SILICONEER | EDITORIAL: Obama in India | DECEMBER 2010

!-- Start Alexa Certify Javascript --> !-- Start Alexa Certify Javascript --> !-- Start Alexa Certify Javascript --> SILICONEER | EDITORIAL: Obama in India | DECEMBER 2010 | Celebrating 11 Years

A General Interest Monthly Magazine for South Asians in the U.S.

Current Issue

Mobile

Past eMags

eMagazine

Videos

Advertisers

Media Kit

Archives

ADVERTISEMENTS

PREMIUM

CLASSIFIEDS

MULTIMEDIA VIDEO

EDITORIAL: Obama in India

Visits of heads of states hardly ever break new ground; the entire event is too minutely preplanned and choreographed for that.

Having said that, U.S. President Barack Obama’s recent trip to India is remarkable, all the same. The degree of respect shown by the world’s largest superpower is particularly noteworthy — Obama pointedly remarked that India had already “emerged,” and deft politician that he is, wowed lawmakers in Parliament by announcing official U.S. support for India’s candidacy for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council, something India has long coveted.

It’s also noteworthy how India, propelled by years of steady economic growth, has itself become a coveted economic prize.

Today, flush with revenues from years of growth, India is no longer a poor member in the global family of nations, but rather like a rich uncle whose favor everybody seeks.

It’s not just the U.S. Consider the recent consternation in Australia after India officially expressed its unhappiness at the spate of racially charged attacks against Indian immigrants.

Of course, Obama’s trip does not mark the beginning of closer Indo-U.S. ties, it is rather a continuation of a series of trips to India over the years including the trips of U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

Profound geopolitical changes, including the end of the Cold War and also the demise of India’s close alignment with the erstwhile Soviet Union, India’s economic reforms—all have contributed to the dramatic warming of Indo-U.S. ties.

But Obama’s trip underscores that at the end of the day, its money that talks most loudly. Defense deals, Boeing contracts in the private sector and the massive deals in civilian nuclear cooperation now make India an indispensable economic partner for the U.S., particularly as the world’s largest superpower reels from an economic meltdown at home. Our India correspondent Siddharth Srivastava offers an appraisal.

The (predominantly Western) media hoopla over microfinance would have you believe that this is the next big thing which will get millions out of poverty. That is not to say that microcredit does not have its critics; its usurious rates of interest and strong-arm tactics of recouping loans have long drawn harsh criticism.

Now microfinance has drawn renewed critical attention following a spate of suicides in Andhra Pradesh, where a host of microcredit lending entities have descended on the poor of Andhra Pradesh, and media reports suggest poor debtors are committing suicide after being caught in an intractable crisis of debt. What’s more, some of this microcredit entities are for-profit, blurring the distinction between microcredit institutions and old fashioned loan sharks.

According to a Wall Street Journal blog, the microlending industry in Andhra Pradesh disbursed around $2.3 billion in loans in the year ended March 31. During the same period, state-sponsored self-help groups, with the help of local banks, gave out only $1.46 billion.

“The inability of the state’s players to keep up with the nimble-footed microfinance institutions . . . has made some bureaucrats suspicious about the kind of growth the microlending industry has been clocking every year,” according to the blog.

“As long as they come with a social face and have serious intentions about it, we have no objection. But, they are luring poor people into taking loans whether they are in need of them or not,” says Andhra Pradesh’s minister for rural development, V. Vasant Kumar. “Their orientation is only to make money.”

We carry an article on this issue by Philip Mader, a researcher with the Max Planck Institute in Cologne, Germany.

DIL—a deft acronym for Developments in Literacy—is a heartwarming effort to educate underprivileged Pakistani girls. Starting with 35 girls in Pakistan 13 years ago, the U.S.-based nonprofit today operates 150 schools and educates around 17,000 students.

“In a country with six million children without access to schools, this may seem like a drop in the bucket,” says DIL’s Sara Abbasi. But one cannot give up hope, and gladly DIL has not.

At DIL San Francisco chapter’s annual fundraiser in Palo Alto, Calif., about 300 people gathered to support the organization’s laudable project. On hand was One Laptop Per Child director Samuel Klein which has pilot projects in 31 countries including Pakistan. Another speaker was MIT graduate and Bangladeshi American Salman Khan, whose brief educational videos, available freely online, has drawn the awe of the likes of Microsoft founder Bill Gates. Our correspondent Ras H. Siddiqui has a detailed report in this month’s issue.

The Siliconeer family wishes all readers happy holidays!

EMAIL US: info (at) siliconeer.com | SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS ONLINE BELOW