A Maid and Her Mistress

The recent spat between India and the United States over the arrest and humiliation of India’s deputy counsel in New York, Dr. Devyani Khobragade, threatens to create a wedge between the two (normally friendly) democracies. The Indian foreign service official was arrested and handcuffed last week in New York on charges of forging her maid’s visa forms and underpaying her in contravention of American law.

Interestingly, the person being charged for exploitation of a domestic worker and her right to a minimum wage, is herself from the 'exploited' classes, the so-called dalit or untouchables of India. Fifty years ago, neither she nor her father would have been able to rise to the status and position that they have been able to attain if it were not for the minotity-friendly and affirmative action policies of the government of India.

While the charge against Ms. Khobragade of paying her Indian maid less than the minimum wages may be true, it still does not warrant the rough treatment meted out to her in full public view. As is quite common in India, It is possible that the diplomat had assumed responsibility to pay for her maid’s air ticket for travel to the United States, to send money to the maid’s parents every month, or to help the maid in any other way. I personally know several people who not only spent tens of thousands of rupees at the time of the wedding of their servant’s daughter, they actually made it possible. Minimum hourly wage is not everything in India - domestic workers can, and do, get compensated in so many other ways. Many people consider it their duty to provide their domestic servant with additional means so as to enable him to send his child to a good school. If the United States law enforcement authorities were not aware of this social context, then, yes, the Indian diplomat may have broken the law.

On the other hand, there are numerous incidents of American diplomats or servicemen flouting host country laws, rules and customs. Just 3 weeks ago, a huge quantity of cocaine worth 50 million dollars was discovered on a beach in Yokosuka, close to the American base.

A U.S. Department of State diplomat and her husband tricked an Ethiopian woman into accompanying them as their domestic servant to Japan in 2009 on a promise of 300 dollars monthly salary, where they held her virtually as a prisoner in their home and forced her to work for them for less than $1 per hour and where the husband repeatedly raped the woman with his diplomat wife’s consent. A Virginia federal judge awarded the victim $3.3 million in damages on a default judgment against the couple. The diplomat retired from the State Department with full pension and then fled the country.

A few years ago in Tokyo, the (US) embassy paid-for-dormitory for domestics (so they did not have to live with their diplomatic masters) was found full of women not connected with the embassy, some of whom were prostituting themselves on and out of U.S. government property. The public restroom just outside the dorm was a known quickie spot for night time taxi drivers looking for sex. Things were handled nice and quietly by State and the usually compliant Japanese government (MOFA), and the story stayed out of the news and out of the taxpayers’ attention.

Harold Countryman, along with his spouse Kimberly, was a U.S. diplomat assigned to Seoul, Korea. Before leaving the country, he and his wife hired a Cambodian woman to work for them in the U.S. Harold falsified the necessary U.S. visa application to get the Cambodian woman into the U.S., falsely claiming he would pay her minimum wage. Instead, once in the U.S., the Countrymans “Held her passport,” says Chuck Rosenberg, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Her wages came out to roughly a dollar an hour.” The woman was berated and sometimes assaulted. She was not allowed to leave the Countrymans’ house. Luckily, a neighbor noticed something wrong and called the cops, who luckily took it all seriously. This story has a semi-happy ending of sorts: The couple pleaded guilty to visa fraud, and are paying the Cambodian woman $50,000 in restitution. Harold Countryman, the diplomat, only received probation, however.

For a detailed account of the three cases cited above, and further analysis, please click here. Mr. Preet Bharara, the overzealous US Justice Department prosecutor, may not yet have joined his current employer when all this was happening.

And, what about other federal security and information-gathering agencies and their officials? Who in this world would not have been amused by the fact of NSA wiretapping Auntie Angela Merkel’s cellphone, presumably to eavesdrop on her conversations with Monsieur Sarkozy, causing jealousy to Uncle Sam. Your NSA is just “like the STASI”, she 'lovingly' complained to President Obama recently.

