'India and Indian Americans cannot rely on wishful thinking about the checks and balances in the US system to magically take care of the many dangerous things that Trump could do,' says Chicago-based writer Ram Kelkar.
'The BJP should avoid escalating every local issue and minor provocation into a national crisis and claiming a 'holier than thou' monopoly on patriotism.' 'And the Opposition should avoid paying the government back in the same coin by crying wolf about intolerance at the slightest provocation.'
The prime minister, says Ram Kelkar, could do a lot to advance his stature as a national leader by speaking in strong and unequivocal terms on the subject of opposing intolerance and emphasizing the rule of law, thereby setting the tone for the nation and the party.
'Many who haven't even seen the documentary are claiming that it defames and damages the image of India, makes it sound unsafe, and gives the rapist a forum.' 'This couldn't be further from the truth, and the film shows the best qualities of India and Indians in standing up against evil as much as it shows the unvarnished truth.'
The euphoria of Ab Ki Baar Modi Sarkar will fade quickly if the Modi government does not raise its game, and focus significant monetary resources and managerial skills on making India's infrastructure truly world-class, says Ram Kelkar.
'The speech shone a spotlight on both the promise and the challenges of the Narendra Modi era,' says Ram Kelkar. 'The single-minded focus which Mr Modi displayed on issues of good governance and empowering the private sector and individual enterprise.'
'India could become the newest Asian tiger under Modi's dynamic leadership. Modi could become the Nehru of the 21st century, and re-establish a new Tryst with Destiny, by stating once and for all that Mera Bharat Mahaan is and will always be a truly secular and inclusive democracy in the best spirit of Bharatiya-tva,' says Ram Kelkar, offering an NRI view of the Modi triumph.
'A system that is judge, jury, and executioner, with draconian and apparently ill-defined powers and a haphazard system of oversight is not necessarily a better denouement, even if the current situation is untenable,' says Ram Kelkar.
'How could any Indian-American heart not have skipped a beat to hear President Barack Obama speak of a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus and non-believers, shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this earth?'
The West should stand in solidarity with India in telling Pakistan that they cannot allow Lashkar-e-Tayiba and other such groups to exist just so that they can be used to fight a proxy war in Kashmir.
What we know -- what we have seen -- is that India can change. That is the true genius of this nation.
The future may not be as rosy as the cheerleading cohort may think, and yet it need not be as bleak as the pessimists fear.
'Quotas based on caste- and creed-neutral standards that exclude the 'creamy layer' may be the only way to get out of Arjun Singh's casteist chakravyuha.'
'While it is wonderful to have events like the upcoming PanIIT 2006 in Mumbai, the focus at these events should be less on rah-rah backslapping and more on identifying the shortcomings of the IITs and the Indian educational system.'
It is disheartening to see the Bush Administration's efforts to hide more and more information from the public eye in the name of security, presumably to 'protect our freedoms'.
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