Maharajah Bami…

His Oneness causes  traffic problems abroad,  in the air and on the ground as well.   He and his huge entourage will use an air-conditioned,  bomb-proof tunnel to reach  the Gandhi Museum,  just part of the epic  security forces being employed.   Some Muslims in Mumbai are enraged by the report that a bomb-sniffing dog named Khan is on the security teams.   Indian leaders were furious that security demanded their papers,  for which Hillary’s State  Department has profusely apologized.

Obama  is claiming that his stay at Taj is a  “powerful message against terror”,  but  South Mumbai is  essentially locked down for the presidential visit.   We are also informed that His Oneness doesn’t  view India as the land of call centers,   and that he described Gandhi as a hero to the world.    That’s an extremely charitable view of Mr. Gandhi,  who was quite the  nut job,  and who would have been dead and unknown if he had used his tactics against a nation other than Britain,  which exhibited the same weakness of kindness in dealing with its foes that other Western nations do.

So much for having tried to pave the way with his Diwali greetings.    Some locals  fear he will serve to dampen the lively celebrations,   as  fireworks will be banned in South Mumbai,  which scarcely seems helpful if you want  to celebrate the festival of lights with the Indian people while convincing them to buy more of our exports.

We know that the  carbon footprint for this  long-planned visit by the self-proclaimed green president is larger than that of many U.S. cities.   The $200 million figure given as the cost by Indian press is likely wrong,  but we know not only that  it’s expensive,  but also  suspect His Oneness is spending  quite a  bit more than either of the two previous presidents would have.

Here is an American views of what India expects,  and another of what  it might mean,  and here  is one from India which I find particularly insightful.   The Wall Street  Journal blogs have some very interesting material on the trip,  including his speech,  for which he used his  teleprompters,  not what Indians expect from trained orators.

for maharajah. S       maharajah