Hail Nikki Haley!

She rose from obscurity in just six months, polling just around ten percentage points early this year, to become a sensational national star politician. In the run off election she trounced her opponent, a senior party pol, by a two to one margin.

She is thus potentially the second person of Indian ancestry in the US to become a state governor. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana is the other one.

Interestingly, both Haley and Jindal won as Republicans.

The Democratic Party, despite having a majority of Indians – and other minorities in general – supporting it, and participating at local levels, has rarely given rise to major national political heroes.  This despite the fact that quite a large number of high-profile administration postions have been given to Indians, at least in the last 10-15 years. What accounts for there being no liberal equivalents of Haley, Jindal et al?

By emphasizing the primacy of identity over ideas, and blind party loyalty over individual ambition, the Democrats have not offered top-level opportunity to Indians in the political field. Indians in the party are often back-of-the-line loyalists, behind blacks, Mexicans, other ethnic groups and white women. With identity and gender based Democratic Party politics it’s just a numbers game. The Republican Party, on the other hand,  seems to care more about devout Conservatism regardless of who embraces it – a trend also being observed in the UK recently. Incidentally, there may be a clue here for Indian political ideologues and thinkers of the Saffron shade!

What does such idea versus identity politics imply for Americans?

It is difficult to avoid the thought that an Indian-origin President of the United States, if that ever happens, is more likely to be a Republican than a Democrat.

Something to think about, all you young Indians in the USA!

Latest ad from Nikki features her husband;

There has been a viral, near electrical buzz going around the Internet about some scurrilous rumor about Nikki Haley, our favorite candidate for Governor of the state of South Carolina.

Don’t you believe it.

That simple.

We’ve seen this movie before. Sarah Palin is not the mother of her own child, Sarah Palin is divorcing, Sarah is moving out of family home in Alaska, etc., ect.

Let’s not even start about the mudslinging that went on during both the primary and the general election in 2008. Hillary, McCain, Palin, and a whole lot of others. All the while, the real fiasco, the truth of the affair of John Edwards, nobody knew anything about that!

Politics can be dirty anywhere, the US is no exception. Especially where a less known, tough-talking, principled, ideas-driven person is concerned – one as different as Nikki Haley, or Sarah Palin, – the scoundrels come out of the woodwork when least expected.

Within a few short days of getting endorsement by Sarah Palin, and Nikki having benefited with a double-digit lead, the character assassination begins. Such is politics.

Go read the Facebook page of Governor Sarah Palin. She said eloquently, forcefully and from the heart. There is little that can be added.

GO NIKKI, GO SARAH!

As the say, Truth Triumphs!

Rasmussen Poll Link.

Recently Nikki Haley got endorsement from the sensational, super-star of the Republican party, Sarah Palin. McCain-Palin ticket won the state of South Carolina in 2008. So, this is a great boost for Haley.

several political analysts say the “rock star sisterhood” of Palin and Sanford could be a big boost for Haley’s bid to be the state’s first woman governor.

In the above video clip, Sarah Palin refers to “a whole lot of people, proudly clinging to guns and religion.” at 1 Min:40 Sec mark. That is a sharp dig at candidate Obama who was caught by a journalist in 2008 deriding rural Americans for their faith and gun love. Ouch, that dig must hurt!

Also, note that Governor Palin refers to Nikki Haley, as a “home-grown girl”.

What a wonderful tribute, from an amazing woman.

There is in no doubt that Sarah Palin is a great force in American politics, her support to Nikki Haley will amount to at least 15-20 percentage points. That should give her a majority of the GOP turnout. Combine that with Nikkis’s personal charm, style and policy stances will yield rich dividends come November too.

Finally, note how towards the end of the clip above Sarah identifies fully with Nikki’s personal political journey.

Sarah Palin calls Nikki Haley a kindred spirit.

Hail Nikki Haley!

Hail Sarah Palin!

Nikki Haley Campaign Website Link.

Contributions to Nikki Haley, (U.S. citizens only, please!)

“Your face, my thane, is as a book where men

May read strange matters”

- Lady Macbeth to Macbeth, the thane of Cawdor, in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Act 1, Scene 5.

If books reflect culture, book reading habits too, perhaps, reflect a people’s tribal instinct. And then, do social events like ‘book parties’ reflect something intrinsic about different social groups, different national groups?

