Good morning my fellow sabasearchers, over the weekend I was doing some reading when I came upon an article:

Kumari Mayawati, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, India’s largest state, has emerged as the most important low-caste politician in India’s history, and she is asserting herself as a rainbow coalition leader, a woman whom all Indians can trust to be their prime minister one day.

I think that is great news, the next Hilary Clinton for India no doubt, and here is the most interesting point - she is unmarried. Her forward thinking has lead to her campaigning for an eight lane superhighway (a 600-mile, $7.5 billion highway stretching across the state) as well as better policing and private investment as a means to ease poverty. Some of her rivals might say that she is ostentatious and corrupt and would strike deals with anyone who will advance her political ambitions. Sounds like she is ready to come to the big leagues.

Others would summarize her as this; “She is an original,” said Ajoy Bose, author of a largely sympathetic political biography of Mayawati published recently by Penguin Books India. “She is someone who is obviously going to play a major role in our lives.”

Well we are a few weeks away from the final voting and I can’t wait to see the outcome. Read the article and see what else she has done to help the development of India.

Read the full article here

Are you going to vote during the 2008 Presedential elections?  Chances are, if you’re South Asian, the answer for half of you is NO.  But why is that?  Don’t people (South Asians) understand that if more and more South Asians vote in the public polls, then we provide strength and attention to the South Asian community as a whole?

Currently, although South Asians are one of the most predominant and educated ethnic groups in the United States, we still seem to be failing in casting our votes for any public election.  Is this because of our laziness, or is it because we feel that our vote doesn’t count in the grand scheme of things?  Or maybe its because we don’t like providing demographical information about ourselves, which is required when we vote?  Shoot, I bet if all of the South Asians in Houston had voted in the last election, you’d be guaranteed to see Obama porched up on Hillcroft next to Roop Sari Palace trying to speak Hindi while eating a samosa!  That’s exactly what we need for our local and national South Asian businesses and organizations - attention.

One organization who is dedicated to promoting the South Asian Youth Vote and strengthening the South Asian political voice is SAAVY (South Asian American Voting Youth).  SAAVY is an organization that wants to promote the South Asian political vote in order to force politicians to focus more of their attention on the South Asian community.  Their strategy for accomplishing this is to ensure that all South Asians take part in their public elections.  Here is an excerpt from the SAAVY.org website, which states their mission:

The mission is to empower South Asian American youth 18-25 yrs to be a unified political voice and will allow South Asian American issues to be pushed to the forefront of American politics. We will educate, organize and mobilize South Asian youth to create a national united voice and increase political participation as well as civic engagement.”

So what’s YOUR reason not to vote this year?  We want to hear what’s keeping our South Asian communities (especially our Youth) from going to the polls and strengthening the voice of the South Asian community.

Still need to Register to vote?  Register to vote here.

(Photo from The New York Times)

Yes you heard right folks, it is just a matter of time before we Americans have the honor of welcoming our very first African American president. Here is a quote from the future president:

Tonight, we mark the end of one historic journey with the beginning of another; a journey that will bring a new and better day to America…Because of you, tonight I can stand here and say that I will be the Democratic nominee for president of the United States of America.

This is a new era, where the minorities of this great country will make the difference as we
look further into the future. Congratulations to Obama for a well fought victory!

Source

There have been many rumors since the beginning of the year that McCain was looking at Bobby Jindal as a potential VP candidate if nominated as the republican presidential hopeful.  That rumor got much more serious over the weekend as Jindal was invited to Mccain’s ranch in Arizona along with other business leaders and politicians.

Jindal denied any talks he may have had with Mccain regarding that topic, but did mention that they were able to discuss many “topics” of interest behind closed doors.  When also asked about declining an offer to be VP, Jindal responded “You don’t turn down the pretty girl from prom before she asks…”

Analysts say that Jindal is still very much a potential running mate for Mccain as he provides the minority touch that the Mccain camp so badly needs to compete with Obama.

The following is a video report of Jindal’s trip to Arizona from Hardball:

So do you think Jindal will win the slot for VP?  Pandits are saying that Jindal offers the popular face among the republicans with his conservative views and striking personality.   Jindal, coming from a South Asian background, is a devout catholic, and also offers experience in a tax program that Mccain looks to install.

If he wins the VP, how does this impact the South Asian community? 

Ready, set, comment…

Is your business involved in any type of offshoring or manufacturing overseas?  Well, we know this is a hot topic for lots of our South Asian business owners, so we thought we’d dive in and explain the differences in opinion expressed by Senators Obama and Clinton over the past few days.

The main question is this - Who should I choose as a democratic candidate if I am currently manufacturing (or developing) my product offshore?  Who will best support my business model?  Maybe this will help you a bit…

Clinton - In her economic speech today, Clinton reinforced her stance on bringing the manufacturing sector back to the united states.  She feels the dependency on other countries puts the US in a crutch, and forces our economy to fluctuate based on others’ economic output.  She also feels that the solution to the economy is a job stimulus plan.  In order to bring jobs back to the states, she feels that we need to regulate the ability to utilize offshore and overseas manufacturing opportunities, therefore bringing those jobs back to the US.  She also believes heavily in governmental intervention, where the government should fund Health Care and other social plans.

Obama - Obama’s economic plan has encouraged and applauded offshoring of technology and manufacturing from day one.  His campaign believes if the U.S. continues to create equal dependancies of trade and manufacturing to overseas countries, it minimizes the threats we face around the globe.  Think about it, if China, India, Russia and other countries have a bigger stake in the U.S., they are less inclined to pose war and conflict against us.  He also believes that the solution for stimulating jobs is not to kill the offshoring industry, but rather to flourish it, and include the US in a more global economy.  Equalization and globalization helps promote world peace, in Obama’s eyes.

So there you have it…If you are a small business, you essentially have nothing to worry about if either candidate were elected.  However, if you are a big company, with solid operations, development or manufacturing in India, China or another overseas country, then you might be in for some tighter regulations and higher fees with Clinton.  Both democratic candidates have valid points, with very different points of views.  Obama definitely creates his strategy from a foreign policy standpoint, while Clinton is more focused on driving change within the country and relying heavily on the government for support.

We have not decided yet who we support as a Democratic nominee, but one thing is for sure.  We are in for a huge CHANGE.