Silly Nationalism

So, here is the story of another Indian (by birth) winning a world acclaim and the media and a section of the Indian masses trying to latch on to any iota of 'Indianess' that might exist in Venki Ramakrishnan, to be part of that hard-earned accomplishment of the noble prize winner. Are we in such a drought of an Indian exploit, which makes us cling on to any Indianess in individual achievers across the globe?

Other than the scientific fraternity, who has had the privilege to work with the professor, how many on earth would have really known this individual till the day he won this accolade? Even by the scientist’s own claim, he had visited India very few times in the last 3 decades and that is how much amount of Indianess left in him, after having relocated to the lands of opportunity in pursuit of his dream.

May be as an individual who knows the professor or who has been associated with him or his work in some way, I would celebrate his success. How can the country take credit and be part of the success?

As the scientist himself has said it many times, let us not judge accomplishments by mere awards, for there are hundreds of other scientists who toil under the limited infrastructure at our disposal in our country and who every day wrack their brains to fight the bureaucratic and political tangles within our scientific establishments.

Given that, let us celebrate the individual's Nobel on the merits of his accomplishment as a member of the scientific fraternity and not as an 'Indian'. May be India provided the genes or the few fortunate teachers sowed the seeds of wisdom on Venki Ramakrishnan in his early school days. But, we lost that and continue to lose that privilege with the brain drain of so many individuals who migrated to greener pastures – more rightly so.

For a nation of more than a billion, there is no dearth of silly controversies and I cannot but admire the scientist’s response on nationalistic jingoism - one of the Best I have read to reinforce simple common sense!

What ...?

This has been the reaction of majority of the people across the globe on hearing about Obama winning the Nobel Peace prize. First time when this news item popped-out in Google, I thought it is the bookies at play and it took me a while to realize what I am reading is in fact true.

Obama himself had to play it down, equating it to a prank played by his daughters. Just few days back his celebrity status was put to reality by the first round elimination of his hometown Chicago for the 2016 Olympics race and now he has to accept, rather embarrassingly, this global celebrity status.

So, what would have made the prize award committee to this decision? Sometimes we do attribute people, for who they are not than who they really are. Perhaps the ghosts of George Bush is still helping Obama, in the fact that the world feels so relieved and celebrating the absence of a Bush and his hawkish coterie to decide the fate of the world!

The conservatives within the US could see this as a conspiracy by the Europeans to weaken the American strategy on the ongoing war and the possible toughening of stand against Iran. Is this prize going to take the commander of the American force more on the path of dialogue than blazing missiles?

Has this landed Mr. Obama with yet another monkey on his back, to engage the world in dialogue than missiles?

What effect this would have on the individual, who is also the supreme commander of a force that is engaged in at least 2 full-blown wars, which are in no sight of end in the foreseeable future. Especially at a time when he is in the midst of a serious deliberation to increase the head count in Afghanistan by nearly 40,000 additional men.

Then there is Iran, the Pak-Afghan border that is increasingly becoming the nerve center of global terror, the missile-shield tussle with the Russians - that seems to have simmered down a bit for now, the ever boiling Netanyahu and a world that is ever turning hostile on nuclear armaments.

Though Obama inherited this foreign policy mess, as an American, the same pair of hands that is going to receive this Peace prize, is not without any stains of blood.

It sure is quite intriguing that the Nobel committee that could not find a merit to award the peace prize to Mahatma Gandhi on 5 different occasions when he was nominated, found a compelling case for Obama, when he hardly had been in the office for two weeks, since his nomination!

There are human rights activists, all across the globe, fighting their life out for causes so close to their heart, while a simple reach out to the Muslim community and much other mere rhetoric by Obama, appears to have convinced the prize committee.

Oh, does this world make sense to anyone?

Anyway, Mr. Obama, for whatever you have done or not done, Good Luck and Yes, you can!