and intelligent.The Chinese kids were smart,hardworking and intelligent.I was over smart,hardly working and assumed an air of superiority.How did I manage to stay above? Well, a little bit of work was required and in subjects where the exams were essay types,I scored hands down as my English was good.The Chinese kids had a major problem there.This is one of the biggest legacies the Brits left us.....the English language.I read somewhere that 40million Indians(In India and worldwide),speak English as a first language and have better written and comprehension skills in the language.So much so that Indian teachers are being imported in hordes to England to teach English to the English.Now,isn't that ironical?Even when India was a colony,the Brits sent Indian teachers to some of many other colonies like West Indies,Fiji etc. to teach the locals English.
Coming back to the Chinese,right from my New York days I had understood that China enjoyed an MFN status with the US and despite arming themselves,they got away with it.I think many forget or don't even know that China along with the U.S,Russia,UK and France is the fifth member of the UN permanent security council members.Isn't that amazing? One Asian country among all these anglophiles,considering Russia also as a White nation.Maybe White Caucasians would be more appropriate.Even during the pre-colonisation days,unlike us Indians who welcomed Europeans with wide arms to help sove our infighting's,the Chinese always fought off invasions.I remember seeing this programme on SBS channel on how the Chinese captured the first French arrivals and put them in a cart,paraded them and beat them with poles.China also was an ally in the second world war.So as is usual from ancient days,after the battle's won,the spoils are split.So did the allies,and today the power equation that we see are the results from the spoils that were split.China also got away with being a communist regime and has emerged so powerful.In one of the Pierce Brosnan Bond movies, they refer to Chinese Air force as the biggest Air force in the world.Their Army is also a force to reckon with I believe.China has flooded the markets over the last decade or more with Chinese cheap goods and people are dependent on it as recession has been on and off world over.
India figures nowhere in the top agenda's of countries like USA and even Australia.Its very natural why.There's been no love lost between China and India over many issues like border and water disputes and the most touchy one being Tibet and harbouring Dalai Lama over which a deadly war was also fought in the 60's in which the Indian army took a good beating.India was a country coming out of 200years of colonialism and its army was new and weak.China had superiority in man power and weapons.The terrain where the battle was fought was again alien to the Indian soldiers who didn't stand a chance.When a country which is a permanent security council is the aggressor,the media coverage is not much but if a country like India helps Bangladesh to break away from Pakistan there's a lot of media outcry.Since China has an old axe to grind with India,Australia which needs China to buy their minerals and keep that boom going won't supply India with Uranium.I was shocked to read that China has been supplying arms to Pakistan which in turn gave it to militants who use it to spread terror in India.Isn't it obvious as to who put a spoke in the wheel of India's many attempts to get US approval on various issues like Nuclear and defence developments.
I was watching this Nicholas cage movie in which he was an arm dealer and at the end of the movie there was a caption saying that the five security council members of the UN are the five biggest arms suppliers in the world.Isn't that ironical?
As a student in New York,one of my social sciences Professor's remarked that India has everything going for it,but unless it has strong lobbying in the US at the senate levels,India's status would remain weak.Fifteen years have passed and the status still remains the same.
We need a leader who not only can provide stability and peace but also be an International leader.Rajiv Gandhi was the only one who could hold his own amongst leaders of other nations,but he was not allowed to live.
India's image abroad is poor and Indian's in India and abroad have to change attitudes so that people sit up and take notice.We are a great nation that has survived for 2500 years and more and we need to be respected and remembered.And others will only do so if we are proud of our heritage and our culture.If we ourselves deride our own culture and people,why will others respect us.All of us at some point are guilty of that to fit in with the "Saheb".That should stop and we must fight for our rights peacefully.We are from the land of Gandhi,violence was never our way.Gandhi threw out the Brits without throwing a single punch.Lets remember that great man and learn from him.Jai Ho!
