The Public Diplomacy Blog

Blogathon India 2012: A high impact meet in New Delhi

2012-06-01T12:18:00.000+05:30

Unlike in the West, where blogs have emerged as a serious form of commentary, in India, traditional media remains dominant. While niche blogs are becoming important in spaces like food, music, sports, travel, fashion, entertainment and gadgets, bloggers have a long way to go before wielding any serious influence on the public discourse. Blogs are important to expand the civic space and break the stranglehold of 'brahmanical' Indian media, where sometimes, vested interests can influence conversations.

It was therefore interesting to have a Blogathon in New Delhi recently, that saw more than 100+ bloggers getting together to interact and network. Blogathon India, a new network for Indian bloggers, concluded their first meet up called the ‘Dell Blogathon’ 2012 on May 26th, at The Second Sin, New Delhi. The theme of the meet up was aligned to the aim of the network .i.e.

"Celebrating the power of blogging together"

(From L t R: Ankul, Akshita & Karan)

The event was organized by Blogathon India co-founders Ankul Barar, Akshita Jain and communications professional Karan Bhujbal. The Blogathon saw an attendance of 100+ bloggers, across categories like technology, food, lifestyle, fashion, all together. There were bloggers who came in from other cities like Lucknow as well. There were bloggers who blog on the most unique of categories (for e.g. there was a Powerpoint blogger) at the event. It became a rage on social media and was trending on the number 2 spot in India and number 1 spot in New Delhi.

Post the event, I sought Karan Bhujbal's views on the following:

Q: What was the motivation for organizing a blogathon and what did you intend to achieve?

Karan: The insight for the event was that the blogger scenario today has witnessed a significant change, as a blogger’s influence is just not restricted to his or her blog, but permeates across all social networks they belong to. With an increasing number of people on social networks and an increasing amount of time spent by them on social networks, bloggers have become serious influencers for brands. Blogathon, hence, became a platform where brands meet bloggers.

Now meet ups of this nature have been done before, but the measure of success for me was to get all kinds of bloggers together (fashion, tech, food, travel etc.), on one stage, to celebrate the power of blogging together; and to do it in a manner that was enjoyable to all the attendees across the marathon blogger event.

Q. Are blogs acceptable as serios commentary? Do their opinions count? How & Why?

Karan: The thing with blogs and bloggers is, even if a particular blog has just 50 regular visitors to it, the credibility of that blogger amongst those 50 people is very high. There are more people today who are actually leaving their full time jobs to be professional bloggers too. And a proof point of their opinions being counted is the fact that more companies today, across industries, have a proactive blogger outreach, very similar to what is done for media.

Q. How do you feel about the way the event turned out to be?

Karan: The event turned out great. The event was sponsored by Dell and #dellblogathon trended on twitter on India at No. 3 and on Delhi at No.1. And it continued to trend in Delhi till 12pm on the next day! There are multiple requests for a next Blogathon to be planned sooner too.

We look forward to such meetups!

Suggestions/Critiques welcome.

-- Madhur

Nation branding complications for China and Israel

2012-05-27T22:16:00.001+05:30

Continuing from my last post, and discussion with American University researcher Efe Sevin, I thought it would be worthwhile to share two news items I read on the relation between soft power and nation branding efforts by countries.

Bloomberg view columnist William Pesek, in his piece Even $3 Trillion Can’t Buy China Love or Good PR talks about China's difficulty in sustaining a favorable image of itself in the light of the recent controversies, in his words,

"the Bo Xilai scandal, the diplomatic gymnastics over Chen Guangcheng, propaganda attacks on U.S. Ambassador Gary Locke, tossing out Al Jazeera’s lone Beijing correspondent and bullying the Philippines over a cluster of rocks in the ocean"

He talks of China as an insecure power, uncomfortable with the publicity that it's massive investments in soft power is garnering for the nation and not very successful at managing the perception of a 'peaceful rise'.

On the other hand, writing for the Foreign Policy magazine, Aaron David Miller in the article, Israel's image revisited, tries to analyse why does Israel get bad PR consistently and the consequent erosion of it's image in the international stage. He states,

"In the eyes of the world, Israel has shed its image of a small state struggling against impossible odds. Israel now has "security needs" and "requirements" rather than existential fears; its power obligates it to be more magnanimous and forthcoming on peace issues; its strength should produce restraint, not excess"

and adds that the asymmetry of power that exists between a nation with GDP per capita of USD 31,000, 100 listed companies in the NYSE and a nuclear power that too, vis-a-vis its neighbors in the Arab world, strapped for resources and mired in political conflicts, significantly contributes to the erosion of Israel's image.

Both writers state that irrespective of what the world media has to say, true soft power is only gained by actions - by what these countries individually do. No amount of branding exercise can help their image if not backed by actions.

In marketing communications, we believe that you cannot sell a bad product. Once a good product is developed, marketers have to ensure it is 'seen' (hence promote) to generate demand. So nation branding technically can be an exercise in futility in political terms (focused efforts like investor relations or tourism etc can reap some benefits)

Now this is a tricky situation for both China and Israel. One can't help notice that both these countries are very unique politically,

China remains an authoritarian socialist state controlled by one party with limitations on freedom
Israel, on the other hand, is the only other country apart from Pakistan, in this world, that was born on the basis of religious identity (different from a theocratic state). In the history of the nation state, formed on the basis of cultural or linguistic identity, Israel remains 'exclusivist.'

In this context note that they are mostly talked about by an all powerful global media based in, and, controlled by liberal democracies be it in United States, Europe or India; for consumers with starkly different political attitudes when compared to both these countries. So the definition of a "good product" and a "bad product" is contentious. In addition, the standard of evaluation is distinctly different from the "Political Brand DNA," if I may use the term, of both China & Israel. This is a very pertinent example of how media becomes an independent power center in international politics and how nation branding for countries is a complex task. To shape the narrative, you have to become a part of the story...and get trapped!

Suggestions/Critiques welcome.

-- Madhur

Public Diplomacy vs Nation Branding

2012-05-07T21:28:00.000+05:30

We often tend to use Public Diplomacy (PD) interchangeably with Nation Branding. While there are definitely certain overlaps, a clear distinction does exist between both the practice areas. That's why I found Daryl Copeland recent post on the CPD Blog: PUBLIC DIPLOMACY, BRANDING, AND THE IMAGE OF NATIONS, PART II: MORE OF THE SAME, OR DIFFERENT? very interesting. In this very well written post, Daryl explains some fundamental distinctions between PD and nation branding and aptly states that,

"If public diplomacy is thought of as a nations’ book, then a nation’s brand is something like its cover, designed to appeal viscerally to the consumers of international policy by encouraging potential buyers to open the book (or visit the country, buy the product, or support the international policy objective). But because the market evolves quickly, the cover’s design may need attention even before the book requires revision and a new edition can be released."