Shoba Narayan seems to think so. At least when it comes to Indian versus American ‘book release parties.’ Her vividly observant article at Wall Street Journal, The Indian Book Ceremony.

In the United States, the publisher manages the event to celebrate the author and then sell as many books as possible. By contrast, for “the argumentative Indian” it’s all about a well-spent evening of discussions and disagreements, regardless of how few copies were sold at the end of it

In the U.S., everybody accepts that there’s a mini cult of personality around the writer.

Ms. Narayan doesn’t quite state, but implies that somehow the Indians seem to emphasize the book and the event more than the author.  At least, that is how it is hinted, here:

We Indians are a ceremony-driven people. Book readings are not merely announced in the local paper but through personal invitations sent to friends and relatives. Sometimes the bookstore sends these invitations to everyone on their mailing list; other times the publisher does this. Likewise, politicians are welcomed to conventions not merely with a handshake and introduction but with garlands and bouquets, …

…..  Stores open with a traditional ribbon-cutting, followed by the lamp-lighting.

The same Indian who rudely cuts ahead of a queue of strangers will refuse to help himself to the buffet until his elderly uncle has eaten. All suggestions to “go ahead and eat” will be met with pehle aap. The same applies to authors who are loathe to be the only ones talking about their book. Instead they follow the literary version of “pehle aap,” where they get a panel of guests to go first. To the Indian, talking about one’s own book or accomplishments is intrinsically boastful.

To a Western publicist, panel discussions are a minefield. They can go off-message, ramble all over the place so that the audience gets bored, take the spotlight away from the author, and in the worst case scenario, criticize the author and book. But these are chances that Indian publishers and authors readily take.

But Indian authors want a panel anyway. We are comfortable in crowds; we need people around us, even on a dais. We are used to loud and vocal disagreements, having heard it all the time in family quarrels. Hollywood stars and American politicians revel in the spotlight. In India, it is the opposite: Being surrounded by people is the true show of strength.

On a broader note, if this item were to be believed, the French love reading fiction, even the gloomier variety; Germans love out door stuff; the English lighter fare, and Americans  even lighter fare. Someone recently claimed that Indians read the most, in a general survey of reading. And, that in a few decades majority of English speakers in the world will be Indian! What do these factoids bear on the social organization of book coming out parties?

As side note to the above block quotes, is ribbon cutting really a tradition in the same vein as lighting a lamp? Isn’t it more of a true colonial vestige, albeit a well-integrated vestige? In any case, this sharp observation of Indian character is quite revealing.

Finally, to I.U., this looks like a case of adaptation,  the casting of a native attitude into an alien form of social activity. After all, traditionally the Indian writer looked to a royal or governmental patronage of arts. Only now, being democratic and all, book launches take on this new mongrel form, more out of need than by design.

What do you think?

Just a few hundred yards from where the jihadists’ planes crashed into the towers, a Muslim building will open, that too on the tenth anniversary of the 9-11 attacks.

The Cordoba Mosque is being touted as a peace initiative, but it is a two faced outrage. A hundred years from now, would someone even remember that there stood in that place what were once the world’s two tallest buildings, built by a people known as The Americans?

Imagine that for a moment.  Ever wonder what lay under the Dome of the Rock in Israel?  Does anyone ever doubt the recorded story of what lay in the past of Haghia Sophia in Turkey?

But then, it is possible that the Americans have lost their mind!

Now think about this:  why is it so hard for people to even allow the speculation that the Taj might not be what it is today.

History repeats itself, winners get to re-write the narrative.

In fact history needs to be re-written first before a civilization can re-invent itself, recreate itself. Else, it simply continues as a fossil replica. At the very least, people should stare at history with a cold hard eye, untainted by romanticism, poetry and unverified data. That is all IU is saying.

Original Post Begins Here:

The timeless wonder of Taj Mahal is a gift that keeps on giving, in more ways than one.

A nice round up of the lore, the legacy, the controversy, and the alternative view that Taj Mahal was actually Tejo Mahalaya (Professor P.N. Oakh), a Hindu Rajasthani temple – and other such notions -  all are  presented nicely in this round-up.

Read about it here: NIkki Haley Wins – And, it’s a big deal!

UPDATE II

38-year-old Nikki Haley is writing the most improbable political success story of 2010.

Walter Shapiro.

UPDATE:

SARAH PALIN ADDS HER VOICE!!

