Do Americans brainwash Indians?
I remember reading a survey more than two decades ago that said that Indians are the only immigrant community in the U.S that routinely puts down its mother country .

I was reminded of this at a party at my home where the guests included a few well heeled NRI’s. One of them said that ‘The problem with India is the basic dishonesty’ of people’. I have heard this allegation a million times.

I asked my NRI friend if he had any method of measuring ‘ ‘basic dishonesty’. He said that one’s experience was the best and only measure.

I asked him how his opinion of India would change if I gave him figures that prove him wrong. My reputation for such matters had reached him so he kept mum. But I persisted.

I said that the total value of goods stolen by Americans from shops—shoplifting—amounted to 37 billion dollars every year.
To add to that I told him that over 30 billion dollars worth of office supplies were stolen by Americans every year.

‘What conclusion can one reach about the basic honesty of Americans ?” I asked him and did not wait for an answer. Another NRI quoted approvingly a former US Defence Secretary who said that India was a pseudo democracy. I replied that this very eminent Defence Secretary had made that sham justification for the US war on Iraq. The Power Point presentation he made was so absurd it would not get even get a pickpocket convicted if presented by the Prosecutor.

I have a hypothesis –America dazzles you with its outward show of wealth and progress .One has to look behind this to see the reality. If you don’t you will be brainwashed by seduction.
As an example lets take the comment about the US love of democracy. U S foreign policy has almost always tilted in favour of dictators. Just to quote one example in the context of Iran.

If you read the papers these days you might be forgiven for believing that the American heart bleeds for democracy. Nothing of that sort, Some readers may recall that it was the U.S that deposed a democratically elected Mossadiq in Iran and installed a dictator, the Shah Of Iran !

I can bet that if India is over run by a dictator who signs an agreement with the U.S agreeing to buy all military equipment from the U.S few in the US administration will bemoan the loss of !democracy in India.

Not even the NRI’S I suspect. It’s the basic dishonesty of some NRI’s that I feel disappointed with !
K.R.RAVI