The Indian Panorama

Author: Ravi Batra

  • Coronavirus, my Trojan Horse, which sought to overcome my Walls of Troy

    Coronavirus, my Trojan Horse, which sought to overcome my Walls of Troy

     

    A COVID-19 Survivor’s Reflections

    By Ravi Batra 

    The best that has come out of these three weeks’ “Groundhog Day“ quarantine is: I realize more than ever how much I love, and how dear my family is to me and that they are the core joy of my life.

    Let honor  and  humility, not greed and arrogance, define the brave new world after coronavirus is whipped, even as our casualties will be enormous during this near-Biblical war with Mother Nature.

    “All of us started to pay some attention by February to the beautiful image of this new virus, the coronavirus. Indeed, the image looks like an exotic bouquet of flowers prepared by an expensive florist.”

    Proving that we have no control over anything, I got the coronavirus infection. I don’t know when, from whom or from where. All I know is that on March 14th I not only had a fever, but a strange feeling in my body. By late afternoon, concerned with my temperature and my odd feeling, I called the New York State Department of Health to request it for  COVID-19 test. The person on the other side  was very gracious, but said they were just getting set up and that they would be back in touch with an appointment. Not having heard anything for five days, living in the City of New Rochelle, albeit 3 miles away from the area of containment ordered by Governor Andrew Cuomo, “ground zero,” so to speak, I called House Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel’s wonderful chief of staff, Bill Weitz and told him my concerns and needs. He helped by giving me needed advice. I then called our talented family doctor Dr. Sammy Chitayat. He asked me a battery of questions, and concluded we needed to be tested for Coronavirus and issued prescriptions for my wife, Ranju, our miracle daughter Angela and me. Our precious son Neal was not then issued such a prescription as he was staying in Manhattan, while we were on the water in New Rochelle.

    Armed with our doctor’s prescription for a coronavirus test for my family, off we went to Glen Island parking lot where NYS had set up its first testing site. The place was set up professionally as an organized maze. Instructed to keep all windows closed, we went thru the gauntlet until we were in a large tent. There, the testers wearing masks and clear face shields, did a nasal swab on each of us through each passenger’s slightly open window – open for 5-10 seconds. Test done, we were told we would get the results. By this time, we had fevers ranging from 101 – 103, mine the highest. Later, it would be obvious, that the coronavirus Ranju & Angie got must have been the original strain, while mine was a mutated one as it was more potent.

    Friday, March 20th several things happened. Neal had called the night before to alert us to a possible magic bullet – use of an anti-malaria drug and Zithromax – to fight Covid19. On Friday, I confirmed with Neal that I understood what he was saying thru the fog of my brain. Also, I got calls from Albany NYS DOH that we were all positive and given instructions of when to go to the hospital. I called our doctor Sammy, updated him, and he prescribed Plaquenil & Zpak for all 3 of us. Luckily, we were able to get it that afternoon. I started taking both. Neal, in consultation with Ranju, over my objection, convinced Ranju that neither she nor Angela take it – unless their fever got really elevated. Otherwise, they should just rely upon my 3rd medicine: Tylenol. They were right, as their fevers never went past 102, while I hit 104.3 and was on fire.

    Daily, I’d get checked by phone by our doctor, Sammy, who has the best bedside manners – in person, on the phone or text. I’d also get a call from Minister Hardeep Singh Puri – a call I’d not only take, but wait for, as he’d boost my strength and soul.

    During the 104.3 fever days, when I was on fire and was putting ice cubes in my eyeballs, head and wrists to cool my blood, I rejected Ranju’s calls to go to the hospital – as I knew our home was cleaner and had fresh air from Long Island Sound. These fire days lasted 2-3 days, and I was richly aware that death was waiting outside my door for me.