He explains that PD is characterized by meaningful dialogue and relationship building and not based on "information dominance" or "message dumping." An alternative policy instrument in the hands of governments today, PD is central to managing international issues through consistent engagement, in which, communicating a point of view is as important as listening to a point of view. PD can be one of the approaches for nation branding and consists within itself host of activities focused on communications, stakeholder engagement, collaboration and influencing public opinion. With such an approach PD seems to be the application of public affairs and strategic communications to the practice of international relations (as I always maintained in this blog). Daryl also tends to agree when he says that PD has more in common with public relations as a practice. This was also underlined in the Report of the Defense Science Board (US Department of Defense, 2004) in which it clearly stated that,

"In an age of global media, the internet revolution and powerful non-state actors - an age in which almost everything governments do and say is understood through mediating filters of news frames, culture, memory, and language - no major strategy, policy, or diplomatic initiative can succeed without public support. Fulbright scholarships, youth exchanges, embassy press briefings, official websites in language versions, and televised interviews with ambassadors and military commanders are examples of public diplomacy."

To cite an example in the context of India, "Incredible India" , is more of a nation branding campaign while the distinguished lecture series organized by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is more of a PD exercise. PD as a practice has recently been growing and one of the primary reason is the media proliferation and information revolution (This was however was overlooked in the reasons given for a PD resurgence in the above mentioned blog post.).That's the reason why strategic communications form the core of PD.

Suggestions/Critiques welcome.

-- Madhur

US Ambassador Nancy Powell's video introduction

2012-04-21T18:21:00.000+05:30

The US embassy recently released a video introduction of Ambassador Nancy J. Powell who replaces Timothy J. Roemer as the new US envoy to India. It is a pretty simple video but what's good is the simplicity, personal touch and easy language. It seems to have captured the ambassador as 'a person' and not 'another official.' Given the fortress like presence of the US embassy in Delhi, this seems to be a sincere outreach to connect with Indian people ...even if its in the virtual world!

Apparently this video has been dubbed into 10 other Indian languages. The embassy was discussing ways to overcome the challenge that India's linguistic diversity presents to integrated communication efforts and going heavy on audio and video is a nice 'walk around.'

While I was not too sure if its standard practice in US embassies all over the world to introduce Ambassadors through such multimedia initiatives, fellow PD enthusiast, Akash in DC, (@akashhhhh) mined six of those on YouTube. He shared the ambassador introduction in Russia with me,

This effort is interesting for the potential it has to bring foreign policy and related discussions down from the ivory towers. Timely, in a world that is increasingly interconnected!

Suggestions/Critiques welcome.

-- Madhur

@IndianDiplomacy posts on Twitter

2012-04-15T18:54:00.000+05:30

India's Ministry of External Affairs' (MEA) is known to be quite active on Twitter compared to other ministries. The ministry also used Twitter quite productively for the evacuation of Indian nationals from Libya during the NATO led war.

@IndianDiplomacy currently has 26, 774 followers with 1,855 tweets posted till date. Indian diplomats and the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), as well, routinely tweet on foreign policy matters now. As one of the followers, I receive regular updates from the ministry on my Twitter feed. One can't help but notice that most tweets remain in the form of notifications or announcements and are primarily in the 'broadcast mode'. While this is not bad in itself, in order to leverage Twitter, or for that matter any digital platform, it helps to switch to the 'engagement mode' where an action or a response is sought to a post and more and more two way communications happen. It may be a good idea to personalize it a little bit and not make it look like an information window of the government. While one may find lot of interesting information or updates, most of the times one may get the feeling 'so...why should I care?' This is the question @IndianDiplomacy should seek to address. What is also required is better usage of hashtags and even some basics such as usage of bit.ly etc.

I personally think former Foreign Secretary and current Ambassador to United States, Ms Nirupama Rao is doing a fabulous job on Twitter. Not only her posts have a personality but the tone and overall nature of tweets are very engaging. Her Twitter handle is @NMenonRao. How do we add personality to a Ministry? That is another interesting challenge altogether.

Some useful resources:

How to Write a Great Twitter Post

How To Write The Perfect Tweet

Tweets that click

Suggestions/Critiques welcome

-- Madhur

Why is Chappel whining again?

2012-03-08T11:13:00.001+05:30

Greg Chappel today mutilated memories. Of a game, of victories, of celebrations, of a culture, of Australia. His disturbing comments on Indian psyche, Indian culture was uncalled for and coming from a sportsman - known primarily for physical prowess and 'effective hand-eye coordination' or something like that - reflected a lack of intellectual capacity. Unfortunately, his comments take us back to a time when we were discussing in India about 'White Australian' bias against people of color, including Indians. This was just after a spate of violence against Indians in Australia. Sons of Australia, it seems, rarely do their country proud. Maybe their parents would do well to exercise more control.

Chappel's dismissal of the colonial experience of India as something inconsequential was really alarming.

"Poms really taught them how to keep their heads down"

This is Chappel's sense of history of one of the most brutalizing experiences in human history. The indigenous population of Australia too were victims. Of Chappel's ancestors. The British violated every principle of the rule of law and gentlemanly conduct they tom-tom about to colonize through craft, not might. They did it again, just before the Iraq war, shamelessly lying to the world. They only understood force, and blood; they did not understand non-violence. They left.

What does Chappel or Australian cricketers think is the ideal way for Indians to conduct themselves? What is their frame of reference? Who has given them the right to do it for us?Why should we? No, we will not sledge, no, we will not behave like juveniles in a cricketing field. Remember two of our most mild-mannered and gentlemanly cricketers crushed your team at Kolkata in 2001? Maybe its not required. Maybe its not the Indian way. We have won two World Cups, been the number one Test team, won the T20 World Cup, we have done it all following the Indian way. Why should we be like you? Why should your way be the only way?