I used to think that the values, such as the right to freedom and equality, the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, etc., enshrined in the U.S. Constitution are universal. I did not know that these values are for the protection of Americans only, and become tools for prosecution of non-Americans. I now recall the greatest American announcement since the venerable Monroe Doctrine, almost two hundred years later, “If you are not with us, you are against us.” Like Iran and some Arab countries who refuse to recognize the existence of Israel, America refuses to understand that there are other, older, countries and social systems that have been around for five thousand years, and where things may be done in a slightly different fashion.

While I do not wish to defend the concept of domestic labor in India, the fact remains that poverty in rural India forces millions of people (mostly teenagers) to migrate to towns and cities in search of jobs. When these people arrive, they are invariably raw - innocent, illiterate (can’t even write their own name), unskilled, starving and vulnerable - and since they have neither an address nor an identity, few people will open the doors to their hearts and homes for them. In these circumstances, the most they can aspire to is a domestic job, and that too if somebody is willing to place their trust in them. Howsoever hard or bad, a job means a roof over the head, free food, clothes and medicine, and a regular monthly salary (most of which is sent back home to take care of siblings). NGO’s and other social activists routinely criticize the prevalence of child labor, but they seem to overlook the fact that in the absence of education and job opportunities in rural India, if these persons did not have a domestic job, their siblings and parents would most likely starve.

There are no statistics available anywhere to make a statement one way or the other about how domestic helpers are treated by their employers. But from personal observation by visiting homes of family members and friends in India, I noticed that in most homes domestic servants looked reasonably happy and cheerful, and willing to engage in simple conversation. Only in 1 place did I find some tell-tale signs of ill-treatment of the servant. As the economy continues to grow and expand in India, I see strong evidence of the working of the principle of supply and demand as regards domestic labor in India. Every year i go back to my home in New Delhi for my holidays, and find a new face. When I ask what happened to the previous maid/servant, I learn that the maid left because she got a better offer from another place. Some of the helpers who once worked at my home have moved on and up the economic ladder and have become shop assistants or ordinary office employees.

There are all sorts of situations, and, as everywhere, there are good employers and there are bad employers. Generally speaking, a stint of a few years as domestic help does provide an opportunity to workers to polish themselves and their skills, and better articulate their hopes and aspirations.

One friend with whom I was discussing this situation said that India must reciprocate its friendly feelings to the United States. He suggested:

Indian immigration officials should welcome the fatherly Mr. George H.W. Bush (if he visits India in the near future) in the immigration area and frisk him. This is in response to the frisking conducted on the former president of India, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, 80, at New York’s JFK airport when he visited United States in September 2011.

My favorite Ms. Condoleeza Rice, the former US Secretary of State, should also get special treatment in the immigration area when she visits India next time. She should be body- and cavity-searched. This is in return for the kindness shown to the former Foreign Affairs Minister of India, Mr. George Fernandez, who was strip-searched by officers of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service at Dulles Airport when he arrived for an official visit in early 2002, and again, in 2003, when he was passing through the U.S. on his way to Brazil.

We all love Richard Gere, the handsome guy who got ‘my’ “Pretty Woman”, but he must be seriously searched and re-searched when he visits India next time to see the Dalai Lama. Poor Richard… do you know what your fellow actor (the Bollywood king), Shah Rukh Khan, went through in April 2012, when he was stopped at New York airport for over two hours by immigration officials after arriving from India in a private plane to address students at Yale University?

‘India slams U.S. habit of detaining Shah Rukh Khan’ was the headline carried by The Hindu, in which it reported the complaint filed by the Government of India, stating that the apology offered by the American government for a previous detention of Shah Rukh Khan in 2009 was nothing but mechanical.

The actor himself made light of his detention, tweeting that “whenever I start feeling arrogant about myself, I visit USA. The immigration guys kick the star out of stardom.”

Not everybody is as magnanimous as Shah Rukh Khan. Many of my friends from Europe (original Europeans, not immigrants or Muslims) in the aftermath of 9/11 stopped going to the United States after experiencing similarly humiliating treatment at the hands of U.S. immigration officials.

In the light of incidents as described above continuing to occur, it is easy to understand the anger mounting in India against such behavior. And yet, there is no sign of an apology, not even an assurance. All we get is this: “American law enforcement did what they are supposed to do. No rules were broken. Charges against Khobragade will not be dropped.”

