U.S. ambassador to India resigns after diplomatic row

[alp227]

Source: Reuters

The U.S. ambassador to India has resigned and will return to the United States after less than two years, the embassy said in a statement on Monday, following a diplomatic row that strained relations between the world's biggest democracies.

The statement did not give a reason why Ambassador Nancy Powell had resigned, saying only that she was retiring from the foreign service after 37 years, "as planned for some time".

Powell is a career diplomat who has held several postings in South Asia and became the ambassador to India in 2012.

Last month, she ended a decade-long boycott and brought Washington's policy in line with other major powers by meeting Narendra Modi, the opposition candidate who is favorite to become India's next prime minister after elections that end in May.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/31/us-india-usa-idUSBREA2U16K20140331

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This article doesn't even name Devyani Khobragade.

[cosmicone]

1. Good.

Her shenanigans of completely insulting the Indian judicial system by abducting the maid's family to the US should have had a price. Just because India had a comatose PM in Manmohan Singh did not mean that Indian citizens should be surreptitiously whisked away. Because of Pakistan's whining, Narendra Modi was boycotted -- now that he is poised to become a strong PM, such things must stop and India be given the respect it is due.

PS: Narendra Modi has been cleared of any wrongdoing by three separate and independent commissions.

[leftynyc]

2. She lied on visa forms

and deserved to get kicked out. They're using this situation to get people to forget their abysmal record on women's rights and human rights in general. It's not working.

[cosmicone]

4. Abysmal record on women's rights and human rights?

Show me some links with world-wide rankings on women's rights and human rights instead of parroting Pakistani talking points.

Also, no matter how guilty Khobragade may have been, the US has NO RIGHT to whisk away citizens of an ally surreptitiously.

How would you like if the Chinese whisked away Leland Yee and other accused from under the jurisdiction of a US court?

[leftynyc]

9. Pakistan is as bad if not worse

Why on earth would you accuse me of defending freeking Pakistan with their record if not to merely deflect? When you come to the US (or any other country), you are bound by their laws - she LIED on her visa application - you want to pooh pooh that to defend this criminal, knock yourself out but don't expect everyone else to head to the fainting couch with the swoons. You're becoming a parody.

[cosmicone]

10. Show me world-wide rankings on women's and human rights

in order to justify "abysmal" -- otherwise you're just pulling facts out of where sun don't shine as usual.

1. In India, women have had a right to vote since independence. It took US till 1919 -- almost 150 years.
2. 1/3rd of Indian parliament is women. What percentage of the US Senate is female again? In state legislatures in India, the percentage is even higher.
3. Wage equality between men and women has existed since independence. The US got around to it just recently and it is still not implemented everywhere.
4. Women have affirmative action in many schools, universities and government jobs. This also translates to many jobs in large employers. Underprivileged women get full tuition and other assistance from the government.
5. India has had women cabinet ministers from the very first government.
6. India has several powerful female governors and chief ministers at the state level.
7. India had the chronologically third woman head of state in the world (Indira Gandhi) only following Golda Meir and Sirimao Bhandarnayake. When did the US have a female head of state again?
8. The leader of the ruling party is an Italian-born Catholic female and is currently the most powerful woman in India.

I suggest you get educated a bit before posting something that you know nothing about.

[leftynyc]

11. Yawn

Your suggestions about my education are entirely laughable. Let me know when women can expect to get justice when they've been gang raped - especially poor women. Yeah, India is a real fucking paradise for women on a day to day basis.

http://www.womenempowermentinindia.com/women-rights-in-india/

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/india-police-village-council-ordered-woman-s-gang-rape-1.2507649

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/delhi-rape-cases-crime-against-women-molestation-eve-teasing/1/352220.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/india-gang-rapes-persist-despite-growing-awareness-of-womens-rights/2013/12/15/4c12f58c-6359-11e3-a373-0f9f2d1c2b61_story.html


Who the fuck do you think you're kidding with this crap? Oh, that's right - you're one of the US sucks brigade and every third world shithole is a paradise in comparison. Like I said, you've become the parody.

[cosmicone]

12. Yeah -- so you have 4 anecdotes in a country of a billion people

Did you know that to make a valid conclusion on a population of a billion people about a crime such as rape which is common in all countries would require 100K such stories?

Your claim was also about women's RIGHTS and human RIGHTS -- now, bankrupt for ideas, you are switching to an incendiary debate about rape.

Here is a link that shows USA is ranked higher than India on the risk of rape scale : http://listtoptens.com/top-10-countries-with-highest-rape-crime/

I suggest you chant Steubenville-Steubenville-Steubenville 10 times a day for mental peace.

[JI7]

3. Why Narendra Modi won’t talk to gays

Why did Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi offer no comment on the Supreme Court order making homosexual love a criminal activity again?

Modi is usually quick to climb into an issue and offer his opinion. The issue was, and remains, one of the most debated matters on television. News-papers have been scathing in their editorial criticism of the judgment. The Congress’ leaders spoke out unequivocally in favour of human rights, but there was no word from Modi on this subject.

To be fair, there was nothing from the rest of the BJP for most of the week either. Party chief Rajnath Singh’s terse statement backing the court on Saturday shows us this is the sort of issue that the Hindutvawadis find distasteful and would rather stay away from. But Modi is the man running for the office of Prime Minister. Why is he silent?

Modi is from the old school of morality and doesn’t like the idea of homosexuals, much less making their activity legal. If he were absolutely pressed to weigh in on the subject, he would say that he agreed with the law and the judgement.

But it would have been politically damaging for him to say this, because the attention of the media would turn to the only person swimming against the consensus. This is why he chose to remain silent instead.

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/131215/commentary-columnists/commentary/why-narendra-modi-won%E2%80%99t-talk-gays

[cosmicone]

5. Modi is rumored to be gay himself

It is unlikely that he would comment during the election season.

[JI7]

6. he can still speak out in support of gay rights as the other side has done

[cosmicone]

7. Election season makes things different

Indian electorate is not as enlightened about LGBT issues as the US electorate is. He didn't say anything - pro or con - which is commendable. He could have easily supported the court's stupidity for political expediency which he did not.

The glass is half full here. Even Obama did not support gay marriage in 2008 but "evolved" his stance later.

[JI7]

8. the other side has spoken out against the SC Ruling on gay ex , he could do at least that

his position would be the same as the other side.