New Delhi not only summoned the US ambassador to register its protest against the arrest of a senior Indian diplomat in America but also initiated a series of steps to strip US diplomats and their families of privileges, including withdrawing all airport passes and stopping import clearances for the embassy. Asking all American consulate personnel and their families to turn in their ID cards immediately, the Indian government has also sought key information such as salaries paid to all Indian staff employed at the American consulates and by consulate officers and families including as domestic helps.
The Indian diplomat Ms Devyani Khobragade, 39, was arrested on Thursday on the street in the US while she was dropping her daughter to school and was handcuffed in public. She was later released on a $250,000 bail. She has been accused of lying on the visa application for an Indian national who worked at her home from November 2012 to June 2013 for less than four dollars an hour.
Undeterred by the Indian government’s strong reaction, the US administration “virtually justified the reported strip search by New York police of Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade, saying ‘standard procedures’ have been followed during her arrest. Diplomatic Security, which is under the State Department purview, followed standard procedures during her arrest,” State Department Deputy Spokesperson Marie Harf told reporters at her daily news conference. More here…
Meanwhile India’s main Opposition party the BJP asked the Central government to arrest homosexual partners of US diplomats. More here…
(Photo above shows Delhi police removing security barricades from outside the US embassy in New Delhi as part of retaliatory measures to protest against Indian diplomat’s arrest in America.)
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.