{The Republican gubernatorial primary in the US, to select who will contest the November 2010 election to be Governor of South Carolina, will take place on Tuesday, June 8. One week prior to that event the race is white hot, with racism, sexism, misogyny, slander, innuendo, and hate.}

Nikki Haley is getting a lot of support from a wide range of politicians, opinion leaders and bloggers across the country and the world, despite or perhaps even due to scurrilous attacks on her. To wit:

She needs to win this election if only because her enemies so richly deserve defeat.

Conservatives For Palin, a website vehemently written in the cause of Sarah Palin’s candidacy in 2012, is the latest to come up with a very nice post of support. As some readers my know, Governor Palin endorsed Nikki Haley. In some quarters, female candidates in the same league as Sarah Palin are known as ‘Mama Grizzlies’.  SC State Representative Nikki Haley would be the latest in this group that includes Carly Fiorina of California, Michelle Bachmann of Minnesota, Jan Brewer of Arizona – strong, motherly, conservativse, and feminists all.

Pundit & Pundette , Allahpundit, Ace of Spades, Dan Riehle, Dr. Melissa Clouthier all wrote in support of Nikki Haley.

IU thinks that GOP politics in the US just took a turn for better. They are in the process of purging their own internal putrid atavistic negativists.  So,  when will the Liberals do the same? Hmm… May be there is a beginning of it after all. For even Democratic women are starting to voice support for Nikki Haley – check out Taylor Marsh and Dana Goldstein.

In the meantime, Governor Sarah Palin comes out guns blazing in full furious support of our girl.  Despite all recent local campaign venom against Nikki Haley, Sarah Palin continued her vocal support via Facebook as well as recorded phone messages to voters. You’ve just got to love Sarah Palin!

Original Post Starts Here:

Nikki, Namrata, Randhawa, Haley, Randhawa-Haley, whatever … to quote the poet, a rose by another name …

The point is this: This Rose is Our Rose. Nikki Haley is an Indian Rose!

South Carolina State Representative Nikki Randhawa Haley is an American at heart, with an Indian face and a Sikh soul. And in true Granth tradition, she blends and creates a spiritual fusion of Individualism, Sikhism, Hinduism, Methodist Church and an unapologetic conservative political philosophy. All in the service of the people among whom she was born, raised and, adored.

Folks of Indian origin are a bit befuddled about her – is she Indian or American, a Kaur or a Yank, worse yet, she is n’t a redneck, is she?

Nikki Randhawa Haley running for Governor of South Carolina

Americans are equally divided, they either love her, decidedly partisan about her, or are just plain uninformed and confused.

Truth is simple. Nikki Haley is American. Nikki Haley is of Indian origin. That simple!

She is our girl, just as much as astronauts Sunita Williams, and Kalpana Chawla, Iowa State Senator Swati Dandekar, or, Yahoo!’s Srinija “Ninja” Srinivasan (5o most important people of the Internet – Newsweek)

When you cross borders, and cultures clash, confusion is inevitable. But Nikki has shown how comfortably one can adapt and live. Just be true to yourself, be yourself!

Nikki’s greatest gift to voters is herself. She represents fusion, ambition, integrity and perseverance.

Her speeches show her to be quite charming and witty, and something of a policy wonk.

She is also folksy, funny and personable at the same time.

She is certainly a gift, and she definitely deserves your support.

So, please tell all you know that live in the US about her.

Nikki Haley website

More about Nikki Haley at Senator From Punjab.

Click Here to contribute to Nikki Haley’s campaign for Governor of South Carolina (US citizens and residents only, please).

Himalayas - Wiki

For a while there, the world was shaken to the core about global warming, rising tides, and disappearing glaciers.

Gangotri will be gone! The holy Indian cows emit too much gas, eat them up!

The man who invented internet, and global warming, Al Gore got his revenge on the world that cheated him out of Presidency by scaring it into giving him a Nobel prize for manufacturing predictions of doomsday.

Now, of course, we know it to be otherwise.

The East Anglia email scandal, the data fudging business.

And now this: the idea of Himalayan glaciers melting away by 2035 was “speculation” not  based on science, data or verified research.

The original news was not vetted, proven, peer-reviewed not subjected to test.

Times of London has all the details.

World misled over Himalayan glacier meltdown.

Brief excerpt:

A WARNING that climate change will melt most of the Himalayan glaciers by 2035 is likely to be retracted after a series of scientific blunders by the United Nations body that issued it. [snip]

It has also emerged that the New Scientist report was itself based on a short telephone interview with Syed Hasnain, a little-known Indian scientist then based at Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi.

