At a recent event in the Taj Palace Hotel in New Delhi, I found myself with my arm around his waist and his arm around my shoulder, posed for a photo opportunity. George W Bush, the much reviled former President of the United States, was in an expansive mood that evening. Aside of his “base” in America, this was fawning that had to be seen to be believed. He is the unquestioned hero of India’s elite. A senior member of the ruling Congress party said he would recommend him for the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award.
In his early sixties, Bush is sprightly and amazingly friendly. He mingled with guests and stayed on to have what I consider the Taj’s most fabulous spread. Bush has been a divisive item in my immediate family and my friends in America. They hate him for the "shock and awe" bombing of Iraq; his assent for the atrocities in Guantanamo. It is truly terrible. For me though, those are American problems. Why should I get worked up about it?
Having worked closely with the US mission in Delhi and the Prime Minister to steer the Indo-US civil nuclear deal to its completion, I was proud to shake hands with him, be photographed with him. Bush, for India, has been the best ever US President. Bill Clinton, whom the Indian establishment still admires, set the trend. Bush accomplished what seems to have not occurred to Clinton. He brought India into the global mainstream. If Richard Nixon is held in esteem for opening China, Bush should be acclaimed for his outreach to India.
“President Bush, thank you for your support,” I said to him. Hated, reviled and caricatured among my liberal intellectual and activist friends in the US, Bush to me has been an icon; he overcame the traditional US highbrow establishment’s “attitude” about India. Between my friends in the US embassy in Delhi and in the Prime Minister’s office, we worked to see the deal through. It wouldn’t have happened without the unflagging support of Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
With the Prime Minister committed to the deal, the diplomats in the US Embassy in Delhi led from the front. They overcame bureaucratic hurdles on both sides to push the deal. We always knew there would be opposition. For one thing, there was the Left, a key supporter of the Congress-led UPA government. It was also not very clear that the Congress Party was enthusiastic about the deal. Once assured of US support, the Prime Minister put his government on the line and the Congress Party fell in line thanks to Sonia Gandhi’s enlightened world view.
In the event, much drama happened. There was a vote in Parliament and the deal was sealed. Of course, Dr Singh is the hero and Sonia Gandhi, who backed him. Nobody can, however, deny that Bush’s enamored view of India was the driving force. Not to forget, the Congress managed to win another term in 2009.
That’s why I was thrilled to meet him, never mind that my friends in America won’t talk to me. They may have questions about Bush; for India, he is the greatest US President ever. It showed that evening.
Copyright Rajiv Desai 2009
2 comments:
Mario Goveia
said...
Thanks to Rajiv Desai for recognizing President George W. Bush and his epic contribution to India, whom he instinctively respected for its commitment to freedom and democracy, and for the monumental contributions of Indians to the evolution of America, which he never fails to acknowledge and appreciate.
I am an American who grew up in India so I am quite familiar with the incomprehensible attitudes of some Indians who live in America who exhibit political preferences with those on the political left whom they otherwise have little in common with.
Politically, in the American spectrum, I would be a Reagan-Jindal-Palin conservative, supporting all the little things that have made America great and the last resort for those who value freedom and democracy. I had my differences with Bush on certain domestic policies, but supported his foreign policies 100%.
George W. Bush's predecessor, Bill Clinton, and his successor, Barack Hussein Obama, have apparently impressed Rajiv's intellectually challenged Indian friends and relatives who live in America with slick words that are often at variance with their deeds. The plain spoken Bush, in spite of his numerous, humorous Malapropisms, says what he means and means what he says. America's implacable enemies knew this and respected him for it, even as they hated him for standing up against them.
By contrast, Clinton's inaction throughout the 90's emboldened Al Qaeda and allowed it to grow in strength and confidence, and Obama's insufferable apologies for American assertiveness and resolve that kept the world safe for decades and his dithering and dawdling over his own General's recommendations for pacifying Afghanistan, signal the enemies of freedom that they now have a unique opportunity to rearm and re-establish themselves with little fear of retribution. We are seeing this in the growing confidence of N. Korea, Iran, Venezuela, even Libya.
