NRI sammelan for whom?

Apropos the report ‘Punjab diaspora special: NRI sammelan’ (January 11), the Chief Minister has again performed this annual ritual. These sammelans are attended by the few Indians who are either politically advanced in foreign lands or those who want to show off their NRI tag while they are on social visits to India. A majority of the participants are the owners of small businesses like liquor stores or trucking companies. Very few of them are successful doctors or engineers. NRIs have an almost negligible presence in the manufacturing sector in the West, especially in the USA. The participants neither have the capital nor the entrepreneurship to start a venture in India.

Some of them publish full-page paid advertisements or news in the Punjabi press of the USA to show that they were photographed with the Chief Minister of Punjab. That is all they do after their India visit.

The common NRI is too busy to pay off his mortgage of the house or car and he cannot afford this excursion. Moreover, the common NRI knows that almost all Indian politicians send their children to study in foreign countries and buy properties in the USA or Canada.

The toiling NRIs have nothing to do with the repeated shows.

KS Dhami, Freemont (USA)

Needless diplomatic row

This refers to the editorial “Tit for Tat Diplomacy” (January 11). We are needlessly creating bad blood in our relations with America when we know that Davyani Khobragade is not blameless and above board

Indian diplomats in Western countries behave with us in a shabby and insulting manner. Sometime back, my husband and I went to Canberra for some visa work. The gentleman in the High Commission dealt with us in an insulting manner. When my husband started speaking in Hindi, he haughtily said: "Speak in English." When my husband said that he would make a complaint, the gentleman said: "Do whatever you like."

When we were in India, my husband narrated this to his journalist friend who is the chief editor of a newspaper chain. He said he would write to Dr Manmohan Singh to recall this man to India (Is angrej de put nu India sad lao).

Satinder Kaur, Griffith ( Australia)

Idealism has vanished

No doubt, India has witnessed tremendous progress in almost every walk of life. However, somewhere on the way, the idealism that brought freedom to the country has vanished. And this has made all the difference. As a consequence, power brokers and criminal groups have displaced the motivated and devoted leaders. Little wonder that naked pursuit of power and pelf rule the roost on the vital political front. How sad!