Hasnain has since admitted that the claim was “speculation” and was not supported by any formal research.[snip]

Professor Murari Lal, who oversaw the chapter on glaciers in the IPCC report, said he would recommend that the claim about glaciers be dropped: [snip]

The revelation is the latest crack to appear in the scientific concensus over climate change. It follows the so-called climate-gate scandal, where British scientists apparently tried to prevent other researchers from accessing key date. Last week another row broke out when the Met Office criticised suggestions that sea levels were likely to rise 1.9m by 2100, suggesting much lower increases were likely.

While the blame game goes on, science being not exempt from it. And not a moment too soon we have a new word for a new scandal, thank you Walter Russel Meade, Glacier Gate

Pachauri, in the meantime, is “studying the new evidence”

Truth being, of course, there is real evidence that some Himalayan glaciers are actually getting larger!

Not a particularly new idea, but things do change in nature, back and forth .. it’s not time for pralayam, yet …

The Resilient Earth has interesting photographs, and report by Vijay KumarRaina of Geological Survey of India.

IU is glad that Ganga will keep on flowing. Otherwise where else will the Indians put their pollution in?

In free India specially, English lives on and thrives, garnering world-class literary awards, and grudging admiration of the Anglo-Saxon communities no less.

We are Indian, and so is our English! is a wonderful, delightful paean to Indian English. A Must Read! Particularly, don’t miss the large, lusty, comment section. Well done, 42

Also fun to peruse, Hinglish, Inglish or Indian English.

Post Script:

Yet another angst-riddled post on Indians and English, at DesiCritics.

FIRST STATE IN THE  new Indian Union to demand re-unification based on language, now is roiled in separatism, or at a minimum, political opportunism masquerading as separatism. Somewhere, Potti Sriramulu is rolling in his grave, spinning faster than the evil web being woven by politicians all around, especially in New Delhi.

TELANGANA MOVEMENT  which periodically rose and fell, often resulting in political rapprochement, now has the enviable task of wishing it hadn’t wished so. Severance from brethren, in a state that is the envy of the entire Union – Hyderabad / Cyberabad, a later day mecca for IT – without capital pouring in, Telangana will revert to memories of Muslim ruled wretchedness, feudalism, and strife. Even the word Telang is an Islamized perversion of Telugu, the language of the region.

Iron Man

DECCAN OF YORE,  that old Islamic plateau of Central South India found freedom along three separate ways, thanks to Mahatma Gandhi. Speakers of Marathi and Kannada seem happily blended with their co-linguists in Maharashtra and Karnataka respectively. Only speakers of Telugu (synonym for Andhra) language have been restless, on and off. First they were unable to shake off the yoke of their Islamic spiritual cultural hegemony,  next they couldn’t break free from the feeble, feudal Nizam, but with help eventually did, thanks to Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, (where would India be without him!)

TELUGU people have been, forever, an uneasy alliance. Some thirty years ago another separatist, a doctor,  one Marri Chenna Reddy whipped up the descendants of the former Nizam’s subjects into a frenzy. His antics quieted only when offered Chief Minister job. The solution to separatism has since remained a political modus vivendi. Until now. Let all stakeholders sit down and work it out. The ottomanic, sultanate style handing down of decrees from New Delhi has to stop!

LIKE THE BRITS AND YANKS finally settled on the opposite shores of the Atlantic Ocean peaceably, “divided by a common language”  (Winston Churchill), the Telugu speakers would rather be divided by a common language, emphasize the accent over the grammar. Or, do they? What to make of all the rumors about local political instigators?

NEIGHBORING STATES to Andhra Pradesh changed names and place names and such. Mysore became Karnataka, Madras became Tamil Nadu, Madras City became Chennai, Bombay became Mumbai. Only the Telugu people pretty much let history be, and got together, and got along fairly well. NO  naming gimmicks. Hyderabad never became Bhagya Nagar. Only Visakhapatnam shrugged off the shorter moniker Vizag. Even Rajahmundry was content to leave Raja-Mahendra-Varam in the past. Back in Seventies, Twin Cities slowly faded from common parlance as Greater Hyderabad swallowed up Secunderabad, with nary a peep of objection. Both erstwhile muslim municipalities grew immensely. Hyderabad is as well-known in science circles of the world as Bangalore, or Bhopal!

