Ambassador Kishore Mahbubani: America Does Not Respect India

[Riaz Haq]

"One hard truth that Indians have to contend with is that America has also had difficulty treating India with respect", writes former Singaporean diplomat Kishore Mahbubani in his latest book "Has China Won?". "If America wants to develop a close long-term relationship with India over the long run, it needs to confront the deep roots of its relative lack of respect for India", adds Ambassador Mahbubani. It's not just Mahbubani who suspects the United States leadership does not respect India. Others, including former President Bill Clinton, current US President Donald Trump, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and CNN GPS host Fareed Zakaria have expressed similar sentiments. 

Kishore Mahbubani

Kishore Mahbubani:

Kishore Mahbubani is a former top diplomat who served as the head of Singaporean mission at the United Nations. He was born in Singapore in 1948 to Hindu Sindhi parents who migrated from Pakistan to India in 1947, and then to Singapore in 1948. He is currently a Distinguished Fellow at the Asia Research Institute of the National University of Singapore.  In 2019, Mahbubani was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is a frequent guest on CNN Global Public Square hosted by Fareed Zakaria. Here's an excerpt from Mahbubani's "Has China Won?": 

 "One hard truth that Indians have to contend with is that America has also had difficulty treating India with respect.....Many Americans, like many of their fellow Westerners, have a higher degree of respect for Chinese civilization than they do of Indian civilization. Many Americans will deny it because it is an uncomfortable truth. They will proclaim loudly that they respect India as much as they respect China. But you cannot feign respect: it is best demonstrated not through words but in deeds. Every country in the world demonstrates its respect for another country by the amount of time and attention it gives to that country, and America has devoted far more time and attention to China than it has to India". 

Source: @BeltandRoadDesk

Trump and Clinton:

There is some evidence to support Ambassador Mahbubani's assertion about America's lack of respect for India. For example,  ex US President Bill Clinton said in 1990s that India has a Rodney Dangerfield problem: It can’t get no respect, according to his deputy secretary of state Strobe Talbott. In a diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks in 2010, Hillary Clinton referred to India as "a self-appointed frontrunner for a permanent UN security council seat."

More recently, US President Donald Trump mocked Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi about Indian contribution to Afghanistan.  Trump said he got along very well with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but the Indian leader was "constantly telling me he built a library in Afghanistan". "That's like five hours of what we spend... And we are supposed to say, 'oh, thank you for the library'. I don't know who is using it in Afghanistan," Trump said.

Spanish Newspaper Uses "Snake Charmer" Image For India's Economy

Western Media:

Indians were justifiably very proud of their great scientific achievement when the India Space Agency ISRO successfully launched the nation's Mars Mission back in 2013. The New York Times, America's leading newspaper, mocked India with a cartoon depicting the country as a dhoti-wearing farmer with his cow knocking on the door of the Elite Space Club. 

New York Times Cartoon

In an article titled "Paper Elephant", the Economist magazine talked about how India has ramped up its military spending and emerged as the world's largest arms importer. "Its military doctrine envisages fighting simultaneous land wars against Pakistan and China while retaining dominance in the Indian Ocean", the article said. It summed up the situation as follows: "India spends a fortune on defense and gets poor value for money".

Der Spiegel's Cartoon Comparing India and China

After the India-Pakistan aerial combat over Kashmir, New York Times published a story from its South Asia correspondent headlined: "After India Loses Dogfight to Pakistan, Questions Arise About Its Military".  Here are some excerpts of the report:

"Its (India's) loss of a plane last week to a country (Pakistan) whose military is about half the size and receives a quarter (a sixth according to SIPRI) of the funding is telling. ...India’s armed forces are in alarming shape....It was an inauspicious moment for a military the United States is banking on to help keep an expanding China in check".

Fareed Zakaria: 

CNN GPS host Fareed Zakaria is known to be among the loudest cheerleaders for India and a sharp critic of Pakistan. While he still refuses to say anything that could even remotely be considered positive about Pakistan, it seems that he is souring on his native India.

Speaking with Indian journalist Shekhar Gupta on The Print YouTube channel, Fareed Zakaria called the Indian state an “inefficient state”.“Indian government functions very poorly, even in comparison to other developing countries. Coronavirus has highlighted that reality, " he added. He did not clearly speak about the lynchings of Indian Muslims by people affiliated with the ruling BJP and the brutality of Indian military against Kashmiri Muslims, but he did ask: “What I wonder about (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi is, is he really bringing all of India along with him? He noted sadly:”India seems like roadkill for China".

Has New Delhi's abject failure in containing the coronavirus pandemic finally done what Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's extreme brutality and open hatred against Zakaria's fellow Indian Muslims could not do? Has he really had it with Hindu Nationalist government? While he has not used his perch on CNN to do it, it appears that he has started expressing his disapproval of the performance on other platforms.

 Here are a few of the key points Fareed Zakaria made while speaking with Shekhar Gupta:

1. There’s no doubt in my mind that the Indian government, and by that I mean the Delhi government, has handled this crisis (COVID19) very poorly.

2. Indian government functions very poorly, even in comparison to other developing countries. Coronavirus has highlighted that reality.

3. In a way, India seems like roadkill for China’s obsession with absolute control over their borders. I do think there is an opportunity here for diplomacy. I don’t think India needs to be confrontational about it (the LAC issue), but of course it should push back.

4. It is now a bipolar world. US and China are way ahead of the rest of the world. For the long term, India needs to decide it’s position with China.