In bilateral relations, if one side continues to be adamant and consumed in its own greatness, there is precious little the other side can do. Still, a decision by India to quietly recall the diplomat followed by a new posting to another country, rather than transferring her to India’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, might have been the path of least conflict. It would have also shown India’s maturity and statesmanship in international relations.

Going Backwards in Japan

When I came to Japan 35 years ago, this country seemed the most equitable and egalitarian place in the world. Unemployment was negligible and illiteracy was non-existent. Everybody was entitled to, and had, health insurance. The gap between the rich and poor was not so big — and most people believed they were happy with their lives.

The highest-paid person in a company, such as the president or chairman, received no more than 10-12 times the salary of the lowest paid employee. Most Japanese therefore felt satisfied with their lives. Not anymore.

Over the last two decades, Japanese employers have reshaped the employment landscape by making every third employee “non-regular.” (This trend is, arguably, a special “gift” from the United States, via consulting firms such as McKinsey and other cost-cutting HR specialists.) These “non-regular” employees include contract, part-time seasonal workers and day laborers.

This new category of workers does not receive any benefits such as medical, pension, paid leave and social security, to which “regular” employees in most sectors of the economy are entitled. Nor is there a guarantee of continuing employment.

A contingent workforce as a country’s backbone?

According to data released recently by the Japanese Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry, the number of Japanese working on non-regular or part-time basis reached 38.2% of the workforce. Expressed another way, the number of Japanese who do not have regular employment surpassed 20 million in 2012.

Furthermore, the average annual wages of non-regular workers is only 1.6 million yen (about $16,400 or €11,900), compared to 4.6 million yen ($47,000 or €34,200) earned by regular employees. In other words, the non-regular workers make only one-third of what the regular employees earn.

The difference of 3 million yen in average annual earnings translates across the economy to 60 trillion yen, the amount by which 20 million non-regular workers are being short-changed annually. Say goodbye to a system that was equitable and among the fairest in the world!

Say goodbye, also, to a society that has been cohesive, caring and at peace with itself. These 20 million people are seeing a Japan that is different from what their parents saw, and they feel cheated.

Demographic consequences

They are delaying getting into relationships, postponing getting married if at all, and not having children. According to figures from a survey conducted by the Cabinet Office, the population of Japan fell 0.22% compared to last year. This represents a decrease of 284,000 in its population so far this year. It has been estimated that the population of Japan will continue to shrink, and by 2060 it will be 80 million (down from about 126 million now).

It had been previously explained that the shift away from regular employment was mostly due to the individual attitudes of young people, raised in affluence during the boom years before the bursting of the economic bubble. These people were called “freeters” — and it wasn’t necessarily a derogatory term. Rather, being a “freeter” almost seemed fashionable or the ‘in’ thing to do during the mid-1990s.

Only later, as this trend exploded and started to affect employees of all ages, and across all categories, did it become clear that the shift towards non-regular workers was universal. It had been fueled by employers trying to reduce personnel costs — rather than the beginning of a new social trend.

Consumption problems

Mr. Abe’s “Three Arrows” are pointed at various things. However, the regular/non-regular (workers) divide is not among the targets. Paul Krugman once said, with good reason, that the problem which plagues the Japanese economy is the problem of consumption.

I don’t see how you can increase domestic consumption if you have yourself created a class of workers, 20 million strong, who earn two-thirds less than the regulars, who have no entitlements or benefits — and who live mostly hand to mouth.

The second half of the 20th century was remarkable in that most countries of the developed world were motivated, and able to create, societies that are caring and equitable. They were driven by a genuine concern for happiness and human welfare.

It is unfortunate that, during its two lost decades, Japan began to move in the opposite direction by diluting the meaning of a “Just Society.” And we must worry about one more thing – that, rather than being the outlier, it is showing other major nations the way “forward.”

Social developments in the United States are such that it increasingly exhibits traits of the Japanese disease with bifurcating society into a regular and a largely contingent workforce. Statistically, the two countries aren’t far apart any longer, especially considering that social benefits in the United States were never that generous to begin with.

And post-crisis Europe, in turn, is also exhibiting ever more elements of the Japanese-American disease.