MIDNIGHT MADNESS represented by the hapless ‘man in shawl’ The Chettiyar has to be one of the dumbest official acts ever in Independent Indian History.  Only Mr. Nehru’s advocacy for China’s membership of UN would exceed in folly. What was The Chettiyar thinking, or was he thinking at all. Was he, and Secretary Pillai as well, channeling Mohd. Bin Tuglaque of a few centuries ago, remember from history books, the decision to move the capital from Delhi to Daulatabad, perhaps?

THE INDIAN HOME MINISTER, filling those enormous shoes of The Iron Man, Vallabh Bhai, looked like he found himself frozen in headlights, like a feral creature crossing a busy highway at night. He simply allowed himself to become an instrument of his party, rather than a guardian of his nation, and the protector of the nation’s polity.  His reading of a short proclamation from a clipboard at the midnight hour had all the shallow similitude to Pundit Nehru’s ‘tryst with destiny’ moment. Except, that nobody was expecting it. Even fewer people wanted it. No Salman Rushdie to troubadour this travesty ….

TELANGANA people deserve nothing less than what they can work for and are willing to invest in themselves. The ‘big brother’ approach of their co-linguists had to stop. But also had to cease was the mindset of victim-hood and exploitation complex brought on by centuries of the feudalistic, parasitic grip on parts of the region by the religiously empowered entities.

TELANGANA PROSPERED when great leaders of the region grew in stature and assumed major roles in polity. Ranga Reddy got a district created and named in his honor. Mr. P.V. Narasimha Rao hailed from Karimnagar area of Telangana, his Chief Ministership of AP was effective, peaceable. His Prime Ministership of India was astonishingly adroit, surviving both religious turmoil as well as national bankruptcy as it did. PVN has been compared to leaders like Michael Gorbachev in Russia – a most difficult stewardship at a time of great changes at home and abroad. Without ‘PV’ and the associated Manmohan Singh, modern India would not have materialized so swiftly.  Perhaps, an all-party summit could be arranged to ensure that Chief Ministership of an undivided A.P.  is rotated amongst the three regions every two years. May be, even change the name to TELUGU SEEMA, OR TELUGU RASHTRAM.

COMMUNIST INFLUENCE anywhere in the world can only lead to trouble. For decades they stirred up Bengal, Telangana, Kerala and across a swathe of India reaching into Nepal. Indians must be the only people in the world who didn’t get the memo, it’s ok to make money. The statist ideas promulgated at Independence, and since not disavowed with vigor, retain grip on people and places that remain underdeveloped and vulnerable. The commies exploited Telangana relentlessly. What Telangana needed was more democratic governance, investment, and job creation. They didn’t need yet another ideology that only engendered anger. Commingling of Islamism, separatism, proletarianism, do not bode well. Telangana needs another PVN Rao!

ANGST IN A.P.  is being expressed in voices blending anger, bitterness and sadness,  especially  in Coastal and Ceded (‘Seema) areas. There is oft’ repeated talk of “outsides conspiring” to make the entire state of A.P. look weak, hapless, and enfeebled. Else, goes the conspiracy theory, how come ministers from ‘other southern states’ such as Chidambaram and Moily get to decide fate of Andhra? Was the CM of AP told about it first? Isn’t AP in great shape? With great educational and investment climate? Also mooted, the idea that the late CM’s son was less than honorable in this matter.

VOICES OF SEPARATISM in India are never quite muted. The country has been divided repeatedly. This is great when done for administrative, cultural and developmental reasons. The lament of Telangana seems phony, political, and opportunistic. Demands for infrastructural improvements, major national and international projects should all be discussed openly and democratically. Statehood is essentially a political plum, a scheme to divide the spoils at the top rather than at the bottom. There are parts of India more abjectly poor, ill-served and needier than Telangana. But, this baby’s crying has been indulged in for so long, in so many wrong ways, this time it make take a real breast to feed it, not just a pacifier.

CONGRESS PARTY OPPORTUNISM is boundless, bottomless, and listless. The same applies to other Indian politicians in general. But Congress, like any behemoth, merely exists for its own sake. Those who wear party colors will sell their soul in the name of party unity, discipline, and respect for ‘high command’. All politicians in India seem to behave thus. Perhaps, it is Indian character to be un-egotistic, and yet un-principled at the same time. Perhaps, it is a case of  filial piety being institutionalized.

