Not only have I not had any word regarding the status of the application, but I have tried on numerous occasions to contact someone, anyone, with no success. I actually thought I might be a silly, over-reacting American when I decided a month ago, “Hey, let’s try to see if we can find out about the application.” Even though I knew there was still time left, I had a faint fear that the deadline would come and go without a word. And it has.

We attempted calling numbers from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) website, no answer. Going to the local office for foreigners, “We can’t help until 90 days are up.”

I’m slightly afraid as I write this post that I should be censoring myself. But the Indian government does takes pride in offering freedom of speech. After all, independence happened from the British because people were able to openly criticize.  So as I blog, I will enjoy this right as any Indian or PIO. I know that my application is still accurate, my spouse is Indian and as such I deserve PIO status.

I’ve been told to be patient, that these things take time. I was patient, for the 90 days. Now, not so much. Sorry, I’ve reached my limit!

It seems it might take less time for those applying from abroad. Even my husband is now stating (after the fact) that he had a feeling it would be tougher to do “inside”. But, being residents here, we were following the rules that we were supposed to apply here.

See this forum thread about someone who’s PIO application took 17 months to process from Delhi! One bonus of this experience: connecting with other expats in India…

Note: I have revised this post after realizing my misinterpretation of the procedures. They’re not quite so straightforward.

of cars, thoughts and rats.

Continuous comparison,

city life of crowds and competition

no space to hear yourself think

others breathing down your neck

the heat grit smoke dust

choking all life around.

The seat of government and diplomacy,

madness and no mercy.

To thrive: a miraculous task;

most just barely survive.

The dream and drive of making it big,

the unbeatable will to stay alive.

Against all odds the craze continues

rewarding few

crippling many.

Delhi, do you have any idea

of where you’re leading the country?

You are an unsettled head

in an aching body.

You are trying too hard to keep up,

to prove yourself to the world,

and leaving too much behind.

Delhi, in my belly, on my mind:

are you aware of what you’re doing?

Mr. Geithner has his work cut out for him, economists and policy analysts in both India and the United States say. Reaching economic agreements between the two countries has traditionally been an arduous task.

“On principle, they both agree on everything,” said Jahangir Aziz, chief India economist at J. P. Morgan in Mumbai. “It always comes down to the nitty-gritty and that’s where things get stuck. Part of the problem is neither of them wants to give the other side an inch.”

Shouldn’t the US go a little easier on India, given the size of its market?

It took nearly 20 years for the United States to lift a ban on imports of Indian mangoes, for example, and a deal to allow energy-strapped India access to American nuclear technology, agreed to in principle four years ago, still has not cleared all the legal hurdles that would let American companies sign contracts here. The two countries remain far apart on American farm subsidies and India’s unwillingness to open its markets to foreign farmers, because they both want to protect their agricultural sectors. The countries’ disagreements there helped to scuttle global trade negotiations in 2008.

A funny & relevant tweet from Sadhguru’s public talk yesterday:

When you start thinking only I am right and everybody else is wrong, this is the first step towards madness.

Surely the US qualifies?

Isha Vidhya, with all your patronage and blessings, has, from one school in 2006, grown to six schools presently. Close to about 2000 children (70% under scholarships), have made rapid strides in their lives and now we are able to see noticeable difference in their approach to life and education. All this is possible through valuable contributions from likeminded people like you. We thank you for what you have done to the lives of rural children.

Now, with a donation from a corporate donor, we are now ready to start our 7th school in Vanavasi, near Mettur (Salem). On the 3rd of April 2010, we plan to start construction of the school by performing a ground breaking ceremony.

“A patriarchal ethos dominates both the societies, American and Indian, but they operate in different ways. In India, despite the patriarchal ethos, powerful women leaders have emerged,” says political scientist Imtiaz Ahmed.

The most famous examples are BSP chief Mayawati and AIADMK head Jayalalitha. Both emerged from the shadow of iconic godfathers, to establish themselves as leaders with grassroots support.

It is not enough to be someone’s wife, sister or mistress in Indian politics. Neerja Gopal Jayal, professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University’s centre of law and governance points out that “Even at the panchayat level, we have had women from the member families being nominated. But the first time, patronage may work but not the second time. And this is true at the national level too.”

I myself have often wondered how, especially in the super-conservative state of Rajasthan, female leaders have established themselves. (See today’s article about Sonia Gandhi criticizing “the corrupt and inefficient [Vasundhara Raje] government.”)

