So says The Washington Post. “After decades on the sidelines, U.S. defense contractors are eyeing India’s growing military budget and aging arsenal as a multibillion-dollar opportunity that could help offset a projected slowdown in Pentagon weapons spending and extend production lines for such items as the F-16 fighter.
“India has been effectively closed to U.S. defense firms since the 1960s, initially because of its ties with the Soviet Union, and later under formal sanctions imposed in response to nuclear weapons tests in 1998. Those sanctions were lifted in 2001, a decision given impetus by the Sept. 11 attacks and the growing strategic alliance between the two countries.
“Several of the Pentagon’s largest contractors, including Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing Co., have either opened new offices or beefed up existing ones in India and are part of an industry-wide wooing of military officials and business leaders there.
“Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., maker of the Black Hawk helicopter, opened an office in India in April and is competing for a contract for 200 helicopters potentially worth more than $3 billion. General Dynamics Corp., based in Falls Church, bought an Indian company in 2004 and is using it to sell communications equipment.
“The Aerospace Industries Association, a lobbying group, is planning a trip there in December with executives from up to 20 companies.”
Thank you Pentagon…Thank you USA…for further escalating arms race in the Indian subcontinent. Do leaders in the USA and the Indian subcontinent think that ordinary people in India, Pakistan, etc., need these deadly toys first…
And the issues of food. clothing and shelter…and, of course, health and education can be shoved far down in the priority list!!! It is a wellknown fact that this alarming myopia and greed of the leaders will aggravate the already grave situation, and the insurgency and disquiet would increase. Extreme poverty, inequality, injustice and lack of opportunity are the best breeding grounds for terrorism.
Such massive weapons cannot control “terrorism”. The only way out is common sense/diplomacy, and winning the confidence of the people, that would help in the long run. If you cheat people…and those who make dishonest money by selling arms, you would never be able to enjoy the wealth thus earned in a continuing crisis situation.
The world’s only super power is surely providing some strange examples for other European countries to emulate!!!
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.