Storm clouds brewing?

In typical Indian fashion, the verdict arrived late and less than satisfactory. Instead of the 3:30 PM announcement, it was well past 4:00. And nobody seemed particularly pleased.

In order to appease the greatest number of people, the Uttar Pradesh High Court made a decision no litigant asked for. The disputed land - all 2.7 acres of it - should be split 3 ways. The Hindu temple is to remain where it is, a third of the site should go to rebuild the destroyed mosque, and the last third goes to Ram Lalla - the Hindu gentleman who wanted to pray on the site.

So, Muslims get one third of the site, and Hindus get two thirds.

Of course, what I have heard so far seems to say that the court was long on "let's not anger anybody", and short on points of law.

Now I don't pretend to understand the mystical and exotic location that is India. But I do think that perhaps, just perhaps, the High Court tried so hard to not upset anyone, that they instead upset everyone. So far there have been no reports of violence, but night has not yet fallen. Politicians are making a big deal of trying to calm everybody, but I wonder if some political parties, especially those who are THIS CLOSE to being in power, might not exploit this as a religious insult, perhaps organizing riots, or illegal protests.

I am too young to remember the riots in Watts, Newark, and Chicago in the late 1960's. I do remember the LA Riots after the Rodney King verdict, though. What they seem to have in common with the current atmosphere is that the judgment was seen as unfair by normal citizens. Justice delayed is justice denied.

Now, the reason for the title "Storm clouds brewing?" doesn't have anything to do with the case. Literally there is a storm stirring, or at least that is what it feels and looks like. In Bangalore, the monsoon rains may be what keeps everything quiet - I mean, I don't want to walk in the rain, let alone riot, and I figure burning cars would be darn near impossible with the rains we get here.

I'll keep you'all posted.

I Owe, Ayodhya, so off of work I am...

Let me introduce you to a little city of 60,000 in India, called Ayodhya.

It is to Hindus what Mecca is to Muslims, or Jerusalem is to Jews.

And now it is a cause of nationwide panic in India.

See, about 60 years ago a lawsuit was filed, where a Hindu sought permission to make poojas (prayers) at a site that already contained a mosque. Apparently India courts move slightly faster than glaciers, because now - SIX DECADES LATER - the court is ready to announce it's verdict. (Just so you know, this is NOT the Supreme Court, so any judgment will be appealed, no matter who wins.)

India is in a panic. In 1992, the mosque that stood there was demolished by 150,000 men with crowbars, which led to nationwide rioting and more than 2,000 people dead. There is widespread fear that the same thing will re-occur, although most likely in Goa, Delhi, Mumbai, and Hydurabad.

So, my work has decided that everyone should tele-commute tomorrow and Friday, unless the government lifts the decrees against assembly, and gives the all clear.

Now, I agree that safety comes first, but I wonder if the government isn't guilty of expecting too little from its people. When a government acts like it's citizens are toddlers, waiting to throw a tantrum, doesn't that make it easy for the people to sink to the level of expectation?

Right now, I have no fear.

Tomorrow, though, I may be glad I am here alone.

India vs China - Games style

First, a short history lesson for my American friends - Back in the old days, when Britain still had territories, in 1930, Britain came up with an Olympic-like games, which had all the normal Olympic games, as well as "Lawn Bowls", "Rugby Sevens", and "Netball". Originally called the "British Empire Games", they eventually transformed into their present iteration, called "The Commonwealth Games" (which I will abbreviate to CWG throughout the rest of this blog post). There are 71 teams that compete, including Wales, England, North Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada - well, you get the idea. Some are really small, and some countries send more than one team (Cook Island, for example, would normally be considered a part of New Zealand).

In 2003, the decision was made to hold the 2010 CWG in New Delhi, India. So, for 6 and a half years, money was passed around, pocketed, overspent, and a general mess was made of things.

Then, a couple months ago, all hell broke loose.

Articles began appearing in "The Hindustan Times" and "Times of India" that maybe, just maybe, New Delhi would not be as ready as they could be. But don't worry, we will all work together and pull this off, even though little has been done in 7 years, we still have 6 weeks to finish up. Never mind that the sports stadiums look like disaster zones, or that nobody knows where all the money went - this will be a "Victory for India".

Last week it got hotter. A footbridge leading to the main entrance of the largest sports stadium collapsed under it's own weight. (India got lucky - imagine if it had collapsed with hundreds of international spectators on it.) The British tabloid "Daily Mail" published photos of the athletes living quarters - HERE - which show urine stained walls, paan (think Chewing Tobacco) stained showers, and muddy (Dog? Cat? Rat?) footprints on the beds, and dog feces in the rooms. Oh, and a false ceiling partially collapsed in the weightlifting stadium.

