US media and Indian
elections
M. R. Dua
Donald Trump
Narendra Modi
India’s April-May 2019 general elections will be
watched by the entire world with unusual
amazement and enormous interest.
The mass media in the United States seem to be
predicting the saffron party’s come back to power in
India. A noted Republican-Party-supporter daily, and
a major Trump-ally, financial and economic
newspaper,The
Wall Street
Journal, has
s u p p o r t e d
Prime Minister
Narendra Modi
and urged the
US President
Donald Trump
to take sides
with India.’
The paper
argues: ‘Mr.
M o d i ’ s
dominant presence in the political arena will likely be
able to attract votes... BJP will contest this election on
the issues of nationalism, national pride, national
security, and strong leadership.’ On the contrary, the
Opposition would try to shift the focus on the failure
of the incumbent government on unemployment,
farmers’ stress, price rise...’
The Washington Post opines that though
economic frustrations have dented his popularity, the national opposition is in disarray. Nonetheless, polls
suggest Modi’s ruling coalition is likely to retain
power, albeit with lesser majority. A surge in
nationalist passions may also strengthen Modi’s
position as many Indians applauded his decision to
authorize strikes against the country’s arch rival
Pakistan.’
T h e
W a s h i n g t o n
Post further
argues: India’s
$2.6 trillion
economy is
r e c o v e r i n g ;
M o d i ’ s
reputation as
a n
incorruptible
leader is
largely intact;
no other
leader is as popular; Modi’s party is not exactly
struggling to survive.
The New York Times has averred that the 2019
general elections ‘are a crucial test’ for the Modi
government.’
Bloomberg media from the US capital,
Washington, states: ‘This election will tell us a lot
about how Indians assess the trade-off between
Modi’s charisma and the economic performance of
the government.’
Dubious act
Ashim Mitra
I
t is a sad, albeit shameful, story
of an acclaimed India-origin
pharmaceutical researcher, Dr.
Ashim Mitra, from the Kansas campus
of the University of Missouri. He could
have made millions of dollars by
‘stealing his graduate (Ph.D.) student’s
(also of India-descent Dr.
KishorCholkar) research on some eye
diseases, and secretly using it to sell a
new drug’ . Dr. Mitra has resigned
and will be facing dismissal from his
prestigious position. The drug
relates to treating eye ailments. The
wife of Dr. Mitra, Ranjana, also a
scientist, too is accused of aiding
and abetting her husband in the
theft. The university has sued the
couple for allegedly cheating the
university.