India-US relations: cooling and warming up (merged thread)

[carl]

Maid-gate:

I don't know much about this case. There doesn't seem to be much in the American press. So these comments will be general. Also I don't know any NYPD guys or whoever arrested her.

As far as publicly arresting somebody, that isn't unusual. You pick them where it is most convenient and if they don't like it, tough. As far as a strip search goes, that would depend mostly upon the procedures in place at the facility she was booked into. I would hope such a facility wouldn't make an exception because of somebody's status. Then of course perhaps they had discretion and chose to exercise it because she ticked them off. Also I've read that diplomats in NY severely abuse their privileges so there might be a bit of payback involved when one does a crime they can get hooked up for.

Judging by the bail, this isn't a little crime. They are taking this seriously. Lastly, it seems to me that Americans get ticked off when somebody enslaves somebody else, especially when the enslaver is a guest in the country.

If that makes American cops d--------s, so be it.

[Ray]

[Ray]

The above gives the gist of the case.

The interesting issue is that while the maid was paid an appalling salary by US standards, then how is it that she will support her husband and two children the the US.

The US vets visa applications very stringently.

How come this passed muster wherein the family will surely not be able to sustain itself and will be a burden on the US?

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The diplomat was subjected to also 'cavity' search.

Is wage dispute a 'grave' crime in the US?

Do those, who are not even diplomats, but are US citizens who employ the illegal Mexicans down south, subjected to these indignities?

[Ray]

Report: Some at U.S. diplomatic posts earn less than $1 a day

The report from the department's Office of the Inspector General looked at how the U.S. pays more than 51,000 local, non-American employees in about 170 missions. In addition to the hardship caused to the workers because of inadequate pay, the report found that the U.S. is losing staff to other higher-paying employers and may not be able to fill vacancies with qualified people.............................

The report says the hardest-hit local employees are those at the lowest levels, and quotes some employees as saying they make less than $1 a day.

Some U.S. missions are in impoverished parts of the world where low salaries are common, and there is a wide range in pay depending on what jobs are performed and where. But the report sets out a stark picture of the richest country in the world paying some of the lowest salaries.

"Twenty-seven missions presented compelling arguments that their lower-grade employees fall short of minimal living standards," the report said......

"These arguments included accounts of LE [locally employed] staff: removing children from school, cutting back to one meal a day, sending children to sell water or little cakes or toiletries on the streets ... employees depending on salary advances and defaulting on loans in order to cover basic expenses ... [pay]grades 1 to 3 earning less than $1.00 per day."

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS...ef=werecommend

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May see this also

http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=821486

[carl]

Ray:

The time line you cited sounds like a defense attorney's slant on things. Maybe its true. Maybe not. The criminal complaint will be the interesting thing and important thing to read. It is really the only thing that matters.

The 'diplomat' became a 'prisoner' the second she was arrested. If the jail's procedures require a cavity search during processing, then that is what will be done. She was a prisoner, not a diplomat-prisoner.

At the risk of being inflammatory, what caste is the maid and what caste is the diplomat? Who is higher in the caste pecking order?

[Ray]

Ray:

The time line you cited sounds like a defense attorney's slant on things. Maybe its true. Maybe not. The criminal complaint will be the interesting thing and important thing to read. It is really the only thing that matters.

The 'diplomat' became a 'prisoner' the second she was arrested. If the jail's procedures require a cavity search during processing, then that is what will be done. She was a prisoner, not a diplomat-prisoner.

At the risk of being inflammatory, what caste is the maid and what caste is the diplomat? Who is higher in the caste pecking order?

This is what the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations states:

Article 40 of Vienna Convention speaks of 'protection of consular officers'.

It says that the receiving State shall treat consular officers with due respect and shall take all appropriate steps to prevent any attack on their person, freedom or dignity.

Also, Article 41 of the convention says that consular officers are not liable to arrest or detention pending trial, except in the case of a grave crime and pursuant to a decision by the competent judicial authority.

It further says that consular officers cannot be imprisoned or be subjected to any other form of restriction on their personal freedom, unless there is a judicial order.

In case, a consular officer is arrested, he/she should appear before the competent authorities and should be conducted with the 'respect due to him by reason of his official position', says the Convention.

Article 43 says that consular officers and consular employees shall not be amenable to the jurisdiction of the judicial or administrative authorities of the receiving State in respect of acts performed in the exercise of consular functions.

[Ray]

I would add that the US diplomats have been accorded facilities beyond the Convention. This includes the consular staff.

Further, the Indian Govt has allowed US diplomatic staff to being their "companions' into the country. Companions here mean same sex 'married' people.

Sec 377 of the Indian Penal Code declares homosexuality a criminal offence.

There is a clamour that these diplomatic staff have broken Indian Laws and so they must be prosecuted under Indian Laws since they have broken Indian Laws.

Further, the Indian staff in the US Embassy and the Consulates, which are taken to be sovereign US territory, are paid less than US rates of pay.

Why are the US diplomats not being subjected to the same treatment as Ms Khobragade when they are blatantly flouting US laws?

In India it is felt that the US has double standards.

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At the risk of being inflammatory, what caste is the maid and what caste is the diplomat? Who is higher in the caste pecking order?

No, you are not being inflammatory.

It is just that you feel caste is a big deal in India, To be frank it is not as is imputed by foreigners.

However, to answer your question.

Both are SCHEDULED CASTE!

Therefore the idea that high caste vs low caste is at play is not there.

It also shows that caste does not play any major role in India, unlike what is popularly felt abroad, as the whole nation is inflamed, debunking that caste plays a role in asking for justice and fairplay.