Diplomat Speaks on India's Democracy, Secular Strengths
Ramnik Soni & Anusha Seetharaman, WG'07
Issue date: 10/9/06 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
On Thursday October 5th, the Indian Consular General in New York, Ms.Neelam Deo visited Wharton to speak to students about Indian Democracy and its Secular Strengths. Ms.Deo is a career diplomat belonging to the prestigious Foreign Service cadre. She has served as Ambassador to Denmark and the Ivory Coast. Prior to her current posting in New York, she was Joint Secretary in charge of relations with Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Maldives.
Ms.Deo called attention to how the Indian democracy provides an example for living peacefully despite diversity of religion, language and race. This is a very relevant lesson in the increasingly polarized global environment. According to Deo, "with such a diverse community of people, democracy was the only option available to India upon Independence. In fact, it is unfortunate that we are referred to as a predominantly Hindu nation when there are more than 150 million Muslims-more than the entire Arab world. In fact, if India did not choose to become a democratic secular nation, it would have resulted in a fragmented nation and would not have survived."
Ms.Deo also called attention to the hotly debated topic of reservation for women and under-privileged persons in educational institutions and government undertakings and indicated that they were necessary to uplift years of oppression. She noted that these measures were not truly empowering in that women are still not accepted back into the workforce after a leave of absence to take care of the children.
In today's post-9/11 democracy, she indicated that India and US are closer than ever before, collaborating on technology and becoming strong economic partners. She also spoke of how the two countries are the most similar in terms of the institutional values and consequently the challenges that have to be overcome.
In response to a question about Indian culture and heritage, Ms.Deo spoke about the richness of culture and language that is India's heritage and how it is being kept alive by the global Indian community. She mentioned how, in New York, she often chooses between three Indian events for every evening and how she heard children sing pure Indian classical music comparable to that heard in India. She called attention to Indian authors such as Arundhati Roy as being some of the most prolific writers in contemporary culture.
On how India's economic leverage has affected diplomatic relationships with countries around the world, Ms.Deo spoke about the emergence of India as not just a outsourcing outpost but also as a domestic consumer of goods. She spoke of how this has meant strong relations with not just the United States but also with China. The recently signed nuclear technology treaty spoke to the changes occurring due to India's increasing recognition as a global economic power.
Ms.Deo called attention to how the Indian democracy provides an example for living peacefully despite diversity of religion, language and race. This is a very relevant lesson in the increasingly polarized global environment. According to Deo, "with such a diverse community of people, democracy was the only option available to India upon Independence. In fact, it is unfortunate that we are referred to as a predominantly Hindu nation when there are more than 150 million Muslims-more than the entire Arab world. In fact, if India did not choose to become a democratic secular nation, it would have resulted in a fragmented nation and would not have survived."
Ms.Deo also called attention to the hotly debated topic of reservation for women and under-privileged persons in educational institutions and government undertakings and indicated that they were necessary to uplift years of oppression. She noted that these measures were not truly empowering in that women are still not accepted back into the workforce after a leave of absence to take care of the children.
In today's post-9/11 democracy, she indicated that India and US are closer than ever before, collaborating on technology and becoming strong economic partners. She also spoke of how the two countries are the most similar in terms of the institutional values and consequently the challenges that have to be overcome.
In response to a question about Indian culture and heritage, Ms.Deo spoke about the richness of culture and language that is India's heritage and how it is being kept alive by the global Indian community. She mentioned how, in New York, she often chooses between three Indian events for every evening and how she heard children sing pure Indian classical music comparable to that heard in India. She called attention to Indian authors such as Arundhati Roy as being some of the most prolific writers in contemporary culture.
On how India's economic leverage has affected diplomatic relationships with countries around the world, Ms.Deo spoke about the emergence of India as not just a outsourcing outpost but also as a domestic consumer of goods. She spoke of how this has meant strong relations with not just the United States but also with China. The recently signed nuclear technology treaty spoke to the changes occurring due to India's increasing recognition as a global economic power.
Be the first to comment on this story