This actually smacks of aversive racism and an attempt to redefine the narrative. Trying to understand the native through your own prism and getting the 'other' to become like 'you' so that subjugation and superiority is complete. Yes Mr Chappel, British did that too and I am sure your ancestors did that in Australia, but hey it is 2012 not 1850. In your mind we are still the subject. You came on a civilizing mission as the coach of the Indian team only to realize that times have changed. Not on a professional assignment. Maybe there was a conspiracy against you, maybe you were being taken for a ride, but for you it was unfathomable that 'natives' do not listen to you anymore. I hope I am proven wrong, your remarks nonetheless, brings to my mind thoughts such as these. Of you, of Australia. It also brings to my mind an Australian verse. Yes, Australian,

No more woomera, no more boomerang,
No more playabout, no more the old ways.
Children of nature we were then,
No clocks hurrying crowds to toil.
Now I am civilized and work in the white way,
Now I have dress, now I have shoes:
‘Isn’t she lucky to have a good job!’
Better when I had only a dillybag.
Better when I had nothing but happiness
(*Noonuccal, ‘Then and Now’, in My People, (Milton, 1981), p. 91.)

When it comes to being respectful of cultures, Indian cricketers have behaved nearly impeccably in public glare, thanks to Indian parenting that Chappel scoffs at. Parents do and can teach a thing or two, including sensitivity and good behavior. Chappel apparently learnt nothing. Wonder what Chappel taught his kids?

Regarding the mental toughness of Indian cricketers, Chappel is very well familiar what it takes to make it to the final playing XI in a country of 1 billion, where everyone aspires to become a cricketer. The sacrifices, heartbreaks, difficult playing conditions, lack of cricketing facilities, opaque systems - you have to really overcome all. Ask a Sehwag or a Munaaf Patel or an Irfan Pathan or a Dravid. They have all gone through that. I might be wrong, but I don't think any Australian cricketer can survive that.

Isn't it time the Australian cricketing establishment clearly lay down rules of responsible conduct for current cricketers and ex-cricketers like Chappel, and, 'hammer' it into their heads (apparently they are all thick headed) that they need to behave responsibly because they represent Australia? 'Its just the Aussie way' doesn't help because Chappel's rants can be just dismissed as the 'Indian way' that he either takes or leaves but do not whine. Media loves the culture of sound bytes, do not feed them because they are only around until someone else comes up with a better one.

Chappel's book launch was a PR disaster for letting the press conference go out of control. India, today has a population of nearly 350 million English speaking middle class out of which even if there are 1 million 'readers,' that's a market you do not alienate. Indians are a proud lot when it comes to their culture and way of life and controversies like these can get you ink but trust me Mr Chappel, not the money. Should we call for a boycott of your book and exalt you to the status of a Rushdie? I don't know much about your writing abilities but what you have done is definitely Satanic. Have you, Mr Chappel, forgotten that the buyers of the world are now in India? Have you, Mr Chappel, forgotten that cricket and English language are two things we snatched away from your colonizing ancestors in England?

Suggestions/Critiques welcome.

-- Madhur

Pakistan's true-face programme

2012-02-12T19:44:00.000+05:30

Former Pakistani diplomat Inayatullah's column in The Nation yesterday referred to Pakistan' Information Minister, Dr Firdous Ashiq's 17-point Pakistan's true-face programme. The programme is aimed at rebuilding Pakistan's image and "correcting" world's perception about Pakistan according to "actual ground realities."

Inayatullah, while welcoming the idea, correctly put it in perspective stating that Pakistan needs to put its house in order first before venturing on a charm offensive. The Pakistani establishment can only ignore at its own peril the fact that the country is synonymous with anarchy, international terrorism and is referred to as a 'failed state.' Nonetheless, the move does bring into focus a very important question related to Public Diplomacy.

Can PD stand up to the challenge and contain the damage to Pakistan's tattered reputation?
Is PD irrelevant without concrete policy actions and results to show for?
Can Pakistan afford to ignore PD?

I hope the information minister is not living in denial and decides on a course of action that is 'real.' If the world media has portrayed an image of Pakistan - and that means hundreds of reporters from all across the world - it is a reality check for its policymakers. A realistic appraisal of the ground realities, acceptance of the problems and a strong policy partnership with the foreign ministry, armed forces, interior ministry can go a long way in the creation of a narrative that would find acceptance in media discourses. Since Pakistan's polity is highly fragmented it would be quite a challenge to achieve the policy partnership with other ministries, nonetheless is worth a try. PD is not about propaganda, not about creating an image alone but also about shaping discussions, influencing conversations and creating perceptions to achieve strategic goals. There is plenty of scope for Pakistan to undertake PD exercises in this context. Media (i.e. journalists) loves conflict and I do see plenty of opportunities for 'a ray of light in the abyss of darkness' stories for Pakistan to dish out among numerous other activities that it can undertake to generate real conversations.

For this to happen, Pakistan has to find the budget to 'indulge' in PD. Can a country that survives on aid, cannot feed its own population or fight its own wars afford to put money into PD?

Suggestions/Critiques welcome.

-- Madhur

Justice Katju, Salman Rushdie and the Jaipur Lit Fest

2012-01-28T20:46:00.000+05:30

Press Council of India chairman, Markenday Katju's observation that Salman Rushdie is a "poor" and "sub-standard" writer generated considerable debates over the last three days. While Justice Katju was voicing his own opinion on Rushdie's writing (I remain a Rushdie fan) he raised interesting questions about the Jaipur literary festival.

'Jaipur Lit Fest' (JLF) as it is popularly called, has become a platform for India's public diplomacy and cultural diplomacy initiatives in the recent times. However, Justice Katju observed that during the festival,

"there was not enough serious discussion about indigenous literature at the festival, naming Kabir, Premchand, Sharat Chandra, Ghalib and Faiz as writers whose works could have been discussed."

Justice Katju criticised educated Indians and stated that they “suffer from the colonial inferiority complex” and have a fascination for writers (Indian origin writers) based out of London or New York. I had written a post on the CPD Blog of USC Annenberg where I talked about the potential of India' regional literature to influence global popular culture . Justice Katju's observations are significant in the context of the participation of the state in discourses in such platforms. He may not be off the mark completely. I subscribe to the Hindustan Times, which among other things, boasts of an edit team with 'evolved literary sensibilities'. The newspaper has dedicated a separate section for the Lit Fest and unfortunately most of the writers featured there happen to be the "Indian origin writer from the East Coast" or foreign writers of repute. Considering the fact that JLF is also a media spectacle it is not surprising. However we need to introspect if Indian literature stops at that and also how do we use a platform like JLF to tell India's story from a public diplomacy perspective.