    I calmly and honestly – how can one not be honest with God – negotiated for my life, citing Robert Frost’s “walking in the woods’”:  “I have promises to keep (to my family, always serving and caring Ranju, miracle Angie and precious son Neal), and miles to go before I sleep…”. I also argued that if God wanted me to continue to serve the Greater Good  in society, then, that too militated in my continuing to live. I freely admitted that I had no reason to live for myself, as I’d had a most blessed life and was content – as in Frank Sinatra’s rendition of the song “My Way.” With God’s Grace I’m here to enjoy and protect my family and serve the Greater Good from the “shining city on the Hill.”

    On the 5th day of taking meds, Sammy called to say he had learned that Plaquenil had a side effect: can cause heart damage, arrhythmia, and told me to stop. I did. So, I finished Zithromax, while Tylenol was my constant companion (3 dosage a day; during the 104.3 days, I took 4 dosages a day). Finally, after sixteen days, on March 29th, Sunday I hit 98.6 and became fever free (without taking Tylenol).

    Since then, we’ve continued to remain in quarantine and self-isolation, which means we sleep in separate bedrooms and have separate individual bathrooms. Even when we sit around the dining table for meals, we maintain social distance of 6-10 feet. We’ve continued to remain in quarantine and self-isolation, to recuperate and recover.

    The best that has come out of these three weeks’ “Groundhog Day“ quarantine is: I realize more than ever how much I love, and how dear my family is to me and that they are the core joy of my life. That dearest Hardeep was at least as powerful as all the medications I took to beat Covid19, and love him for it even more, if that’s possible.

    Finally, the tsunami of prayers we received from dear friends – be they everyday people, members of congress, administration, local and state political leaders, judges, lawyers, ambassadors and ministers across the globe – was as heartwarming – as putting logs in a fireplace to keep the fire bright and roaring. The warmth and light never left our home or our life. We are so grateful to each and every friend – who contributed beyond mere medicine – and credit them for our beating Coronavirus.

    A word about this virus. I’m a lawyer not a bio- chemist, but it is obvious to me from my experience that the coronavirus strain that I got was dressed to do a very friendly “handshake, a warm hug,” with my body’s auto immune system, fool it as if it was a dear friend, as a Trojan Horse, get in, and then start a war against my immune system – my Walls of Troy. Had it beaten my auto immune system and I succumbed to high fever, then my organs, lungs etc. was for it to feast on, and I to exit this mortal soil.

    Thanks to the joy of seeing Ranju and Angela daily, spending whatever waking time together, accepting dearest Hardeep’s daily booster call, and the tsunami of prayers – we are alive today. President Donald Trump was right: with this lockdown we will discover our family again. I did. And I love them even more that before, and more than I knew.

    I wish for humanity to survive this deceptively friendly coronavirus. I expect China to tell all – the raw truth – so every nations’ scientists and doctors, not just our hero, Dr. Anthony Fauci, can use “open source” data and find a vaccine ASAP. Until a vaccine isn’t available, nobody is coming out to work, play or go to school. The economy, national, regional and global  we knew is dead;  it’s not coming back.

    We are going to see global supply lines become domestic. Ricardo’s “Comparative Advantage” principle is dead in these pandemic days. Our ventilators have parts made all over the world. This will stop. We will make our ventilators and N95 masks in the good ole USA. Export-based economies will shudder. Globalization is the OBOR for pandemics, and that too, must be disrupted for public health reasons.

    Having talked to death, I feel energized to do good as never before. And I’m enjoying it. Even some strangers have stopped me to ask if I was the one at such and such place, when I did what I did. They tell me they saw it, and it touched their heart.  I’m swimming in blessings. How can life be better, than to have a happy family and to try to make humanity happy and safer too…

    Let honor  and  humility, not greed and arrogance, define the brave new world after coronavirus is whipped, even as our casualties will be enormous during this near-Biblical war with Mother Nature.”