Poorvanchal idea gains!

Gorkhaland demanded!

List of Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh.

“Well, you know, I thought it was an elaborate joke. I have friends who play practical jokes,” Ramakrishnan told The Associated Press by telephone from his lab in Cambridge. “I complimented him on his Swedish accent.”

Ramakrishnan described his work on ribosomes as an attempt to understand “this large molecular machine that takes information from genes and uses it to stitch together protein.”

He said he and others had been using X-ray crystallography to build an “atomic picture of this enormous machine.”

“Now we can start figure out how it does this complicated process,” he said. Yahoo News

Associated Press newsphoto, via Times of India.

Congratulations Dr. Ramakrishnan!

Joint-winner of 2009 Nobel Prize for Chemistry. For his work on a neutron-scattering map of the RNA of ribosomes, the protein-making structures in cells.

What follows is a modest compendium of links, pics, quotes and news clips.

I am interested in the structure and function of the translational machinery, which makes proteins in all cells using instructions encoded in the gene. This process involves the ribosome and its interaction with mRNA, tRNA and various protein factors. US National Academy of Sciences Member Directory.

THE RIBOSOME PAGE of Dr. Ramakrshnan’s research lab is a delight! If you visit their site, don’t miss short animation movie about protein synthesis in a ribosome. It’s a fun way to learn about his work and what it implies.

From Dr. Ramakrishnan's Lab - Click on image for Animation Film

Times of India, profile.

Ramakrishnan shares the 2009 Nobel Prize for Chemistry with Thomas A Steitz of Yale University and Ada E Yonath of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.

Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, chief executive of the Medical Research Council, said: “We are absolutely delighted that Dr Ramakrishnan’s work has been recognized with the 2009 Nobel Prize for Chemistry. Venky’s award is the Medical Research Council’s 29th Nobel Prize and is a reflection of the excellent work that our scientists do. Times of India.

Ada Yonath of Israel is one of only four women, since Madame Curie, of the pitchblend fame (1898) to win the Nobel in Chemistry.

To listen the MAN himself, Dr. Ramakrishnan talks on the telephone with the official Nobel staffer, a traditional phone call now available online here. This is a highly recommended audio, specially the last one minute! IU can’t wait for it to be on youtube!

For the truly curious, LiveMint of WSJ, has an audio podcast here, that explains Ribosomes and all. Umesh Varshney of Bangalore explains it all. A nice little science talk, recommended.

Scienceblogs has a very nice explanation of the explanation from the Committee as to why the research of these three scientists deserved the Nobel award.

Reuters video of the live announcement. Nice.

IndiaTimes announcement video can be seen here. Caution: If you are used to world class media at all, this Indian-style news video will cause your mind to explode with its incomprehensible accent, inane graphics, and staccato delivery. Enjoy it, a little jingoism doesn’t hurt, eh!

Some thoughts on Indian Nobelists:

Another Indian settled abroad wins a Nobel Prize!

IU is thrilled, of course. There is the thrilling notion of a culture that continues to exercise creative, constructive influence even as, around us in the world, other cultures continue to spur adherents in destructive ways. Hopefully, this constitutes a true difference. On the other hand, why are not the Nobels won for work done IN India. Why do Indians win only when they leave the land and work elsewhere. Please, don’t blame the infrastructure or colonialism. Even Literature prize has gone to an expat, generations removed, and may someday do so again (to a Booker winning expat, no less).

IU will be even more thrilled if the Nobel goes someday to someone who actually worked on Indian soil, in an Indian laboratory, at an Indian institution. When such a day does arrive, IU hopes the winner doesn’t turn out to be a Haldane or a Ross. That would be rich irony!  Granted, science is truly global and color-blind, but the culture of the people who produce the scientists is very regional and ethnic. How people organize their hearts and minds does, matter.

IU will be waiting with a bated breath, for that day when a Nobel is won by an Indian who has never left the shores. That would have been the sort of land that Tagore was praying for. (Ahh, unwittingly, we come full circle back to him, our first (1913) Nobelist!)

A few more thoughts along these lines – it’s not the water! – can be found here.

Addendum:

Maps of India has a nice round up of India’s claim to Nobel fame.

India Unfinished, continues…

Update:

And leave it to Indians to dramatize every bit of life .. including one scientist’s inclination to lead the quiet life of science research. Details at Asian Window.