4. Turkey under Erdogan has become more confident and independent. It is culturally proud. It is telling Americans to buzz off.

5. Popularity of political leaders around the  world is linked to their performance on the coronavirus pandemic. In India, however, the issues of religion and caste are still dominating.

6.  What I wonder about (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi is, is he really bringing all of India along with him? How many Muslims in Indian government? Or South Indians in BJP? It is much less diverse than Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's cabinet.

7. I have been very sad to see how Indian democracy has developed over the last few years. It has become an illiberal democracy.

8. The India media is slavishly pro-government. Self-censorship is widespread in India.

9. The Indian courts fold in cases where government takes serious interest.

Summary: 

Singaporean diplomat, analyst and writer Kishore Mahbubani has argued in his latest book "Has China Won?" that America does not really respect India. Others, including ex US President Bill Clinton, current President Donald Trump, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and CNN GPS host Fareed Zakaria, have expressed similar sentiments. It has become increasingly clear that India's loudest cheerleaders like Fareed Zakaria are now starting to see the stark reality of Modi's India as a big failure on multiple fronts. Indian state has failed to contain the deadly COVID19 pandemic. India's economy is in serious trouble. The country's democracy is in decline. India seems like a roadkill for China. This turn of events has created serious problems for Pakistani "liberals" who have long seen and often cited India as a successful example of "secular democracy" at work in South Asia.

Here's a video clip from CNN GPS Show:

https://youtu.be/KpAMVLwBJkM


https://www.youtube.com/embed/KpAMVLwBJkM"; width="560"></iframe>" height="315" src="https://img1.blogblog.com/img/video_object.png" width="560" style="cursor: move; background-color: #b2b2b2;" />


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[Riaz Haq]

Comedian Leonarda Jonie: " You want to talk about a group that's racist, the Indians are so racist they have  a whole caste system. You should hear the shi* they say about  darjit (dalit). They don't even consider them human" 

https://x.com/leonardaisfunE/status/1888428850314702978

https://x.com/jakeshieldsajj/status/1887568815313330253

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H-1B Hate Speech Against Indians Sparks Outrage: Far-Right Host Stew Peters’ Racist Tirade Goes Viral - '... Third World Parasites'

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/h-1b-hate-speech-again...

A video of far-right commentator Stew Peters and comedian Leonarda Jonie spewing hate against Indian immigrants has sparked widespread condemnation online. Peters, known for his inflammatory rhetoric, posted the video on X with the caption: "This is the culture we’re importing through 'qualified H1-B visa' recipients."

In the video, Peters launched into a tirade, calling Indians “cockroaches and parasites,” accusing them of "not assimilating into American culture" and making vile claims about their hygiene and moral values. Jonie, laughing along, did little to challenge Peters’ remarks, which included grotesque stereotypes and unfounded accusations.

His language was laced with vitriol as he painted a picture of Indian immigrants as a threat to American society. He went on to mock Indian cultural practices, including accusing them of brushing their teeth with the same material they use to eat soup

[Riaz Haq]

Ashok Swain
@ashoswai
Trump came to the the White House gate to receive Israeli PM, Jordanian King, and Japanese PM. To receive Modi, Trump sent his Secretary. Modi is an insult to 1.4 billion Indians and has ruined India’s reputation and stature!

https://x.com/ashoswai/status/1891464478392234036

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Trump Calls Modi ‘A Great Friend’ but Warns India Won’t Be Spared From Tariffs



https://time.com/7222446/trump-modi-meet-tariffs/



WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump greeted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House with a bear hug on Thursday and called him “a great friend of mine,” but nonetheless warned that India won’t be spared from higher tariffs he’s begun imposing on U.S. trade partners around the world.

Trump, who had previously derided India as the “tariff king,” called the import levies imposed by Modi’s country “very unfair and strong.”

“Whatever India charges, we charge them,” Trump said at a joint news conference where he stood next to Modi. “So, frankly, it no longer matters to us that much what they charge.”

As he has while recently hosting other foreign leaders, Trump talked about ensuring that the U.S. erases its trade deficit with India. He suggested that could be done by increasing U.S. energy exports to India but also promised to restore “fairness and reciprocity” to the economic relationship and said he and Modi had begun working on a major trade deal that could be completed later this year.

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ICE Conducts Raids In Durham, Indians Picked Up - IndiaWest Journal News

https://indiawest.com/ice-conducts-raids-in-durham-indians-picked-up/

DURHAM, NC – A recent immigration raid in Durham has intensified concerns within the Triangle’s large Indian American community, as the Trump administration continues its crackdown on illegal immigration.

According to ABC News, neighbors in a north Durham neighborhood recorded video of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents detaining three men believed to be of Indian origin. The footage shows ICE officers swarming a car and later entering a home. In total, ABC News confirmed that 11 individuals were taken into custody during multiple raids in the area.

“It always makes you anxious when people are coming in, visiting homes, and taking people into custody without knowing where they are. These are people we’ve known in our community,” Morrisville Councilmember Steve Rao told ABC News.

Rao highlighted the challenges faced by the region’s tech industry, where many companies rely on highly skilled H-1B visa holders. He noted that an expired visa or an overstay can quickly alter someone’s legal status, putting them at risk of deportation.

“I think it’s really important for businesses to learn from this and ensure they conduct thorough background checks, verify legal immigration status, and confirm that all paperwork is in order before hiring,” he said.

Community members also expressed concern over ICE’s tactics, particularly the practice of raiding homes. Many fear such operations create an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty, further straining trust between immigrant communities and law enforcement, ABC News said.