Nonetheless, to be fair to Hindustan Times, I was glad to read Amit Chaudhuri's comments on the Rushdie controversy and JLF in the opinion pages today. Commenting on the very closed world of Indian liberals, Chaudhuri observed,

"Liberalism is not just a matter of solidarity, but of an openness to people, even strangers, of disparate social backgrounds, who haven't necessarily been domesticated into the mainstream, and who come together out of a shared respect for the realm of ideas. One has to admit that this isn't the case in India; that our liberals are too over-familiar with one another, and comfortably so. An idea of freedom that emerges out of a closed world, from a sense of entitlement rather than from constant intellectual striving, can experience its crises with only so much urgency."

Suggestions/Critiques welcome.

-- Madhur

‘New Urban Cultures’ strengthen ties between Spain and India

2011-12-23T20:17:00.001+05:30

The Government of Spain's Ministry of Culture - Casa Asia, the Cervantes Institute and the Spanish embassy in New Delhi joined hands to promote the Spanish 'cultural industries' in India through the third edition of “New Urban Cultures” programme. The two-day event that took place on Dec 17^th & 18th represented the best possible amalgamation of Indian and Spanish culture in fashion, video games, sports, music, design, gastronomy and films. The program showcases the diversity and creativity inherent in Spanish culture to young Indians and encourages a dialogue and exchange between professionals, designers and artists in the 'national cultural industries' of both countries. The program seeks to take advantage of India's growing political and cultural clout in the international arena, and a growing interest about the world among Indians, to create a forum that can explore possibilities of 'cultural industries' in these countries to collaborate.

The first day started with the dialogue on ‘Fashion and Design’ by designer Ritu Kumar, Spanish artist Agatha Ruiz de la Prada and hosted by Jivi Sethi. On the occasion, an exhibition of Agatha Prada's graphic work from diverse fields such as marketing communications to fashion was inaugurated. It was followed by a dialogue on ‘Video games and Digital content’ by Xavier Carrillo, CEO of Digital Legends and Vishal Gondal, CEO of Indiagames, hosted by Iván F. Lobo, president of the academy of Arts and Interactive Sciences in Spain and director of Gamelab Barcelona. The last talk of the day ‘Gastronomy’ was presented by José Luis Galiana of Basque Culinary Center, the first university-level education centre in Gastronomic Sciences in Europe.

L to R: Agatha Ruiz de la Prada, Jivi Sethi and Ritu Kumar at the exhibition 'Carteles''

The second day of the event highlighted the film and music industry of both the countries. Young and notable directors Raj Kumar Gupta (Aamir, 2008 and No one killed Jessica, 2007) and Kike Maíllo (Eva, 2011) talked about the new filmmaking trends in Spain and India. Music was the final treat of the programme that included a concert by the emerging group Fuel Fandango that played pop music mixed with flamenco sounds. Another highlight of the two day event was a performance by Sunny Singh, the founder of first professional bollywood dance company in Europe ‘Bailamos Bollywood.’

Speaking on the occassion, Juan José Herrera de la Muela, director-general of Casa Asia said, “India is the subject of utmost interest in Spanish foreign action programmes, and the promotion of the cultural industries in India, along with the development of education, culture and the economy is a priority for Casa Asia.”

Casa Asia is a public diplomacy institution formed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Spanish Government, the Generalitat of Catalonia, Barcelona City Council and Madrid City Council. Its mission is to promote knowledge concerning Asia in Spain and to foster relations between the civil societies of Spain and Asian countries.

-- Madhur

'Emotional connect' in the elections in Egypt

2011-12-06T09:43:00.001+05:30

So we all know the results of the elections in Egypt. Muslim Brotherhood leads with radical Salafists coming a close second. In fact Islamist parties cornered two-thirds of the votes in the elections. On March 21, 2011, I had clearly written in my blog that it is too early to write off Islam as a political force as a result of the Arab Spring. In a bit of kamikaze thinking, I also applied the Gartner Hype Cycle to explain why religion might become central to Arab political discourse after the Arab Spring. You can read the post here - Revolutions and emotions in Middle East. By this time we also know that Tunisia has turned 'green' and Libya intends to do so as well.

History has showed us time and again that revolutions often lead to 'millenarian' expectations that often results in it becoming reactionary or throwing up results that maybe unanticipated. This is not to suggest that the victory of Islamists is a reactionary development; it might be good for those countries and the world in general. They were elected by a democratic process. Just that we don't know yet.

Religion is emotional and appeals to the heart and so has wider appeal than political concepts. It can be felt and doesn't need to be learnt unlike a political concept. Besides, religion promises final salvation, the education and training for which begins at home. It is also not alien and is instead steeped in the local customs, culture and folklore. It is familiar, pure and can be trusted. It is what in communications we call the 'emotional connect.' In societies where religion has always been central it is no surprise that people have expressed their faith in Islamists. Congratulations to the people of Egypt for successfully electing a government of their choice!

Suggestions/Critiques welcome.

-- Madhur

No Child Born To Die

2011-11-27T12:32:00.001+05:30

I am currently involved in another advocacy project that aims to use social media to mobilize Indian citizens. This Right to Health campaign was inaugurated by acclaimed Indian actor Shabana Azmi, who is also the ambassador for the NGO, Save The Children that's running the campaign called "No Child Born To Die."

International NGOs seem to have more faith in the power of social media than most private sector companies. More than generating awareness, these campaigns are used mostly to build a soft pressure on the policymakers and government from the Indian middle class in urban areas. The No Child Born To Die campaign hopes to create a people's movement to demand better healthcare facilities for every mother and child in India by increasing the share of budget allocation for healthcare to 5% of GDP, from the current 1.1%.

The campaign runs on a webportal where one can sign up to show support for the cause. More the sign-ups the better it is. It will run parallel with a focused publicity campaign leading up to the Union budget 2012, demanding increased spend on healthcare by the Government of India. Last week, to give the campaign action a wider visibility among public and media in New Delhi, India, Save the Children showcased people’s support on a huge screen, 60 feet by 50 feet, mounted at the Statesman House, a landmark building, in the heart of New Delhi. This was a first of its kind stunt by an NGO in India.

