The Governor of the state of Louisiana, US is 'Indian-American' Piyush "Bobby" Jindal. His steady climb to dizzy heights in American politics is the stuff for every migrant's ultimate American dream! The boy - conceived in India and born in the US after his parents had migrated - had made it big through his sustained efforts, chasing a dream and has been quoted in this country as a success story, worthy of emulation!
Last week, his carefully crafted image suffered a dent and a serious one at that wherein the Governor became the butt of jokes and derisive tweets. And the reason.........
Bobby Jindal had been painted in lighter tones to make him appear white Caucasian, in an official portrait, bringing the struggle with his ethnicity to the fore(When I read the report for the first time, I was reminded of a pathetic looking Michael Jackson, who'd gone through a similar image makeover years back!). Why did Jindal have to do this in a country that had convincingly elected a mixed race African American, Barack Hussein Obama, as its President?
Actually, as the stories suggest, 'the whitewashing' would not have grabbed headlines had it not been for Jindal disdaining the term 'Indian American' in the recent past. Combined with his conservative record, arising from converting to Christianity while in high school and changing his name to Bobby has been viewed as a political game plan in pursuit of higher office to make himself more acceptable to the voting public!
My take.
I feel sorry for the poor man. A shameless eagerness to shed one's own identity, grab the other's to gain acceptability speaks poorly of the man and points a finger at his ethics. I wish I wasn't this harsh but, unfortunately, that's the over-riding emotion that comes by - a sinking feeling that he wouldn't mind dumping anything to achieve his aim! Is this what 'searing ambition' is all about?
Tailpiece.
Sad! Why doesn't his family give him the right advice?
Last week, his carefully crafted image suffered a dent and a serious one at that wherein the Governor became the butt of jokes and derisive tweets. And the reason.........
Bobby Jindal had been painted in lighter tones to make him appear white Caucasian, in an official portrait, bringing the struggle with his ethnicity to the fore(When I read the report for the first time, I was reminded of a pathetic looking Michael Jackson, who'd gone through a similar image makeover years back!). Why did Jindal have to do this in a country that had convincingly elected a mixed race African American, Barack Hussein Obama, as its President?
Actually, as the stories suggest, 'the whitewashing' would not have grabbed headlines had it not been for Jindal disdaining the term 'Indian American' in the recent past. Combined with his conservative record, arising from converting to Christianity while in high school and changing his name to Bobby has been viewed as a political game plan in pursuit of higher office to make himself more acceptable to the voting public!
My take.
I feel sorry for the poor man. A shameless eagerness to shed one's own identity, grab the other's to gain acceptability speaks poorly of the man and points a finger at his ethics. I wish I wasn't this harsh but, unfortunately, that's the over-riding emotion that comes by - a sinking feeling that he wouldn't mind dumping anything to achieve his aim! Is this what 'searing ambition' is all about?
Tailpiece.
Sad! Why doesn't his family give him the right advice?
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