Ranjana Kumari, director of the Centre for Social Research says, “What is unique to India, is the fact that women have the space to grow as leaders. Maybe, it has to do with our cultural ethos, where women are worshipped as goddesses.’’

I’m not so sure about the goddess worship argument, considering the low status of the majority of women; I think it could be more likely the ethos of ‘Mother India’ and the self-sacrificing stereotype of mothers/women.

I wanted to discuss another documentary film I recently saw called ‘Chitti Hatia’ or White Shops. It was a brief (one hour) but moving film about a man’s search for his grandfather’s home in what is now Pakistan. About humanity and humility, simplicity and forgiveness. From the film’s blog:

Chitti Hatia, the story of Bittoo Sondhi, a Delhi based biker and his triumph over the unknown. Bittoo’s father, at the age of thirteen, migrated to India during the partition. This 52 minute film explores the streets of Rawalpindi, to help Bittoo fulfill his fathers’ long cherished dream of revisiting his birth place-a wish which could not be realized till his death. Bittoo however got an opportunity to fulfill his fathers dream when his cartoonist friend Sharad Sharma received an invitation to run a comics workshop in Lahore.
Once the workshop was over, both Bittoo and Sharad set out on a mission to search for Bittoo’s ancestral house in Rawalpindi. Chitti Hatia is not just a search, but rather a chronicle which talks about partition and a family that was forced to migrate from Pakistan and as well helps to break the stereotypical image of Pakistan. It takes the viewers on a journey across the border to show them that the people there are as friendly as they are on this side of the border-helpful, hospitable and compassionate.

See this interview with the creators (in Hinglish):

The film gives us a multi-dimensional look at partition. It starts with the personal psychological turmoil of Bittoo at not being able to help his father’s wish, then presents a series of interviews with his elderly family members to give us an idea of how his father got to India–by himself at the age of 13. The suspense builds as they set out for their search in Pakistan, and the audience is gripped by the uncertainty of whether or not he will actually find the home. I won’t spoil the ending, but I will just say that I was really struck by the poignancy of this film which speaks the simple truth that we are all humans linked together, regardless of what has happened in the past to make it seem like we are separate.

The film was shown by the Jaipur branch of an organisation called Pravah which seeks to promote youth leadership and civic action.

The fact is that women in most countries are expected to be compassionate, nurturing, and to put their own needs aside on a regular basis. In most Third World countries, a woman’s primary job is considered to be homemaker and mother. Few ever have the opportunity to pursue an interest, much less a job or career. If a woman is not compassionate, she is considered a bad woman. Even in more modern societies like Japan, women are still supposed to make their husband and children the primary focus of their life. For this reason, many Japanese women are deliberately delaying getting married, since they know that once they do so they will be expected to stop their career and make homemaking their major occupation. The same is true in many Middle Eastern countries and in India.

In my practice I have worked with many Middle Eastern and Indian women whose own mothers were pressured into getting married. Far from being compassionate, they describe their mothers are harsh, critical and impatient. Sensing that they may be the same way with their own children, they resist getting married. But they receive so much pressure from their families that they usually give in. They end up not only sacrificing their own lives (many would prefer to have a career) but their future children’s lives as well since they find they cannot emotionally connect with their children or that they take their anger and frustration out on their children.

This links to my recent UV post where I referred to the idealisation of sacrifice, and when it is forced everything goes awry. In theory it sounds nice, but actually we all have hopes and dreams for ourselves which often do not fit with society’s expectations for us. So the cycle of suffering keeps getting perpetuated…

A cell phone ring tone that sings “Condom, condom!” has been launched to promote safe sex in India, where condoms carry considerable social stigma and HIV and AIDS are growing problems, health experts said on Tuesday.

The a cappella ring tone features a professional singer chanting the word condom more than 50 times, a playful approach that public health activists hope will spark discussion and make condoms more socially acceptable.

“We’ve made a conscious effort to move the concept of the condom away from negative association, like HIV and sex work,” said Yvonne MacPherson, country director of BBC World Service Trust India. “Condoms are actually health products and if you have a condom and you use it, you are seen to be smart and responsible.”

More than 270 million people use mobile phones in India and ring tones, especially those featuring hit Bollywood songs, are extremely popular.