    (Ravi Batra is a New York based  Attorney-at-Law. He is Chair, National Advisory Council South Asian Affairs. He can be reached at  ravi@ravibatralaw.com )                

    Follow Ravi Batra on Twitter: @ravibatra

  • Ravi Batra welcomes Trump’s choice of Nikki Haley as US Ambassador to the UN

    Ravi Batra welcomes Trump’s choice of Nikki Haley as US Ambassador to the UN

    Welcoming President-elect’s choice of Nikki Haley, New York based eminent attorney Ravi Batra, said in a statement released to The Indian Panorama, Wednesday, November 23, “President elect Donald J. Trump’s nomination of Governor Nikki Haley to be our ambassador to the United Nations and to sit at the Horse Shoe table of the Security Council, a cabinet level position, has taken my breath away as I celebrate the highest milestone for the Indian American community and the inherent trust that America has in her citizens’ love of America and our cherished Constitution. A trust that we hold dear and honor with our every act to protect these United States from enemies foreign and domestic.

    Just a little over 100 years ago, they used to be “NINA” signs – which meant No Irish need apply. The same sign was used for no Italians need apply, and then no Indians need apply. But because of America’s ability to continue its unique path of greatness is why every human being on earth wishes to live in America and be an American citizen. Indian Americans, like every other community that landed on the shores, leaving aside our original sin of slavery, has worked hard and honestly while embracing the American dream that rewards hard work, true grit as John Wayne personified, and love of nation and the human family.

    With the appointment of Governor Nikki Haley, America, acknowledged as the world’s sole superpower, POTUS45 declares that America will no longer act insecure and engage in John Boltonesque war lust or arrogance, and in its place use Charm and Respect as its preferred diplomatic arsenal.

    Trump’s Nikki Haley’s appointment, signals that the United States unilaterally declares the end of the rebirth of the Cold War, which in recent years was on a constant simmer to boil over into World War III – such that 40 million Russian citizens were doing weekly anti-nuclear drills.

    I now have hope that the Trump presidency will abstain from the discredited “counterbalance” tactic, the Cocaine of Statecraft, a universally discredited tool of statecraft that has brought us the worst conflicts and un-ending wars and perilous interventions, and use Charm and Respect to work wonders that no Insult ever could or did.

    A bright new dawn welcomes 193 nations of earth, who are members of the United Nations. Every capital of every nation can now step back, breathe in a long breath of relief, and refocus on finding means and methods of working with your neighbor states to not only enhance peace and security of their nation and the world, but honor Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg covenant: to be a government “for” the people.

    While hope may spring eternal, President-elect Trump has announced that it is Spring time in November 2016. As a Democrat, having voted for him to be president of these United States rather than the legally-fatigued Hillary and Bill Clinton, who I knew personally, I am duty-bound to aid and assist the Trump presidency make America greater than it has ever been. To complete Trump’s Confident America Policy (Philippines’ noisy Duterte are you listening?), appointing Gov. Mitt Romney as our secretary of state will give America a head-to-toe body armor of Charm and Respect. The world just got safer and less mean.”

     

  • DEMONETIZATION: NRIs concerned over changing old currency notes

    DEMONETIZATION: NRIs concerned over changing old currency notes

    There has been a spate of mixed reactions from the NRIS living in America after India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has imposed nation-wide ban on existing Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 notes in a move to eradicate the consequences of illegal black money transactions. While some welcomed the move and some criticized, NRIs showed more concern about how to exchange their old currency notes.

    Many Indians living in USA and holding Indian currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 were confused, as they had no idea about what to do. Rajeev B, a New Yorker who just returned from India on Nov 6, is not sure what he will do with his 15,000 cash in Rs 500 denomination. “I did some web research and found out that those holding old currency but living abroad will have to come to India within the next six months and get it deposited in banks or get it exchanged. They can get it exchanged till March from the Reserve Bank. It’s not possible for me to go back so soon. I have to send the old currency notes through his friend who is planning to visit India next month.”

    According to the Reserve Bank of India, Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) have the option of depositing the Indian notes in their non-resident ordinary rupee account (NRO) while Indian tourists can purchase foreign exchange equivalent to Rs 5,000 at airport exchange counters within 72 hours of the notification. However, several foreign exchange centers have declined to exchange the old denomination notes in USA.