Wall of Fame at Statesman House, New Delhi

The need for this campaign was felt given the following alarming statistics on healthcare in India:

Every 20 seconds, a child is dying in India due to PREVENTABLE diseases like diarrhoea and pneumonia.
India has the highest number of children dying, more than anywhere in the world.
These children are dying even before they are five years old. According to a report prepared by Save The Children, every year, 1.73 million children die in India even before the age of five. And nearly one million of them die within the first month of their life.
India ranks lowest in public healthcare spending. South Asian neighbors like Nepal & Bangladesh spend more than India on healthcare.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends that all developing countries must allocate five per cent of GDP on health. India's current spend is only 1.2 per cent with a goal to increase it to 2.7 per cent by 2017.

Do support the cause.

Suggestions/Critiques welcome.

-- Madhur

Survey of attitudes by India's PD division

2011-10-23T11:47:00.000+05:30

The Public Diplomacy division of Government of India in collaboration with the Center for Advanced Study of India, University of Pennsylvania, is conducting a survey of attitudes with regard to India's foreign policy. It is a survey of 'elite attitudes' - given that fact that it is a survey of international relations faculty in Indian academic institutions - and is a first of its kind exercise undertaken by the PD division.

It is currently also being conducted at the first National Conference on International Relations - Shifting Sands: India in the Changing Global Order, in New Delhi, India. The introduction to the survey states,

"... there is relatively little understanding about what Indians take to be the nature of international politics, and correspondingly, how their power and influence should be used. This survey seeks to help better understand Indian attitudes on the role of power, order, force and justice in international politics. How will the interplay of long-held beliefs, India's vision of itself, the rise of new actors and institutions and India's changing relationship with the West influence India's worldview and role in global affairs?"

It will be interesting to see the results of this survey, which has good news potential as well. The conference in itself is a first time initiative by the PD division to create a forum for Indian academics, policymakers and practitioners of international relations to meet, network and exchange ideas.

Suggestions/Critiques welcome.

-- Madhur

Guest Post: Public Diplomacy researchers from USC to visit India

2011-10-16T11:25:00.000+05:30

By Maya Babla

This December, a group of seven graduate students from the Master of Public Diplomacy program at USC’s Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism in Los Angeles will embark on a journey to India. We will visit New Delhi and Mumbai, meeting with a range of stakeholders interested in how this global player is positioning itself to foreign and domestic audiences.

Our research will assess the role of each of these actors: public, private, and nonprofit, as well as media and academia—and seeks to understand how they create the public diplomacy ecosystem in India. We will survey a wide range of ‘diplomacies’—from cultural to economic to citizen-powered initiatives—to understand how each of these is contributing to communicating the idea of India. Along the way, we'll be reporting on our findings through the project’s website, India: Inside Out. The objective of the website is to spark a larger dialogue on the relevance and value of public diplomacy within the international affairs and communications communities, but we invite those from all fields to participate.

As part of the team, I started the conversation last week by offering my own definition of public diplomacy. In the coming weeks, each of the members of the India: Inside Out team will be writing about our particular research areas before our trip, our impressions of India upon our arrival, and once we’ve delved in, our analysis of what that public diplomacy ecosystem looks like.

-- Maya Babla, Master of Public Diplomacy, University of Southern California

Maya Babla is a student and researcher at USC's Public Diplomacy program. This December she will lead a USC delegation to study India's PD efforts.

* Guests posts are opinions of respective authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Public Diplomacy Blog. They are published here as a part of the blog's mission to create a forum for discussion on Public Diplomacy.

The "India is ……." Global Video Contest

2011-10-01T09:42:00.001+05:30

New Delhi, Sept 30, 2011 (News Release): The Public Diplomacy Division of the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, New Delhi, is launching a global initiative called the “India is ………. “, aimed at encouraging individuals and countries around the world to think of India in interesting, pervasive and positive ways. For this purpose, a Global Video contest is being organized on the following three themes:

( i ) India is …………….. Colourful

( ii ) India is …………….. Creative

( iii ) India is …………….. Wherever You are

2. Under this programme, a 3 minute video film about India on one of the above mentioned themes is being invited from anyone interested in participating in the programme. Detailed information on the programme, including rules and regulations as also the procedure to participate is available on the website www.indiais.org,

3. The programme will run from from October 1 – December 31, 2011.

4. Ministry of External Affairs will be organizing an event in March 2013 where the winning entries will be recognized and will be rewarded suitably. You are invited to take part in this very interesting programme along with your family, friends and colleagues.

Find details of the contest in the following video created by the PD division:

Also check my recent piece - Communicating the Idea of India - for CPD Blog at USC Center on Public Diplomacy at the Annenberg School.

Suggestions/Critiques welcome.

-- Madhur

Understanding the Indian Digital Consumer

2011-09-18T13:20:00.000+05:30

I attended a talk recently by business analyst & strategy consultant, Mr Mohit Chhabra, (currently, Business Head at Skillment Edu) on the rise of the digital consumer in India. Mohit, who is also closely associated with TED gave his audience great insights on the digital revolution that is sweeping the country aided by the penetration of mobile phones in India. Contrary to the general perception that social media/digital platform is an urban phenomenon what emerged during the talk and discussions was that the growth of the digital medium in India will, in fact, be pushed by demand from rural India. According to Census projections of 2010, Government of India, there are 164 million households in rural India - 70% of the population - and this group loves their mobile phones!

There are 3 Indias according to Mohit:

The Metropolitan India
Rur-ban India
Deep Rural India (the group that loves their mobile phones the most.)

In a really interesting example, it was demonstrated that while consumers in India rarely pay (or prefer to pay) for their own education but when it comes to entertainment, have no qualms in spending. In 'deep rural' India, there is a huge demand for entertainment and it has been found that the favorite entertainment device for rural India is the mobile phone. This demand for entertainment according to Mohit will drive adoption of social media and rise of the digital consumer in India. Communicating to 'deep rural India' digitally is more effective if it serves this most important demand - something that communicators must be aware of - the plank of entertainment. I have included Mohit's presentation below:

Indian digital consumer

Suggestions/Critiques welcome.

-- Madhur

Indian bloggers for PD practitioners to engage... ?

2011-08-28T14:19:00.001+05:30

My friend, a certain Mr X, member of the diplomatic corps in New Delhi, asked if it makes any sense to engage bloggers in India. Mr X apparently is being prodded by the 'higher ups' in his country to reach out more to bloggers in India; and my friend believes it is important, but, not so important.

To my 'why' he gave an interesting insight.

Apparently, the free press (militant, vitriolic, opinionated and commercial) and proliferation of media in India makes it unnecessary, unimportant. It's unlike the Middle East where blogs are an outlet to discuss and debate in the absence of a free press. Blogs are influential in countries where there is no space for a public discourse. (?)