Now,as a student in New York I did fairly well in F.I.T,which for the uninitiated stands for Fashion Institute of Technology and is considered the Harvard of Fashion when I studied there during 1994-1996.My only competition were Israeli and Chinese students who took more credit per semester than any of us.Credits were the points allocated for a certain subject and an average student would take up to 16 credits which could equate to 4-5 subject depending on how much credit each subject held.It was tough competition from Israeli kids as they were smart,hardworking and intelligent.The Chinese kids were smart,hardworking and intelligent.I was over smart,hardly working and assumed an air of superiority.How did I manage to stay above? Well, a little bit of work was required and in subjects where the exams were essay types,I scored hands down as my English was good.The Chinese kids had a major problem there.This is one of the biggest legacies the Brits left us.....the English language.I read somewhere that 40million Indians(In India and worldwide),speak English as a first language and have better written and comprehension skills in the language.So much so that Indian teachers are being imported in hordes to England to teach English to the English.Now,isn't that ironical?Even when India was a colony,the Brits sent Indian teachers to some of many other colonies like West Indies,Fiji etc. to teach the locals English.
Coming back to the Chinese,right from my New York days I had understood that China enjoyed an MFN status with the US and despite arming themselves,they got away with it.I think many forget or don't even know that China along with the U.S,Russia,UK and France is the fifth member of the UN permanent security council members.Isn't that amazing? One Asian country among all these anglophiles,considering Russia also as a White nation.Maybe White Caucasians would be more appropriate.Even during the pre-colonisation days,unlike us Indians who welcomed Europeans with wide arms to help sove our infighting's,the Chinese always fought off invasions.I remember seeing this programme on SBS channel on how the Chinese captured the first French arrivals and put them in a cart,paraded them and beat them with poles.China also was an ally in the second world war.So as is usual from ancient days,after the battle's won,the spoils are split.So did the allies,and today the power equation that we see are the results from the spoils that were split.China also got away with being a communist regime and has emerged so powerful.In one of the Pierce Brosnan Bond movies, they refer to Chinese Air force as the biggest Air force in the world.Their Army is also a force to reckon with I believe.China has flooded the markets over the last decade or more with Chinese cheap goods and people are dependent on it as recession has been on and off world over.
India figures nowhere in the top agenda's of countries like USA and even Australia.Its very natural why.There's been no love lost between China and India over many issues like border and water disputes and the most touchy one being Tibet and harbouring Dalai Lama over which a deadly war was also fought in the 60's in which the Indian army took a good beating.India was a country coming out of 200years of colonialism and its army was new and weak.China had superiority in man power and weapons.The terrain where the battle was fought was again alien to the Indian soldiers who didn't stand a chance.When a country which is a permanent security council is the aggressor,the media coverage is not much but if a country like India helps Bangladesh to break away from Pakistan there's a lot of media outcry.Since China has an old axe to grind with India,Australia which needs China to buy their minerals and keep that boom going won't supply India with Uranium.I was shocked to read that China has been supplying arms to Pakistan which in turn gave it to militants who use it to spread terror in India.Isn't it obvious as to who put a spoke in the wheel of India's many attempts to get US approval on various issues like Nuclear and defence developments.
I was watching this Nicholas cage movie in which he was an arm dealer and at the end of the movie there was a caption saying that the five security council members of the UN are the five biggest arms suppliers in the world.Isn't that ironical?
As a student in New York,one of my social sciences Professor's remarked that India has everything going for it,but unless it has strong lobbying in the US at the senate levels,India's status would remain weak.Fifteen years have passed and the status still remains the same.
We need a leader who not only can provide stability and peace but also be an International leader.Rajiv Gandhi was the only one who could hold his own amongst leaders of other nations,but he was not allowed to live.
India's image abroad is poor and Indian's in India and abroad have to change attitudes so that people sit up and take notice.We are a great nation that has survived for 2500 years and more and we need to be respected and remembered.And others will only do so if we are proud of our heritage and our culture.If we ourselves deride our own culture and people,why will others respect us.All of us at some point are guilty of that to fit in with the "Saheb".That should stop and we must fight for our rights peacefully.We are from the land of Gandhi,violence was never our way.Gandhi threw out the Brits without throwing a single punch.Lets remember that great man and learn from him.Jai Ho!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