Pakistan, our Neighbour

Since yesterday, the television news channels in India have been full of visuals of the return of five Indian soldiers from Kashmir, massacred by Pakistani troops. One can see throngs of people who went to receive them, and to accompany them on their final journey. There is a real anger among Indians that is directed at the Pakistanis for their unending, relentless and unprovoked killings of Indian soldiers, as well as at our own pro-Pak government for continuing to take this nonsense from a rogue, despicable, and terrorist country.

Pakistan is a failed state, and given its past conduct vis-à-vis India during the last sixty years, there is absolutely no reason for India to engage with Pakistan. In fact, it is most surprising that India should even wish for improved relations with Pakistan.

As everybody knows, Pakistan has been waging a proxy war against India ever since Independence. Its war against India is not based on any principle or a justifiable belief in something higher—such as democracy vs. dictatorship, liberal vs. reactionary, or free market vs. communist. In fact, Pakistan itself is the epitome of all that is evil and abhorrent. Instead of being thankful or grateful to India for having had the opportunity of being exposed to a higher culture and ancient civilization, it just wants to continue to belittle India, kill as many Indians as it can without any provocation, foment trouble between India and its minorities, and grab whatever land it can by its regular military incursions. At best, Pakistan’s conduct can only be described as disgusting.

It suits Pakistan perfectly well to wage a proxy war against India. Proxies are the acts of cowards, it enables them to breach borders surreptitiously, attack from behind, kill and kidnap, and escape under the cover of darkness. According to government figures, this has happened more that 180 times in the last three years.

Like a true coward, Pakistan denies any involvement in these crimes when protests are lodged by the Indian government. It is not possible to win against an enemy when it is waging a proxy war, and when the enemy state has given a free reign to its armed forces to bomb, kill or kidnap without being accountable to anybody. If the Indian government is serious about defending its territory and people it must give a free hand to its military to respond in whatever way it sees fit. We cannot defeat terrorism by ignoring terrorist acts. We cannot wish it away.

Antony should be tried for treason

Yet again, the Pakistani troops crossed the Line of Control in Kashmir today and butchered five Indian soldiers manning a border post, well within Indian territory.  This follows another incident on 8 January, when Pakistani troops attacked and beheaded one Indian soldier, and killed another. What is the Indian government doing about it?

Hours after this incident, the Defense Minister of India made a statement to the Parliament that “the ambush was carried out by approximately 20 heavily-armed terrorists along with persons dressed in Pakistan army uniform”, while an Army spokesman had earlier said, “soldiers from Pakistan Army” were involved.  We should ‘salute’ our Defense Minister for absolving the Pakis of this heinous crime by pointing a finger at the Pakistan-based terrorists. The Parliament was justifiably furious, and saw through the game being played by the government (of appeasing Pakistan), and at which it (the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty) has over a half century of experience.



Our Defense Minister’s utterances truly reflect the wishes of his master (or rather, mistress). Back in March he had also made a statement in Parliament regarding the facts surrounding the beheading of an Indian soldier by intruding Pak troops on 8 January, that "terrorists affiliated to LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammad were involved in the attack".  At that time too, he did not name the Pakistan Army.

Mr. A.K. Antony is either a Paki agent in the Indian Government or he is a traitor. In either case, he deserves to be tried for treason and, if found guilty, appropriately punished.

Mr. Abe's Three Arrows Need Course Adjustment

Many Japanese appear to be excited about the spending spree on which the government seems ready to embark after the upper house elections in July. I clearly remember that similar actions by previous governments did not produce the desired results. To the contrary, those stimulus  packages just left the Japanese people deeper in debt, a debt which now stands at one thousand trillion yen. There is a real risk that when Mr. Abe fires his ‘Three Arrows’, the economy might be hurt rather than being strengthened. It is awfully strange that in an age of rockets and guided missiles, Mr. Abe is thinking of shooting arrows.

In regards to the stimulus package of over 10 trillion yen loaded in Mr. Abe’s 2nd Arrow, it is doubtful it will hit its target of generating 2 percent growth over the next 10 years. This approach was tried many times during the last two decades by previous governments but did not show much in terms of results. In the past, the stimulus had been used to tear up roads that were in perfect condition and re-surfaced again, creating widespread traffic jams and inconvenience for all. Moreover, this kind of expenditure does not benefit anybody except the construction industry, which is rumored to have strong links to the ruling LDP politicians. It is also not productive. If the government must resort to Keynesian economics, I suggest a different approach which will be not only productive but also address problems associated with the onset of a greying society, and raise the standards of Japanese housing to the level prevalent in the United States and OECD countries.