If we look at the Indian blogosphere there are indeed very few that are authoritative or 'referred to' blogs in the 'issues' space. For many Indian bloggers the interest areas range from personal hobbies, lifestyle and professional topics.

Classification of blogs in India
by www.indiblogger.in

At the end of our chat I understood where Mr X was coming from. I promised to find him a few!

Suggestions/Critiques welcome.

-- Madhur

Public Diplomacy and the new media landscape

2011-08-14T11:37:00.001+05:30

Public Diplomacy practitioners today deal with a dynamic media landscape. Enabled by technology, ways and means for media production and distribution has changed rapidly. Coupled with this is the decline in revenues, resources and credibility of traditional corporate media giants worldwide. Media today is localized, customized, fragmented, often real time in its distribution, while it is more inclusive, cross cultural and diverse in its production. Besides, there is no longer an 'official credible source,' it can be simply anywhere!

(Jake Horowitz, Co Founder, PolicyMic)

A new media project in this context is PolicyMic. Founded by Harvard and Stanford grads, Chris Altchek and Jake Horowitz, this website is an online platform for news and debate on policy for the younger generation by the younger generation. The portal claims that it stands for the spirit of debate to counter partisanship in traditional media and facilitate, "real conversations about real issues."

I spoke to Jake Horowitz and Hanqing Chen, Assistant Editor, PolicyMic, to understand the project better.

"There is a lack of representation of young voices in media," said Jake. He said content at PolicyMic focuses on young people's perspective on issues. The content can range from head-to-head debates, opinion pieces, enterprise reporting, multimedia stories all produced by a new generation of voices. "PolicyMic offers real engagement from multiple perspectives all across the world," he said.

The website currently boasts of nearly 400 writers contributing from more than 20 countries around the world, including from countries like Estonia, Latvia, South Africa and the Middle East.

There are four writers from India and Jake said that the Lok Pal Bill was a topic widely discussed on the portal.

PolicyMic's attempt to build engagement is unique.

The more a reader/contributor participates by responding to articles, sharing ideas and receive endorsements on contributions, the more 'mics' (credits from others) one can accumulate The more 'mics' one accumulates the more one can do or say to develop an audience and eventually become a 'PolicyMic pundit'.

"We are trying to make Twitter meet The Economist" said Jake.

"It is designed to be a little like a video game where they have to comment on stories and have to be voted in order to move to a different level. In each level, you can do more and say more," he said.

(Hanqing Chen, Assistant Editor, PolicyMic)

"The idea is to find a fun system with the smartest contributors," added Hanqing.

"Success and prestige on our site won't be driven by how loudly you speak, but by how thoughtfully you participate. We believe in debate, and we've built features that allow you to challenge others you disagree with," claims the website in its 'About Us' section.

Hanqing said that comments on contents are received every 6 to 7 minutes on the website which is reflective of its potential to influence.

From a PD perspective, Jake believes that the portal is an effective "cross boundary" discussion forum on policy and international affairs.

These are early days for PolicyMic, as its founders focus on creating a stable revenue model and source funds. However, media such as these offer both an opportunity and a challenge to PD practitioners. While in terms of reach and targeted engagement it can promise a lot; the challenges are in monitoring, crafting messages and responsiveness.

Suggestions/Critiques welcome.

-- Madhur

Sri Lanka fails to counter alleged Channel 4 propaganda

2011-07-17T15:29:00.000+05:30

The Asian Tribune recently made an interesting observation on Sri Lanka's Public Diplomacy capabilities. The article refers to the screening of the Channel 4 documentary ‘Sri Lanka’s Killing Field’, at the Capitol Hill on July 15. It says,

"...the foreign policy handlers for Sri Lanka in Colombo and Washington failed to use strategic communication and public diplomacy to remove this event from the headlines focusing on the man, McGovern, who has a record of maintaining contacts and supporting terrorist/guerilla movements whose main aim was to destabilize or overthrow democratically elected governments."

It further says,

"This writer who was in the U.S. State Department’s diplomatic outpost in Colombo saw how the American Foreign Service Officers anticipated events, developments and their impact in advance to take appropriate measures to use strategic communication and public diplomacy to act to advance American interests in Sri Lanka or her immediate neighborhood.
The foreign policy advisers of Sri Lanka’s presidential secretariat, those ‘experts’ in the foreign ministry or its overseas representatives need to attend the American Foreign Service Training Institute..."

Most South Asian countries are not very advanced communications societies and bureaucracies therein may not always be adept at navigating the world of global media. For many it may not be worth the time. Sri Lanka is likely to feel the heat all the more in the coming few years with the international community and even Ban Ki Moon himself asking for genuine and thorough investigations into the alleged atrocities committed by the armed forces during the Eelam War IV. The Indian foreign policy establishment in the meantime are ambiguous in their response to the airing of the Channel 4 documentary and has refused to react/comment on the matter. (Read here: Lanka war crimes: No comments, says Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao)

-- Madhur

US Educational Exchange programs in India

2011-06-28T21:18:00.002+05:30

The role of educational exchanges in Public Diplomacy caught my interest since the discussion on Australia-India relations in April. When it comes to educational exchange, the United States has a strong recall in India (Nearly 100,000 Indians study in the US every year). It also contributed to building strong ‘generational bonds’ between both countries with a promise to deepen the strategic partnership further.

To explore educational exchanges between India and United States, I thought it worthwhile to meet with Ms Stephanie F. Morimura, Cultural Attaché for Exchanges, Embassy of United States of America, in New Delhi. Stephanie helped me understand the ‘policy connection’ behind educational exchanges between India and United States better. Stephanie received me at the American Centre and what followed was a stimulating discussion on the role of education in Indo-US relations.

A STRATEGIC INITIATIVE

Stephanie Morimura at the American Centre in New Delhi

Stephanie believes that educational exchange has a significant role to play in strengthening public diplomacy initiatives and furthering strategic goals. In the larger scheme of things, US educational exchange programs are congressionally-funded programs and very much a part of overall strategy of furthering U.S. national interests abroad.

“Every country has strategic goals,” said Stephanie and for United States, exchange programs promote better understanding and cooperation among people of both countries. Eventually, Stephanie said it helps “cooperating better on a range of issues, including security issues, especially regional security.” It’s the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, under the Department of State that is the nodal body administering these programs worldwide. The money that is spent worldwide varies from mission to mission in support of specific goals of every mission.