“A ring tone is a very public thing,” she said. “It’s a way to show you are a condom user and you don’t have any issues with it.”

The ring tone was launched on August 8 and has been downloaded 60,000 times, MacPherson said.

Wonder why it only hit the news today if it was launched 11 days ago.

More on the condom front: At the Mexico AIDS conference, Ramadoss (of legalize homosexuality fame) is set to promote the female condom. I’m glad to see this in the news again, as it has been almost a year since I’ve seen anything about it (see here).

National Aids Control Organisation is, therefore, seriously considering a proposal to make these condoms available across the country for just Rs 3. Union health minister A Ramadoss said at the International Aids Conference here that over 87% of the HIV infections in India are caused by unprotected sex.

“Around 38% of all new infections are occurring among women. The pilot phase where we distributed 5 lakh female condoms proved to be a huge success. We now plan to intensify our campaign for female condoms. In 2001, we had 900,000 general condom outlets. By 2010, we will have 3 million,” Ramadoss said.

The BBC has more information on the NACO female condom initiative:

So for the past few months, the women of Mohammadpur have been encouraged to use the female condom.

It is a move that initially raised eyebrows. This is, after all, a conservative part of the country, where women are rarely in control of their lives.

‘Life-changing’

But instead, I find them completely open about discussing the topic with me, an urban male – something that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.

“It’s completely changed our lives,” says another of the village women, Sarita.

“We’ve got a sense of freedom, of being liberated. We feel completely in control.”

The women say the female condom gives them a sense of freedom.

Another anti-AIDS initiative is the Red Ribbon Express:

On July 24 a specially designed train with seven cheery yellow coaches chugged in to the Bangalore railway station, carrying in it a motley group of cultural troupes, educational materials and giant models, one of which is of a pregnant mother with an automated voice of a child that regularly reminds her of precautionary measures during the pregnancy. With a salute to life and the inspiring slogan ‘Zindagi Zindabad’ (literally meaning ‘Long Live Life’), the Red Ribbon Express (RRE) started its year-long journey along the length and breadth of India carrying the critical messages associated with HIV/AIDS. That the Indian railways should be made the vehicle of this campaign is apt since it is the one government-run machinery that single-handedly connects and reaches out to the largest numbers in the country.

In partnership with various international, national, state and local organizations, the Indian Railways employed the colourful coaches of the train to convey, through innovative and interactive educational material, information on HIV specifically dealing with primary prevention services and enhancing people’s knowledge about such preventive measures, health habits, lifestyle and safe behavioral practices and developing a more unprejudiced understanding of the virus and consequently removing the associated stigma and discrimination against positive persons and their families.

When asked if it was a genuine case of a miscarriage, Mehta said, “Believe what you will.” The court had said that medical reports had not ruled out a normal life with medical aid for the baby when born. However, one of the paediatricians consulted had indicated that there could be intra-uterine death of the foetus or other complications.

Unless the GOI decides to investigate or press charges, I guess the issue is over.

Addressing a 250-strong India session at the International AIDS Conference here on Thursday, he strongly campaigned for the changing the law which makes homosexuality illegal. “Section 377 of IPC, which criminalizes men who have sex with men, must go,” he said, at the risk of inviting a political reaction back home.

I wonder if it would have made it more difficult for him if he’d actually been in India, making the statement? Regardless, it was plastered on the front page so it’s not as if it’s been hushed up.

Gay activists are understandably encouraged, and

are now planning to strengthen their campaign as they feel “a favourable wind is blowing in their direction”.

A TOI editorial notes though that

The home ministry, which is responsible for implementation of the IPC, is against the removal of Section 377 since it is under this section that prosecution of child abusers and other sexual offenders is carried out. The solution may be to amend, not repeal, the law.

All right already, then just fix it so homosexuality isn’t a crime!

I am Natasha
she said with pride
I am what I am
A fact I wont hide
the world
of the androgynous
my paradise
dance my divinity
a metaphor of humility
with god as my guide
like a breath of fresh air
into human hearts
I slide
man woman the androgyne
a widening divide
article 377
the scourge of our existence
I take in my stride
Thank you
Dr A Ramadoss
Your Kindness
Your Sincerity
Your Vision
at the Indian Aids Conference
with which
you replied
Politics of Purity
God by your side
Our Right to Freedom
of our Sexuality
as the Third Path of Peace
that has been denied

From Firoze at hijdaeunuchblog.