    Many rushed to money exchange traders and banks to convert their currency soon after the announcement but their attempts were futile. “I went to HSBC Bank and J P Morgan, and both refused to exchange money. Since there is no way to exchange Rs 500 and 1000 notes at the moment, only possible way is to physically send them to India with someone,” said Diya Datta, a student of NYU.

    Nina Saha a resident of New Jersey went to SBI New York City branch to exchange Rs 20,000 in Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denomination notes. ‘I was told by the officials that their branches in overseas locations are not authorized to exchange demonetized Indian currency as per the licenses issued to them by local regulators/RBI.

    Regarding eradication of black money from the subcontinent, some people feel Modi’s move won’t do much good. K Sen, a banker in NYC said, “Big honchos don’t keep their black money in notes. It’s all in either Swiss bank or in form of properties in India in real estates or other. This move will only hit small time black money holders. Nothing will change much.”

    Renowned Indian American attorney Ravi Batra feels that if such step reduces or eliminates corruption to any extent in any country, that too is a worthy goal. “I do not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. So, speaking generally, and not specifically about India, I share with you my views”, he told Indian Panorama. “Eliminating an underground economy is a worthy goal of every government, not only because the tax collection goes up and the tax burden is fairly spread across the population, but also because it unleashes the growth potential of the invisible underground economy upon becoming visible and part of the nation’s economy. After all, money deposited in the bank can be used by the bank to lend it out, with the normal multiplier, to many more people who need money and wish to borrow it. To the extent that it reduces or eliminates corruption in any country, that too is a worthy goal. Finally, like every policy of every government in every nation, the success of the policy will depend upon the means and methods of effectuating same”, said Ravi.

  • India’s Independence Day belongs to all Indians and all people who wish India well

    India’s Independence Day belongs to all Indians and all people who wish India well

    As an American proud of my Indian ancestry, and my name unchanged, I am more than merely delighted that these United States and India have found a durable rhythmic tune, geopolitical and strategic in nature, bound by common notes and dreams of our bilateral citizenry in their enlightened self-interest-based pursuit of happiness guaranteed by separated powers regimes.

    2015 is special for many reasons. We overcame the unexpected bilateral pain that became known as the Devyani incident with Hours of Immunity successfully negotiated by FM Salman Khurshid with Secretary John Kerry, to then witness PM Modi rock Madison Square Garden. Later, as I wished, President Barack Obama held a Chai Summit in India. But, then it got better. President Obama did for Indian-Americans and India what he did for Chinese-Americans and China – as he had appointed Gov. Gary Locke as our ambassador to China in 2011, in the past year he appointed Senate Leader Harry Reid’s right hand Richard Rahul Verma as our ambassador to India. For good measure, he also appointed talented diplomat Atul Keshap as our ambassador to Sri Lanka. Recently, Nisha Desai Biswal, Assistant Secretary of State for Central and South Asia, visited India’s Consulate General in New York to personally plant eternal-goodwill where Devyani used to be DCG. Such an act serves to repair even frayed feelings and is worthy geometrically – as there is an implied promise that all will be well between our two nations.

    That India produced a man such as Dr. Kalam – who rose to be India’s 11th President – an Indian Muslim – and who was so loved by Indians and who so loved India -seems to me to be a clarion call for all good people everywhere to stand up to religious oppression everywhere with humility-based good deeds that serve their nation above all else, and with respect for all faiths. Earlier, the world experienced the slaughter and splatter of precious ink at Charlie Hebdo – the home of cherished Voltaire who prodded many a monarch to better serve the public good – and Paris became Ground Zero for unity of all nations’ leaders walking arm-in-arm seeking tolerance of free speech as a “core” right and obligation of global citizenship. Dr. Kalam, methinks, singlehandedly well honored Mahatma Gandhi’s love for Muslim Indians, Christian Indians, Buddhist Indians, Jewish Indians and inter alia, Hindu Indians. 68 years ago Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru rose to say these immortal words: “Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance.”

