Pax Indica - Still A Long Way Off

Last week, Hillary Clinton achieved a rare but significant milestone. When her US Air Force C-32A touched down at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington, after a 13-day journey through France-Afghanistan-Japan-Mongolia-Vietnam-Laos-Cambodia-Egypt-Israel. She, as Secretary of State, has spent 351 days travelling to 102 countries and has flown a whopping 843,839 miles or 1,358,027 kilometers. That's more than 3 times the distance from Earth to the Moon!

That is the importance that the United States gives to its foreign policy. They prefer to hover over and intervene when necessary. 

Closer home, China, too, is far too proactive in diplomacy. A clear pattern is emerging. China would diplomatically engage with countries that can give it energy security, right of access to natural resources, shipping lanes and technology. China makes its clout felt by emerging as a "significant" lender to governments across the globe, including the United States. China has been a big force in Africa and the Pacific. While their African gameplan has emerged clearly, I would imagine they are cultivating relationships with tiny Pacific islands to get access to the mineral-rich seabed, obtain shipping rights and develop military bases within the next 20-30 years.

In contrast, Indian foreign policy follows the classic "Bury your head in the sand" ostrich syndrome. Don't acknowledge any problem till it becomes too big to ignore and when it does, look for an easy face-saver. And when the situation is normal, when there is no crisis, engage in armchair diplomacy.

Numbers clearly show the rot that is setting in - India has less than 700 diplomats spread across the headquarters in New Delhi, 119 resident missions and 49 consulates around the world. This compares very poorly with other nations in the G-20. Brazil has 1,197 diplomats. The biggies in the list are United States has 19,667 diplomats. Germany has 3,250 and the UK has 3,600 diplomats. I suspect China too would have at least 2-3 times the number of diplomats we have.

It's sad that India pays lip service to foreign policy. We have a "rehabilitated" gentleman at the helm of foreign affairs who is more concerned about his own genteel looks rather than the way India is perceived abroad. His former deputy has just completed a book "Pax Indica" on his years in the foreign service, but   sadly in his stunted term he could do little to give us the stature that we deserve in the minds of foreigners as an upcoming superpower. (I am yet to get my copy of Pax Indica.)

A classic failure of India's foreign policy has been the Iran standoff. India should have and could have maneuvered itself into the position of a mediator, for we have good relations with both Iran and the United States. But our heads were buried in the sand, as always.

Come to think of it, India has immense potential for soft power, something that I had written about in July 2010, that can be capitalised on by our foreign office to the benefit of India. The way to a credible and sustainable foreign policy that straddles the world and serves India's long term geopolitical, security and strategic interests is through the hearts of foreigners. To achieve that, Indian foreign service has to reach out - it should have the budgets to expand its numbers and reach. And the foreign minister has to build bridges - he should drive Indian interests abroad. But with the little focus India's polity has on foreign affairs, it is too much to expect our foreign minister to log even a mere 5 percent of what Hillary does.

Asking for a credible foreign policy from such a political structure that is far too self-serving and concerned about mere survival is just too much. We just lack that vision.

I presume the term Pax Indica is akin to Pax Americana, a term that has come to denote the influence that the United States arising out of its military and economic clout in relation to other nations. A quick reality check would reveal we are nowhere close! Pax Indica is still a distant dream.

By Toutatis, I Love Obelix and Asterix!

Of all the likings that I have developed since I was a kid, the one that endured the test of time is my love affair with the comic characters, Obelix and Asterix!

I was first introduced to these wonderful characters, created by Goscinny and Uderzo, at the age of 7. My friends had about 15 of Asterix's comic books. I borrowed these books two at a time and finished their collection of 15 books in no time. Asterix and Obelix were a good enough reason for me to run back home after school!

That was the beginning of an enduring love affair, that is still going strong after 3 decades.

Obelix, Asterix and their gang of quaint village folk from Armorica in the land of the Gauls enchanted me a great deal. There were all those exciting tales of how the rotund Obelix fell into a cauldron of the magic potion as a baby, which ended up giving him mythical powers. And how the druid Getafix concocts his magic potion that instantly transforms the tiny Asterix into a fierce warrior, good enough to beat an entire Roman legion or a pirate armada. 

And then there's the village chief, Vitalstatistix who is carried on a shield and is always paranoid about the skies falling on his head. Who can forget the village bard, Cacophonix, and the fishmonger, Unhygenix?

Asterix and Obelix have always made a great team bashing up the Romans, protecting Gaul pride and their village in Armorica, with Obelix's little poochie, Dogmatix. Now Dogmatix has an attitude that's disproportionately larger than his little size. No wonder, Dogmatix gets into a big sulk when berated by Obelix or Asterix.

Obelix is the one who thinks with his heart, pretty much straightforward. The little Asterix is smart but prone to getting into a big temper. Both of them complement each other - brawn with brain.

For me, the most interesting bits are the ones when the duo are back victorious, its time for a village feast. Obelix hunts down wild boars, afterall he's a foodie like me! And then when the boars' have been roasted, Obelix deserves a whole one, all for himself. Awww, by Toutatis, how much I envy Obelix!

Asterix and Obelix comic books are absolute stress busters. For the while that I read them, it's as though I am teleported to a different world altogether. Such is the magic of Asterix and Obelix! 