EXCHANGE PROGRAMS

Most of us who are familiar with Fulbright programs only, Stephanie said the depth and extent of engagement of United States in educational exchange is actually quite comprehensive. For a list of programs that are operational worldwide see the following link: Exchange Programs.

Stephanie talked at length about the International Visitor’s Leadership Program with India. “India has one of the largest programs,” she said. This is actually a demonstration of the deepening ties between both countries at the strategic level. The department’s website describes this program as, “The International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) is the U.S. Department of State’s premier professional exchange program. Launched in 1940, the IVLP is a professional exchange program that seeks to build mutual understanding between the U.S. and other nations through carefully designed short-term visits to the U.S. for current and emerging foreign leaders.”

“Ms Indira Gandhi and President Pratibha Patil have been IVLP fellows,” said Stephanie.

BUILD NETWORKS OF INFLUENCE

The focus of current exchange programs with India is to build networks and sustain those to create an enduring relationship between both countries. This is a paradigm shift from earlier times where it just ended with facilitating an exchange. Stephanie talked passionately about newer domains that her department is moving into like social developmental projects. There are programs for youth from underprivileged sections (who otherwise do not have the means to travel to US) that give opportunities to them to visit the US for summer and year-long study programs. They are supported with a mentorship program when they are back in India and connected with other alums of various programs so that their development is continuous. “We do not want them to flounder when they are back,” said Stephanie of the mentorship program demonstrating a commitment for a long term involvement in the lives of these people and also an appreciation of their need for joining the mainstream once back from United States.

BARRIERS TO EXCHANGES

While the number of visitors from India is huge one of the challenges is the relatively smaller number of Americans who come to India to study. On an average, only 2800 students come to India from United States annually. Most of these come for short term programs. This is a significant barrier for both countries to overcome. “There are infrastructure constraints on Indian campuses and the support system for international visitors needs to be built up.,” said Stephanie.

However the potential for this partnership to grow is huge. “There is also a huge interest in U.S. Universities for partnership with Indian educational institutions and we are actively encouraging that.” She said that the US and India hope to hold a higher education summit in the Fall this year to build ties between educational institutions of both countries.

I asked Stephanie if educational ties contributed to India being listed as among the few countries where US has high positive mindshare according to a Pew Survey last year. “Mutual understanding is the key,” said Stephanie and agrees that educational exchanges enable a better appreciation of U.S. society, values and culture. Educational exchanges are focused on experiential learning and she said, “Nothing beats personal experience.”

Study of United States Institutes (SUSI) alumni

Suggestions/Critiques welcome.

-- Madhur

Public Diplomacy and communications strategy

2011-06-05T19:06:00.000+05:30

One of my consistent arguments in this blog is that for public diplomacy to be effective it is important to be backed by an effective communications strategy. What I also mean by this is that not all PD programs can be/necessarily be like a communications campaign, but, there are communications implications (potential?) nonetheless of any PD program.

What is the story that we want to tell?

An interesting story carried today by Hindustan Times, quoted UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé, to a question on how much difference was made to the fight against HIV by cheaper drugs made available from India,

"In 2001, no one had access to treatment. Now 86% of drugs given to poor people are from India. Within 10 years of setting the goal to provide treatment to all, 6.6 million people were on antiretroviral therapy (drugs used to treat HIV infection) at the end of 2010, a nearly 22-fold increase since 2001"

He also said,

"We need new partnerships between India and Africa to transfer technology to help African countries make cheaper Aids drugs"

This statement is important when seen in the context of the recent summit level meetings between India and Africa. This is also a great story that talks a lot about India's scientific prowess, business prowess in the context of drug companies and is also a significant political issue when we consider trade and business issues in the context of global pharmaceutical industry. Does having a communications strategy in place help exploit the potential of such stories - that are so intertwined in politics, diplomacy & human issues of global nature?

The argument for a communications strategy have recently found support in the article "Making public diplomacy work: The need for an effective communications strategy", in the Journal of International Communication, Volume 17, Issue 1, April 2011, by Amit Dasgupta. Dasgupta, who is the current Consul General of India in Sydney and former head of Public Diplomacy division in the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India (2007-09) says,

"In many countries, such as India, foreign policy formulation and practice has, till recently, been the exclusive reserve of professional diplomats. Such countries are new entrants to the world of public diplomacy and have begun to recognize the importance of engaging with non-State players. However, the success of public diplomacy lies entirely in the efficacy of the communication strategy it adopts."

Suggestions/Critiques welcome.

-- Madhur

McKinsey report: One-third of the global population connects to the internet everyday

2011-05-28T19:19:00.004+05:30

The McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) and McKinsey’s Technology, Media and Telecommunications practice's report - ‘Internet matters: The Net’s sweeping impact on growth, jobs, and prosperity’ has come up with interesting India related findings. This reinforces the importance of the medium to boost commerce, exchange, conversations and progressive political and social values. The report stated that, in India, Internet contributed five per cent to the growth of gross domestic product (GDP) in the last five years, two percentage points higher than the average three per cent for BRIC economies. Significantly, it also stated that,

"India and China are strengthening their position in the global internet ecosystem rapidly with growth rates of more than 20 per cent..."

Talking about the growth of Internet, the report states,

"Since the 1990s, internet has grown leaps and bounds with about two billion users worldwide now. This number is growing by 200 million each year. This means, almost a third of the global population connects to the internet every day and almost $8 trillion a year is spent through e-commerce...

...India leads the growth component of the McKinsey Internet Supply Leadership Index. For example, Bangalore registered 50 patents to 200 in fours years, compared to Singapore which took six years to cross this threshold"

The report has established a clear linkage between internet and growth and has recommended that policymakers push for increased internet access and usage. Crucial to achieving this is a strong public-private partnership. We would definitely see more and more people getting online now, even in India, and this is a medium that would eventually become dominant for business, politics and human interactions. Hence it is important for public diplomacy practitioners to accept the medium as pervasive and strong on influence, and, in a world dominated by corporate media, sometimes it can be more credible and an effective platform for an alternate point of view.

Suggestions/Critiques welcome.

-- Madhur

The Arab Spring and minorities

2011-05-21T10:38:00.001+05:30

In one of my previous posts - Revolutions and emotions in the Middle East - I had written how it may be too early to write off Islam as a political force in the Middle East after the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt. Taking the discussion forward I would like to bring to my readers' notice a recent opinion piece by Rene Guitton in Hindustan Times.