    Dr. Kalam answered India’s Tryst With Destiny – excellence with humility, nation above religion, peace above war. India belongs to everyday Indians who recall the sacrifices made by so many to be a free nation, and live their lives as homage to those who sacrificed so much.

    That Indian Tea played a starring role in the Boston Tea party of 1773, and today India and United States find themselves in a vortex that cannot be denied – of unity of interest – one may be forgiven to say it was so decreed even by natural law without the need of being a Calvinist. May we continue to be worthy of God’s grace at the stroke of the midnight hour and every hour thereafter.”

  • Turkey Coup

    Turkey Coup

    “In a nation, citizens proud to be Turks, that democratically elected their government, a military coup, even if patriotic in motive, is the ultimate insult of the people – to replace their choice of leadership.

    If the military feels that they are better, Turks, or anything else in any other nation, let them resign their military commission and face the voters’ judgment on a ballot – democracy’s judgment.

    Turkey is an important nation, not just on a Google map connecting the East with the West, but because it’s a bridge between cultures, continents and religions – and as America’s ally. That Turkey is a NATO member, makes the Coup even more offensive.

    As Kazakh president Nazarbeyev’s 21st century manifesto declared, in my words, “war on war,” any Coup anywhere is an offense against every nation under law.

    So, I humbly ask the patriotic but misguided Turkish soldiers to return to the barracks and defend Turkey’s sovereignty.”

  • Heart & Brain Harken to Times Gone: 2016 an Electoral Twister

    Heart & Brain Harken to Times Gone: 2016 an Electoral Twister

    We live in such interesting and exciting times – which time-tested Chinese wisdom says ought to be avoided on penalty of being cursed. Dickens, however would be in his glory, and say, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.” Wow, reading that gem of timely wisdom leaves one breathless!

    Two dozen candidates started out seeking POTUS 45; all are gone from this wretched and ignoble 2016 race except Trump, Hillary and Bernie. Just last week, Russia’s president Putin charmingly told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria that the United States is the sole Superpower. The world’s nations’ geo-political calculus is in a tizzy – unable to even rely upon Jimmy the Greek in Vegas, as nobody knows what will be.

    Of them, Hillary has broken the Final Glass Ceiling as the presumptive Democratic Nominee. Hillary of course is beyond experienced in world and domestic affairs, given her tenure of public service and her engaging in same as a happy cook does in a kitchen: with abandon, to whip up an exciting meal. Of course, the clean-up of the “dust up” is a job for others. It’s worth noting that after Barack Obama absolved us of our original Sin – slavery – by being elected as the present day lofty Mark Anthony – he met with Bernie in the Oval Office and issued a most moving video endorsement of Hillary across the cold digital divide, sans the glow and warmth of a June Day in the Rose Garden, standing shoulder to shoulder, as he did with the ever-loveable Joe Biden, the natural champion of the Middle Class.

    Undeniable it is that Bernie has lit the imagination of millions upon millions of Americans who feel that their American Dream was defalcated while Wall Street and other Power & Money centers in USA got obese, repeatedly, beyond AIG’s Credit Swaps, with TARP money – trillions of dollars taken from beat up Main Street and the perpetual Poor, itself a sin in America, for Wall Street. The same Wall Street, which crashed the world’s economy in 2007 and did a Harry Houdini act with every American’s 401k and had home-equity go deep sea diving; conduct unbecoming a person with honor, if not outright criminally offensive. Bernie supporters want the 1789 Viva La France “guillotined heads” from our institutions of government. Of course, Bernie sits waiting to be asked to speak in Philadelphia and be crowned the Hard Working American’s Champ, as well as waiting for Straight Arrow FBI Director James Comey, of Ashcroft-Alberto Gonzales fame recorded by Preet Bharara as Chuck Schumer’s Chief Counsel, and fearlessly Impartial AG Loretta Lynch – who will do what the law demands and her Honor-based Oath. The question everyone wonders, will lightning actually strike, but more importantly, will it strike before July 25th. Law, it should be known, is at its best when it ignores human and political calculus of self-gain, and does what it must, or not at all, if it can’t. Human honor, differs from Law’s honor; the former is more compassionate by comparison.

