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President Bush, as the Indians Saw Him
From Powerline -- scroll to Friday.. as John says "It's interesting how odd it seems to read accounts of President Bush that are written by people who don't hate him.Based on my review of Indian newspapers, President Bush's visit to that country was a success. Little of the coverage was devoted to the inevitable protests, and it lacked the snarky tone of virtually all mainstream American press coverage of anything the President does. If you go to Power Line News and run your cursor over the Indian subcontinent on the newspaper map, you can access approximately ten Indian newspapers, all in English. Their accounts of the President's visit are generally consistent. The Tribune writes: Mr George W. Bush today wooed India like no other US President had ever done before and admitted that he had been dazzled by India. Like a seasoned Indophile, he reeled out facts after facts, with a liberal sprinkling of quotable quotes from two great makers of India Mahatma Gandhi and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to convey to his countrymen back home that India had arrived. The United States and India, separated by half the globe, are closer than ever before, and the partnership between our free nations has the power to transform the world. The Hindu writes that "Bush gets a glimpse of rural India": "A brief visit to Hyderabad on Friday gave US President George W. Bush a glimpse of how India's rural economy sustains itself and, contrastingly, how young and modern-looking entrepreneurs plan to compete with the world's best in industry. Mr. Bush saw the use of simple and cost-effective technologies by farmers to improve yield and innovative methods to market their produce when he visited the Agricultural University named after an eminent son of the Andhra soil Prof. N. G. Ranga. Harking back to the days he spent at his ranch in Texas, the US President tried his hand at a tiller, a rake and a moisture-testing meter. Barely 30 minutes later, he was at the gleaming premises of the Indian School of Business, a management school supported by the Wharton and Kellogg Business School of the US, talking to a group of 16 young entrepreneurs, where he stated, quite significantly for India, that the US "rejects objections against outsourcing of jobs." He said the US was looking at the 300 million strong Indian middle class for business opportunities. Perhaps for the first time, Mr. Bush saw the simple Indian wooden plough and posed for photographs with it slung across his right shoulder. Amused by a jumbo-size pumpkin, Mr. Bush lifted up to his chest and parodied as if he was going to fall under its weight. He spent time at the premises of the National Seed Project talking to progressive farmers, learning the intricacies of operating a handloom for weaving silk sarees, besides talking to women of self-help groups who informed him of how the 6.20 lakh SHGs had raised hundreds of crores of rupees by saving one rupee a day. With no other public interaction in his four-hour-long itinerary, Mr. Bush did all the right things that pleased the hosts like lifting up a child, Venktaramana, in his arms, pecking the cheek of a woman in the midst of a field and obliging women with countless photographs. He displayed interest in export of mangoes to the US, the Chief Minister later said." It's interesting how odd it seems to read accounts of President Bush that are written by people who don't hate him. You can read Indian blogs, too, like this one: These protestors are idiots. They do not know the interests of India. It is in our interst that Iran is not nuclear. We need sofisticated wepons, Nuclear energy plants, Technology, capital to build this country to meet and exceed Shanghai levels. Thats the way forward. Not protests, engagement with Bush and the US. It's an interesting view from the other side. Posted by: Sherry 2006-03-04 |
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