In the piece - 'A major change' - Rene writes that,

"New regimes will be judged by how they treat their ethnic and religious minorities. It is by the space allowed for these various minorities to live and flourish in their societies that we will judge the true nature of the Arab Spring"

Rene argues that so far the uprisings in the Arab world has not "led to xenophobia, anti-western demonstrations or a breakthrough for Islamists" however the true nature of these revolutions are yet to be unraveled. In the article he also draws attention to the attack on a Coptic Church in Alexandria in 2010. There are numerous minorities in the Middle East - Christians, Jews, Hindus and a significant number of people from different Muslim sects in South Asia. Political transitions sometimes are hard on minorities and it would be the true test of the Arab uprisings.

Suggestions/Critiques welcome.

-- Madhur

Paper: The role of global media and how governments can strengthen Australian–Indian relations through strategic communications

2011-04-15T12:29:00.002+05:30

The following is an abstract of a paper I recently presented at an international PD conference - "Public Diplomacy in Theory and Practice: Culture, Information and Interpretation in Australian-Indian Relations" - at the India International Centre, New Delhi, on April 8th. Do email me your observations/critiques, if any.

An analysis of the role of global media and how Governments can strengthen Australian–Indian relations through strategic communications

Australian-Indian relations were severely tested recently over unprovoked violence against Indians in 2009 and early 2010. The issue revealed the central role of media in international relations today. Indian newspapers - Mail Today, The Times of India etc., - aggressively reported on the issue and made the Australians defensive, and, Government of India to react as per media’s analysis of events. This reflected a lack of

- Media relations strategy &

- Realization by both governments about pervasiveness of “conversations in media” today.

This paper argues how governments need to be imaginative, strategic and adopt a campaign approach to media relations when it comes to public diplomacy.

Be it the angry rebuttal by Victoria Police or

India

’s foreign minister’s veiled threats to

Australia

, the official reactions lacked direction. The problem was further exacerbated by inherent limitation in government communications which are mostly “one way” and seen as “less credible” and “defensive” vis-a-vis media in democracies. Besides, both governments failed in communicating effectively to domestic audiences on the issue. The solution lies in governments understanding role of

- Global media relations,

- Diverse players in a “conversation economy,” and,

- Adopting a “campaign approach” with tools used effectively by the private sector

There is a convergence of strategic interests between both countries. Bilateral relationships, trade, people to people contacts have never been so good. Both have an interest in the stability of Asia and preventing Chinese dominance of Asia.Keeping in mind the synergies, it is a cause for alarm when The Times of India recently reported that there has been a 46% drop in the number of student visa applications to

Australia

.While certain sections in

India

may feel vindicated, it holds significant implications when it comes to building a strategic partnership with

Australia

as student exchanges are a key to building “generational flesh and blood linkages.” Hence, it is important for governments to shape the debate successfully in the media to encourage people to people exchanges.

Suggestions/Critiques welcome.

-- Madhur

Public Diplomacy and 'national rhetorical competence'

2011-04-10T14:07:00.001+05:30

An interesting article in the People's Daily Online quoted head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Zhao Qizheng, that China needs to enhance its "national rhetorical competence." The article stated,

"Speaking at a meeting on Thursday, he (Zhao) said senior officials in China are now more aware of the need to communicate effectively with the rest of world. Stressing on the importance of enhancing "national rhetorical competence" - the ability Zhao said is highly important to express the country's unique features effectively, and it is the key to successful public diplomacy, he added."

This is an interesting piece given its focus on 'words', 'expression' and 'conversations' as being crucial to any PD program. The same article quotes China's Vice Foreign Minister, Fu Ying as saying that,

the job of talking and expressing oneself through public diplomacy has an integral role in China's future development. "We have been doing well on the development front, and we are facing an even better new decade. Now we need to talk better, to make our messages clearer to the world. That can not only help form a better environment, but also boost the nation's confidence," she said.

The Chinese apparently are working on the messaging - tone, semantics etc apart from just 'laundering information.' The focus it seems now is how does China express itself? How does it talk to the rest of the world that would enhance its influence in the global stage? In human history, this period will be seen as the 'age of conversations' and the Chinese are right in recognizing the need for 'national rhetorical competence'. As Zhao said,

"China cannot always be the gentleman who works more but talks less in the present world flooded with information."

Suggestions/Critiques welcome.

-- Madhur

There's more to social media than Facebook and Twitter!

2011-04-09T21:20:00.002+05:30

I was at an international PD conference yesterday speaking on the "Role of global media and how strategic communication can strengthen Australia-India relations." This was at an international conference - "Public Diplomacy in Theory and Practice: Culture, Information and Interpretation in Australian-Indian Relations" - organized by the Alfred Deakins Research Institute, Australia and Rajdhani College, Delhi University, India. The conference is being sponsored by the Australia India institute and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Government of India.

During my talk, I emphasized the role of conversations in shaping perceptions today and the potential of social media. It was interesting to field lot of questions, after my talk, that bordered on cynicism towards social media and the sphere of influence of web enabled platforms. In this gathering of academics and policy wonks, what I could not help notice was that social media was broadly understood to be 'Facebook' and 'Twitter,' and, the limitations of the these two social networking platforms to influence and engage.

Conversations in social media do not necessarily happen on these two platforms. There are numerous other areas where debates are being shaped, opinions formed and perceptions created. Simplest example, that comes to mind, is the space for reader's comments on news websites. This is where people take action on news, engage in debates and express opinions. Consider the article below that generated 477 comments on the issue of violence against Indians in Australia. This is The Economist and not even a newspaper from Australia or India. This is an example of social media enabled conversation that can shape perceptions. How do we manage such conversations?

Regrettable facts

Thuggery mars a burgeoning friendship

Australia and anti-Indian violence

See article

Jun 18th 2009 | SYDNEY

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EliasX wrote:

Jun 18th 2009 4:48 GMT

The Economist, like other media, fails to mention what kind of Lebanese-Australians are apparently attacking Indians in Australia.

Officialdom calls this a “law-and-order” issue, and the Indian press rants about “racism” in Australia. No one, it seems, is asking what kind of Lebanese these assailants are.

Are they Christians? Or, more likely, are they Muslims? The Indians are mostly, one would assume, Hindus. Maybe this is a religious issue? Muslims, given Islamic tenets regarding polytheists and idolators, have a long, sordid, intolerant, and murderous history of “Hinduphobia.”

Suggestions/Critiques welcome.

-- Madhur