    I pause to recall with emphasis that when the late great Socrates walked the Agora and frustrated the powerful in the direct democracy that was Athens, his reward for seeking accountability of government was a double-Hemlock death syrup for a frail 70-year old who merely asked, “Why?” Our democracy has discovered that representative democracy is needed to permit deliberation, rather than mere mob-rule that is emotion-driven or emotionally excited to silly heights and depths. Luckily, we have circuit breakers beyond the ballot box, as in the Electoral College. The Two Party system is another circuit breaker. The media, when functions properly, is another circuit breaker. However, since the Arab spring, social media has done to mainstream media what the atom bomb did to Hiroshima. In case my point is unclear, let me state it thus: social media can take representative democracy and make it act like direct democracy of Athens.

    And then there is Trump; the OMG candidate for president of these United States. In a civilian businessman capacity, he loved being called The Donald. Now, it is the distant: Mr. Trump. The Trump candidacy, if it can be called that, when it’s actually a mudfest, is a perfect recipe for social media to love or hate, but never ignore. Unique to Trump is that he has earned a very lofty status during this campaign: The Teflon Tongue. Ask any politician and they will give up both legs and arms to be so blessed by the electorate. It took Ronald Reagan all the way past the Iran-Contra affair in 1986 to win the Teflon President title. Recall as you must, that in the Carolinas on the same day Donald Trump called Pope Francis disgusting, because the Pope deems a good Christian to build bridges not walls of separation, and later the same evening Trump professed his love and respect for Pope Francis while attacking the media for misreporting the Pope. All that aside, is it not amazing that Donald Trump has electrified a slice of Americana that yearns for the America of yesteryears – when political correctness did not hide the evil that can lurk in a human heart, but allowed it to flourish in broad daylight proudly.

    The ultimate question each of us must answer is this: as a citizen of the most exceptional nation in human history, which has guaranteed freedom of speech, press, association and religion, and an unending pursuit of happiness, must such a great nation serve only the selfish needs of one man or one woman or one family, or must it continue to be the beacon in human history that it is strong, compassionate, daring, defiant, disruptive, innovative, welcoming, confident, fearless, and other attributes of human heroes across the globe have defined by their deeds over time – for that is what America is and what every American can be.

    I want an American President worthy of the American citizenry: hard-working, loyal, and honorable.

    Oh, there is one ultimate circuit breaker in our great representative democracy, a nation of laws: the law itself. What government does not know how to do properly or justly, or refuses to do at all, the law will make it so.”

    Ravi Batra-1
    Ravi Batra

    The author is an eminent attorney based in New York. He can be reached at ravi@ravibatralaw.com

    Follow on Twitter @RaviBatra

  • ORLANDO PULSE | AS I SEE IT

    ORLANDO PULSE | AS I SEE IT

    The Omar Mateen Orlando Pulse Mass Shooting was a merger of evil and hatred – perhaps, even Omar’s self-hatred. It was a merger of Terror and Hatred. It was the renunciation of allegiance to the United States by an American-born citizen in favor of a 911-documenting call by Omar to pledge allegiance to ISIS – to avoid other terror causing groups from taking credit without having inspired Omar, as ISIS did. Omar did not want his joint act of hatred & terror to be plagiarized by uninspiring-to-him jihad groups or confused by historian-autopsy.

    Never before has the LBGT community suffered so much – and as a result shaken the collective soul of our nation more – for all of us to be just American – young old, black white, able and disabled, gun-loving and gun-fear, and proud-straight and proud-LBGT. It’s the ultimate of E Pluribus Unum.