And India Government responded with a comment that reveals how out of sync India is with the rest of the world. Lalit Bhanot, General Secretary of the local organizing committee, said that the level of cleanliness expected by international visitors was different to that of local standards. "We have received the letter from Mr Fennell and he has expressed his concerns on the cleanliness of the Games Village. But it is not such a big issue which we should be ashamed of. This will not affect the Games." He continued “They want certain standards of cleanliness. They may differ from my standards."

Seriously? Your standard is so low, that you sleep with dog crap around you?

Remember, folks, this is a brand new center, built for the sole purpose of showing off India to the rest of the world. India's "Coming out party" if you will, where it takes it's place among the Westernized nations, leaving forever its "emerging country" tag behind.

Chalta Hai, again.

Now, my main point is to contrast this mess with the Beijing Olympics just a couple years ago. Both are being held in huge countries, population wise. Both countries want to be included in the "first world" nations. Both have the desire to be included. But India seems to lack the motivation, or the will, or the commitment to succeed.

Now, let me make my prediction. The CWGs will proceed. They will be a decent games, without any major incidents. India will have poured more manpower into fixing the major issues than the US could conceive of. They will be a success, although a modest one. It will not be the great spectacle that Beijing was. And that is the shame. Countries, like people, get certain opportunities. There may be no penalty for not seizing them, but there is no benefit for passing them either. But when great opportunities present themselves, and they are used to their fullest, the changes can be historic. This, I feel, is a lost opportunity.

Now, I am not ruling out an epic failure, I just don't see one eminent. If one footbridge collapsed, more could be on the way. If a false ceiling collapsed, pieces of the real ceiling may also fall. Incidents, injuries, or even deaths may occur. While I pray they don't, I fear they may.

The games start on Sunday, October 3. I'll post updates as events warrant and time allows.

Burning the (Qur'an, Quran, Kuran, Koran, Qur’ān, Coran or al-Qur’ān)

Ok, I try and follow American news while away, if only to see how this part of the world sees Americans. Right now, they are not impressed.

There are two major issues (in my mind, anyway) with this Florida pastor burning the Koran (which is how I will spell it, barring typos, for this post).

First, from a Christian perspective, I question how Christ's love is shown through this act, which seems to provide both provocation to the Muslim world, and maximum shock value for an enraptured international audience. I also see a weird irony in a church called "Dove World Outreach Center" inciting violence and protests. I mean seriously, "OUTREACH"? You mean like a punch? Because this is certainly not a helping-hand type outreach...

Secondly, I am a bit conflicted by his rights to do so - which I support - while observing the left-leaning types that are objecting and vilifying this pastor. Weren't these "Freedom of Speech" supporters the same ones who were pro-flag burning just a few years ago? So, it is OK to burn a symbol of a country, but not a symbol of a religion? Or am I missing some subtlety in the argument?

Where does our President land on this debate? I mean, a few short days ago, President Obama was supporting the "Ground Zero" mosque by defending the right of private citizens to build a mosque on private land. Then should I not expect the leader of our country to support the Constitution's First Amendment, and come out strongly supporting the pastor's Koran Bonfire? I mean, a few days later he could back peddle, and say he wasn't judging the WISDOM of the bonfire, but just supporting his RIGHT to do it. Of course, a few days later he could extricate himself from the discussion, and say it is a local matter - turning himself into a States-Rights supporter in the process.

I guess what I have reasoned through in my head is "Freedom is Messy". While he has the right to protest by provocation, that does not give those offended the right to retaliate by violence, or at least to have no consequences to their violence. When some anti-American protester would burn a flag, the witnesses did not have a right to stomp and kick him. If they chose to do so, they would be punished, charged with assault, and jailed. Now whether it was worth it would be up to the attacker.

So I won't be surprised to see bible burning in Muslim countries in protest. What I would be shocked to see, though, would be reporters, politicians, and regular people discussing the bible burning in the foreign country. Americans have always had the really important debates out in public, and this is one that needs to be talked through. What concerns me is the response. Could we see more suicidal terrorists on American soil? How, exactly, do you punish that?

Personally, I'd like to see the protest called off for this year. Not permanently, but just a delay. We need to have the debate. Let's have it, in time for the 10th anniversary of the Muslim Extremists attack on the US. Fear of retaliation should not be the reason for giving it up - that would make the Constitution a weak document, when intimidation can restrict Rights - but I'd like to see a discussion about the wisdom of the protest. Is there a better way to express outrage with Terrorists without angering the billions of non-terrorist Muslims?

The pastor may still burn the Koran, though.

That is his right.