U.S.-Indian cultural, political divide revealed by diplomat's arrest
It might be a good idea for the entire article to be read before commenting.
What did it say that is new?
It doesn't refer to the fact that an arrest should not have allowed w/o asking for the Acting Consul General's side of the fact. If accusation by all and sundry is enough to justify any foreign officials arrest by the police of USA, then it is USA which is the authoritarian state. Forcibly stripping a foreign official, present there on official duty, whether a diplomat or not, without concern or respect for her dignity, in the name of procedure is the sign of a authoritarian state.
FOR THE past decade, senior U.S. officials have portrayed India as an emerging strategic partner of the United States as well as an emerging power, a democracy that respects the rule of law and shares U.S. values. It's mostly a true story, even if the rosy view of the bilateral relationship has never entirely been reciprocated on the Indian side. But there remains a considerable political and cultural divide between the two countries — as the ongoing furor over the arrest of an Indian diplomat in New York has vividly illustrated.
Why should there not be a cultural or political division between two nations? After all there are hardly two people with identical ideas in every aspect of their lives, then how can be two nations with much wider and much varied challanges be with identical political goal, let alone culture?.USA, in their mind and accepted by most including India, is sitting at the top of the food-chain; and India fighting to get up in the food-chain from midlling-point.
From the point of view of U.S. law enforcement, the case of Devyani Khobragade, a consular official in New York, is straightforward: She, like a distressingly large number of foreign diplomats posted to the United States, exploited a domestic employee in violation of U.S. law. Ms. Khobragade allegedly submitted to the State Department a contract that promised to pay a housekeeper $9.75 an hour for 40 hours a week, but separately gave the housekeeper a different contract at $3.31 an hour and required her to work far longer hours. She is not the first Indian diplomat to commit this offense. At least two other high-ranking officials have been sued by domestic employees in New York since 2010...
The reporter again ignored so many facts that have come up in the recent days, its hillarious that it's considered a reporting in free media of USA.
The Indian government has compounded tensions with high-decibel rhetoric and a vindictive campaign against U.S. diplomats in New Delhi. Its bullying measures have ranged from the petty — withdrawing the U.S. embassy's permit to import alcohol — to the irresponsible — removing security barricades from the street in front of the facility. Employees of Embassy officials are being investigated for alleged offenses including working at American schools without proper paperwork.
So, when you do it is law, when we do it is harassment.
Indian officials describe this harassment as a reciprocal response to the arrest of Ms. Khobragade, but it is not. She was the subject of a criminal investigation by a U.S. attorney acting independently. India is responding with investigations and administrative actions directed by the government for political ends — a tactic common in authoritarian states such as Russia or China but unworthy of a democracy. In a letter The Post published Monday, the Indian embassy in Washington claimed that Ms. Khobragade's employee had "gamed" U.S. laws to gain admission to the country. If that's true, there's nothing to stop Ms. Khobragade from making the case in court.
It is the responsibility of the host nation to ensure the goodwill of the guests. The Diplomatic Protection Service officer himself applied for the arrest warrant, which comes under DoS, w/o consulting the indian Embassy which means DoS is completely complicit in the whole mess. So, when its counterpart in India MEA reciprocates, then say you it is not a sign of a democracy? India is a far better democracy than USA. here every citizen is considered by law 'innocent' until proven guilty at least.
frankly, except the people of USA, and their bootlickers the holier than thou attitude of USA doesn't fool anyone anymore.