    Hollywood had done a remarkable job to lessen cultural hostility to any community, and replace it with pride -for each human being to be human as they and/or God chose.

    A while back, I was struck that the Indian Supreme Court had decreed a 3rd sexual gender: transgender. Given the recent legal fight over bathrooms in schools – based upon a person’s sex, which takes the concept of pro-choice to a whole new level, the Indian Supreme Court’s wisdom and solving some of this civil rights controversy is now more apparent.

    But beyond the typical political debate about guns, every time there is a massacre, this particular event in Orlando is unique because it is a casserole of many geo-political issues, social issues and civil rights issues at the cutting edge of law and society. Indeed, President Obama’s reluctance to use the term radical Islam has become more political fodder for the uninformed, misguided or reckless. Taking the refrain from the NRA, guns don’t kill people, people kill people, I want to remind all those who, perhaps out of a sense of grief and outrage, want to marry the term radical to Islam, that religion does not kill people, people kill people; akin to the NRA’s wisdom.

    While I am not happy about the faded Red Line in Syria drawn by President Obama, I celebrate his wisdom in abstaining to engage in a religious dispute where only the members of the specific religion, Islam, are both credentialed and qualified to engage in. I recall well that Islam at its origin was dedicated to science, higher education and the arts. Indeed, the folklore regaled us all about the attempts to convert lead into gold in science labs centuries ago. Perhaps the passing of the Prophet Mohammed has left the world with the longest running estate fight between the Sunni and the Shia. As for me, I am most comfortable following the principle enunciated well by Pope Francis: practice your own faith and respect everyone else’s faith. I’d add, let’s try a little more love and a little less hate; the world is really small and we must really find a way for the human family to live in peace. Hat tip to Kazakhstan President Nazarbayev’s Manifesto for the 21st century: which I described as war on war. In the meanwhile, all of us must defend our nation from enemies foreign and domestic.”

    Ravi Batra
    Ravi Batra (File Photo)
    (The author @RaviBatra is an eminent attorney based in New York. He can be reached at ravibatralaw@aol.com)

  • PM Modi in USA: Symphony, Inseparable Partnership

    PM Modi in USA: Symphony, Inseparable Partnership

    “India played a key role in 1773 Boston Tea Party and lost 5000 men, women and children to Lord Cornwallis upon his arrival in India after losing to George Washington. Today (June 7), destiny was bilaterally recognized: Indian PM Modi speaking of an Inseparable Partnership, and Ranker Eliot Engel, with Joe Crowley introducing The Special Global Partnership with India Act of 2016 (H.R.5387) – which would designate India as a Special Global Partner of the United States – to enhance global peace and security. A symphony orchestra capable to making global peace stick.

    As an American of proud Indian heritage, to see an Indian PM – be it Rajiv Gandhi in 1985 or Narendra Modi in 2016 – in the Congress is a joy only enhanced by the music to every ear: that United States and India are not only natural allies, but Inseparable Partners – the very definition of Destiny. Finally, all the constructive nudging for decades has paid off.

    Eliot Engel and Ed Royce are mature hands that embraced destiny by enhancing US-India ties to inseparability.

    Today, 1.25 billion Indians saluted the United States, and the American People, through their representatives, saluted them back. Destiny achieved is a thing of beauty that every heart and every nation can both enjoy and use to recalibrate.”

  • High Tea, not Muslim-Ban grudges, needed between London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Donald Trump

    High Tea, not Muslim-Ban grudges, needed between London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Donald Trump

    United States and Great Britain have a Special Relationship that transcends leaders, rhetoric and time.

    Donald Trump has announced an intention to bar Muslims from the United States, with some exceptions, including for the new mayor of London. Both prime minister David Cameron and mayor Khan have objected to the Muslim Ban. Donald Trump has taken umbrage from their opposition, and declared a desire to keep a grudge.

    I suggest instead of grudges, High Tea between Sadiq Kahn & Donald Trump will serve to restore decorum in the comity of nations and respect between the faiths.”