Not only is George Bush India's best friend, but also a real friend to hapless Africa, for whom he provided billions to fight HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria. For previously hostile Indonesia he voluntarily provided immediate post-tsunami aid that shocked and humbled them. For Kosovo and Bosnia, he stood up against the EU to insist that they deserved their independance after years of Serb and Croatian hegemony, making him a national hero in these mostly-Muslim countries. For Iraq and Afghanistan he provided liberation for 50 million innocent civilians from vicious and sadistic tyrants. He thus provided them with epic opportunities for freedom and democracy that their vicious internal squabbles have unfortunately delayed.
For reasons I find hard to comprehend, Rajiv's Indian friends and relatives seem to resent all that President Bush has done to advance freedom and democracy in places that had never experienced it before, strangely preferring leaders whose actions are guided by political expediency rather than strongly held convictions.
I meant to respond when you posted your comment. Then I just plain forgot. I've enjoyed your posts on Goanet. Though I'm not Reagan-Palin conservative, I certainly agree that it is the little things that have made America great and the last resort for those value freedom and democracy.
2 comments:
Thanks to Rajiv Desai for recognizing President George W. Bush and his epic contribution to India, whom he instinctively respected for its commitment to freedom and democracy, and for the monumental contributions of Indians to the evolution of America, which he never fails to acknowledge and appreciate.
I am an American who grew up in India so I am quite familiar with the incomprehensible attitudes of some Indians who live in America who exhibit political preferences with those on the political left whom they otherwise have little in common with.
Politically, in the American spectrum, I would be a Reagan-Jindal-Palin conservative, supporting all the little things that have made America great and the last resort for those who value freedom and democracy. I had my differences with Bush on certain domestic policies, but supported his foreign policies 100%.
George W. Bush's predecessor, Bill Clinton, and his successor, Barack Hussein Obama, have apparently impressed Rajiv's intellectually challenged Indian friends and relatives who live in America with slick words that are often at variance with their deeds. The plain spoken Bush, in spite of his numerous, humorous Malapropisms, says what he means and means what he says. America's implacable enemies knew this and respected him for it, even as they hated him for standing up against them.
By contrast, Clinton's inaction throughout the 90's emboldened Al Qaeda and allowed it to grow in strength and confidence, and Obama's insufferable apologies for American assertiveness and resolve that kept the world safe for decades and his dithering and dawdling over his own General's recommendations for pacifying Afghanistan, signal the enemies of freedom that they now have a unique opportunity to rearm and re-establish themselves with little fear of retribution. We are seeing this in the growing confidence of N. Korea, Iran, Venezuela, even Libya.
Not only is George Bush India's best friend, but also a real friend to hapless Africa, for whom he provided billions to fight HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria. For previously hostile Indonesia he voluntarily provided immediate post-tsunami aid that shocked and humbled them. For Kosovo and Bosnia, he stood up against the EU to insist that they deserved their independance after years of Serb and Croatian hegemony, making him a national hero in these mostly-Muslim countries. For Iraq and Afghanistan he provided liberation for 50 million innocent civilians from vicious and sadistic tyrants. He thus provided them with epic opportunities for freedom and democracy that their vicious internal squabbles have unfortunately delayed.
For reasons I find hard to comprehend, Rajiv's Indian friends and relatives seem to resent all that President Bush has done to advance freedom and democracy in places that had never experienced it before, strangely preferring leaders whose actions are guided by political expediency rather than strongly held convictions.
Mario,
I meant to respond when you posted your comment. Then I just plain forgot. I've enjoyed your posts on Goanet. Though I'm not Reagan-Palin conservative, I certainly agree that it is the little things that have made America great and the last resort for those value freedom and democracy.
Thanks. And keep the comments coming.
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