And now as I am browsing through Crossword's collection of Asterix comic books, I so wish I were in Armorica right now! I believe there is an Asterix themepark, Parc Astérix, on the outskirts of Paris, which makes me want to get to Paris right away!

Ni Hao (你好), Los Angeles!

Amidst the all pervasive gloom, I came across a real heartwarming story in a recent edition of the Asian Wall Street Journal.

The story spoke of a 3-month old kitten that made its way from Shanghai, China to Los Angeles in the United States as a stowaway in a container. After the container was offloaded at the Los Angeles port, it was delivered to Compton County, where the kitten was discovered. 

As per established convention, the kitten was promptly put into quarantine by Los Angeles County animal control officers, who named the little creature "Ni Hao", or Hello in Mandarin!

Such is the endurance of life that the little kitten survived a journey of over 11,000 kilometers through the Pacific without food or drink.

If Ni Hao had the will to endure, I am sure so do we. 

We only need to rediscover that will within ourselves.

Plane Spotting at HYD

Of all Indian airports, I have found the new airport at Hyderabad the best for a plane spotter. The airside of the terminal building gives an unhindered view of the runway as well as the taxiway.

I was at Hyderabad last week, transiting on the way to Rajahmundry and back. The stopover was for an hour, good enough for me to get trigger-happy!

An IndiGo A320 gets ready to dock with the aerobridge

A Jet Airways Boeing 737 comes in...

An IndiGo A320 taxiing...

It was an Arabian morning at HYD. A Saudi Arabian Boeing 777 had been there all through, while an Emirates Airbus A330 came in a shortwhile later...

On my return from Rajahmundry, thanks to a delay by Jet Airways, I got an extra hour to grab a few more pictures.

An Oman Air Boeing 737 comes in.... 

That's my flight, 9W 2115, delayed by over an hour! Jet Airways, at its very best!

We were made to stand in the aerobridge as "cleaning" was still in progress [sic]!!!! 

That was a good opportunity to grab this magnificent IndiGo A320!

The pushback truck's in place. Did you know that airplanes are virtually helpless when they have to move back. They have no reverse gear!. These trucks despite their small size have sufficient power to pushback a heavy Boeing 747 as well!

Shameless Men in White

I am on my way back from Rajahmundry to Mumbai. Right now I am transiting through Hyderabad but  there's only one thought ringing through my mind since today morning - the incidents that occurred at Rajahmundry airport, that are so symptomatic of the malaise that ails our great nation.

Yesterday, our contingent flew into Rajahmundry at around noon. The airport was swarming with security personnel. We were told that the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Kiran Reddy was to visit the city and the posse of security men were preparing for this visit.

This morning, our contingent was split into two groups for our return. One was scheduled to take the SpiceJet flight back to Hyderabad at 1100 hours while the rest of us were on the JetKonnect flight at 1250 hours.

We were advised that since the Chief Minister's cavalcade is likely to clog roads, we should reach the airport by about 1130 hours. We went as per the advised plan and reached the airport at about 1115 hours.

The airport was full of policemen, firefighters and party workers. It seemed that the entire security force of Rajahmundry city was here. Petty criminals must have had a gala time in the city, I suppose(?).

Our bus was stopped a kilometer away from the terminal on the pretext of security. It was sad to see people with little kids, the elderly and the invalid people lugging their bags to the terminal, while the securitymen and Congress party workers we're busy - gaily chatting away and some were shamelessly ogling female passengers. Imagine, these are the guys whom our politicians rely on for their power!

The entry into the terminal was chaotic, it was clogged by party workers waiting to meet their "Dear Leader" - for a moment I thought I had been teleported to North Korea.

After a smooth check-in and a rather fast security check, we were surprised to see members of our group who were scheduled to fly on the SpiceJet flight were still waiting in the security hold area, as their incoming aircraft, from Hyderabad, hadn't yet come in. It was delayed by over an hour presumably because the Dear Leader had turned up late to catch his SpiceJet flight from Hyderabad!
Imagine the plight of the passengers on board - the Q400s like the ATR72s do not turn on the airconditioning till the engines. The passengers would have been drowned in their own sweat, all because of some insensitive and uncaring politician. Would SpiceJet have ever waited for you (or me, or anyone like us) even if we were 5 minutes late?
No!

In some time, the SpiceJet Q400 turboprop made a smooth touchdown. The excitement of the Congress partymen was audible with loud squeals of joy being heard at regular intervals.

A few politicians, clad in spotless white from head to toe entered the security hold area and insisted on boarding the SpiceJet passenger bus, much like a hijack - they wanted to drive down to the parking bay to welcome their "Dear Leader" as he alighted. They were carrying bouquets and angavastrams to welcome the incoming VIP.

After the welcoming festivities were over, the CM and posse of at least 15 securitymen, a few bureaucrats and number of white-clad Congress exited the SpiceJet bus at the terminal. Again there was another round of garlanding and what not.

I was aghast at the lack of sensitivity to the public. The entire state machinery was put at the disposal of a politician, who in all likelihood would be detached from the public.

Such is the crap that these politicians throw at us - a self-serving system that thrives on crony-capitalism, has been created depriving us, ordinary citizens, of our very basic rights, without any accountability to anyone. All this while giving an outward impression of purity by donning spotless white!