My first suggestion is that the government should embark on building new and better hospitals, old peoples’ homes, and care centers. One in four Japanese is over 65 years old, and the number of senior citizens is projected to increase to about 38 percent of the population by 2050. We must move now to build the infrastructure needed by the greying society in their twilight years. The building of this infrastructure would generate significant business and new employment opportunities, and would pay for itself over a period of time.

My second suggestion is that in place of tearing up roads which are still in good enough condition and re-surfacing them--which seems to me an exercise in futility--the government should embark on a target of building 1 million new apartments over a 10-year period, i.e., one hundred thousand new apartments to be built every year. The purpose of this is to provide ordinary Japanese an opportunity to experience and start a higher standard of living, out of the so-called ‘rabbit hutches’ of the past and into the modern, affluent lifestyle of citizens of a modern, post-industrial society. These apartments should be built all over Japan, especially in all major cities, in sizes of 50, 100, and 150 square meters for singles, couples, and families. They should be made available at the price of one thousand yen per square meter per month, in Class A cities like Tokyo and Osaka, and at lesser cost in smaller cities. Thus, a family can enjoy living in a spacious apartment of 150 square meters in Tokyo/Osaka for JPY150,000 per month. When people move to live in these bigger apartments, they will also buy new, or bigger, furniture, curtains, refrigerators, and wide screen television sets, thus raising consumption and giving a boost to the economy. This investment in public works will also pay for itself, by rental income received, over a period of 20-30 years.

The problem with Japan is that its economy is based on exports, and if its exports are no longer growing so also not is the economy. The last two decades have witnessed little  growth in exports and this is reflected in the stagnation of the Japanese economy. To convert Japan’s economy from one based on exports to an economy geared towards creating and fulfilling domestic demand, should be one of the main targets of Mr. Abe’s third arrow aimed at structural reform.

It is no secret that Japan needs to increase domestic consumption. But this is becoming increasingly difficult as Japanese consumers are wary of spending in view of the uncertain economic landscape. Moreover, the number of people with reasonably high disposable income has been declining with the sharp increase in the number of temporary or non-regular workers. According to government figures, there is now one temporary worker for every two who are employed full-time. These workers earn meagre salaries, are not entitled to medical or other benefits, have no job security, and mostly live hand-to-mouth. They simply do not have the wherewithal to increase their level of consumption. Many of these workers don’t even marry, or marry late, in view of their marginalized existence.

A few years ago when Mr. Aso was the prime minister, he had promised to create 1.6 million new jobs, mostly by converting part-time workers to full-time. This needs to be done on an urgent basis, due to both economic and ethical reasons. Having a happy, satisfied, and fully-employed workforce is the shortest way to economic recovery and increased consumption. Why do we forget that consumption began to decline in the nineties as part-time/temporary employment started to rise.

If somebody has been continuously employed in a certain position as a temp or part-time worker for at least 5 years, it can be argued that his organization has a continuing need for that job and that incumbent. It can also be argued that this person is being exploited by his organization because by classifying that job as temporary or part-time, the employer can get away without paying him adequate wages, social security, and other standard benefits. I can say with certainty that this situation persists in most sectors of the economy. In the field of education, most universities continue to hire teaching faculty on a part-time basis even though many of these adjunct teachers have been teaching for more than 10 years. The result of such practices is that an unskilled worker in another sector who is on full-time employment may be making more money than our educators. My point here is that we need to have an approach that is people-centered. Governments are elected by the people, and they exist for the people.  It is high time the government begins to safeguard the interests of people (who elected it) rather than furthering the interests of big business only.

In my opinion, the Japanese economy need not remain in its current deflationary state since a majority of the workforce continues to be disciplined, hardworking, and loyal to the employer. With right policies, with a shift in emphasis from industry to people and from increasing exports to improving infrastructure for its senior citizens, