India hardball is the game you want play, Maldives is not the best ground to play

Indian administration remark regarding Maldives government decisions to scrap GMR’s airport development project would be labeled as “immature”. Indian government made it very clear that GMR should stay in Maldives. One thing you should appreciate in GMR-Maldives saga is that GMR got the necessary power required to pull string in the Indian government.

India is the superpower of South Asia and Maldives is the smallest nation in Asia. This is a battle India can’t afford lose in terms of foreign diplomacy. The incumbent Congress also needs to win this war as election is on the horizon.

GMR thought Maldives as Fiji but they failed realized this islanders are pretty good at playing games when it comes to investment. When India and few other nations were colony of British Empire, Maldives outsmarted British and maintained its independence. Maldives did not wage a war to reclaim its land from British. Former president Ibrahim Naseer took back Gan from British using diplomacy.

Maldives may be small and is a small Muslim nation but the reality is its south Asian gate way to western world. Maldives is a major player in south Asian foreign diplomacy.  Under the steward ship of Former Maldivian Foreign Minister Ibrahim Hussain Zaki, SARC rose to prominence. Before that hardly people with in South Asia also knew about organization. Indian needs Maldives as much as Maldives need India.

Indian government should understand at the end of day  GMR issue was just simply business. Indian media should not take us as Pakistan; we are not Islamic militia nation. Indian Media is quick to highlight the some thirty thousand Indian live in Maldives failing to acknowledge 30% of them are illegal immigrants. They fail to acknowledge there lot of Indian investment in Maldives, who have been doing business for few decades.  

GMR came to Maldives as cocky multinational and failed big time. Here some of the main reason they failed.

 Failure to understand Maldivian culture

GMR chose worst time to invest. Maldives was undergoing huge change culturally and politically. This is a nation where youth listen to Pinkfloyd to Metallica. People are familiar with Davinchi and Darwins works. It seems GMR thought Maldives as small nation, with bunch of illiterates, who they can slave as they want. Mistreat as they want. The reality came to them biting as first few months they had problems with the staff of baggage handling department. From very start they had problems with laws and regulation of Maldives. They were found guilty of unlawful firing of few staffs by Employment tribunal of Maldives.

Bribes do not work all the time

First fall the politicians in Maldives as corrupt as their counterparts in sub-continent may be in the Maldives it is worse than any other country. They have been accusation that leading figures in DRP(the main opposition party two years ago) took some lofty gifts from GMR. If it’s true, it was worst way to spend their bribe money. Two years ago power struggle within DRP resulted in formation of PPM, which was led by former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. PPM stood against whatever MDP and DRP stood for.  GMR’s aggressive approach of flexing their financial mussels to buy people who are against them and support the politicians who defended GMR did not go well with PPM. Maumoon leading PPM, GMR forgot wealth of experience he brings to the table, as he was undisputed leader of this nation for 30 years. GMR got sucked in to old man’s trickery. GMR took Maumoon as a dinosaur, who belonged to museum. Its evident old man has plenty fight left him.

 There was no doubt this project was beneficial to Maldives and GMR, but GMR miss calculation cost them dearly. Maldives was fed up with 30 years abuse of power by former leader and they will not put up with abuse of power by anyone any more. As student of economics I believe there is more civilized ways to send GMR packing back to turkey or Delhi. But who is going to put up with Indian management style in Maldives.

Nasty truth

Indus Valley civilization has defined India, Its time to say good bye and embrace new things

An average Indian would practice certain aspect c of the great indus valley civilization without knowing from birth to death. To understand this aspect of their culture you have to be among them. Live with them, study with them and observe them as you are one of them. India try to promote their nation as “in diversity you find unity”. The simple fact is conflicts arise in this colorful nation is not due to the racial discrimination. So you may be thinking what this guy talking about? Indus Valley? Discrimination?? WT@?

In the Indus Valley Civilization, the society was divided into 3 distinct social groups. One group ruled and administered the city; the other group included the merchants who were associated with trade and other business activities in the city. The third group was that of the labourers who worked in the city.

I may not expert on the subject but from what I have seen the imprints of social caste system from Indus valley civilization is found every corner in the street, every institution privet or public you visit. The elites of the society have consciously or unconsciously derived a system where they are become important to others. They manage cultivate a culture where people without pulling power become absorbed to them. The children a taught you have to address your superiors as “respected sir “. Sir in English  language means a man of social authority and dignity; a lord; a master; a gentleman. You are giving that respect when you say sir itself.

So far what I have seen “respect” is a one way process. In sub-continent respect is an art of molesting powerless people in terms of social acceptance and wealth. I am unable to digest the fact people let them be exploited by this attention and power hungry parasites. People think they deserved it, god has already decided their fate, it is their destiny to be begging for every single thing, even for everything they earn.   People here need to understand at the end of the day other will judge you by who you are, not the person who is next you or the person you bow to.

India is going to celebrate its independence day but its make me wonder are people really independent?

Note: Im one dimensional so do not go all crazy I have written truth from my angel. I do not give $#!t about what others thing because im really frustrated with the warden :P

Maldivian Media isn’t free Media,

I’m ashamed that once I was one of You
“Give them 1 inch they will stretch it to 12 inches” this is the way my principal used to describe Maldivians when I was in grade 10.At that time I thought he was hypocrite. Four years fast forward it seems he had just perfect words to describe Maldivians. Few days ago we hailed our press freedom day but many journalist celebrated day, as former journalist I thought it was time to Maldivian press to grow up. When Current Maldivian administration was considering about accepting the Guantanamo bay inmate’s, opposition wasted no time to attack Mr.Nashee’s government. And our media reported it without any research. So our media is free? I would not agree with them. They all seem to have their own political agenda. They all have forgotten the ethics of journalism. Personally if current administration decides to accept Guantanamo bay detainees I will hail Mr.Nasheed’s decision. Everyone knows what the suffering detainees go through in at that detention facility. For Mp’s who are opposing the idea can be labeled as hypocrites. Maldives recently joined the UN human right council and as a nation we are stepping up as human rights ambassador. None of them highlighted significance of such action in international politics. As nations we have to grow and I hail current administration efforts to enhance our reputation internationally. It’s not first time a country has accepted detainees from Guantanamo bay.
Since 2002, more than 590 detainees have departed Guantanamo Bay for other destinations, including Albania, Algeria, Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Belgium, Bermuda, Chad, Denmark, Egypt, Georgia, France, Hungary, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, Pakistan, Palau, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Somalia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uganda, United Kingdom and Yemen. But most of them returned to their native nations. May 15, 2009: Lakhdar Boumediene, an Algerian national, is released to France. He had been held since 2002. Two of detainees were sent to Portugal and Bulgaria accepted few detainees. They have been labeled as war criminals under Geneva conventions under which they have answer only four questions and yet they are held there. Maldives step up to plate to help their Muslim brothers who held against internationally accepted human rights law and our oppositions have a problem with that. It’s a shame to be Maldivian if the move falls through. Think once about Uighurs (Chinese Muslims). For once think of them. The Uighurs were cleared for release in 2004 but the US says they may face persecution if returned to China. If were not willing to help our Muslim brothers we have no right call 100% Muslim nations. Many Muslim Uighurs from Xinjiang in western China want greater autonomy for the region and some want independence. Beijing has waged a campaign against what it calls their violent separatist activities.
We are not Myanmar to live in isolated world. We are Maldives, always stepped up for just cause. I was quite surprised by DRP’s MP Ali Waheed words. He said “Being a member of the parliament, Vice Chair of parliamentary National Security Committee and a Maldivian, I condemn the government’s actions regarding the matter, appeal the committee to investigate it as an urgent matter and prevent the government from proceeding with the process. As this may pose a threat to national security, I also ask the committee to investigate all the parties who neglected the issue, especially Foreign Minister Dr Ahmed Shaheed”
Mr. Ali Waheed this is not Stone Age we have up our game as nation when required. And for Maldivian Media to be free you have to fight evil with in you. None of news paper thought of mentioning the Westerner countries accepted the Gitmo detainees. How Uighurs treated Xinjiang.

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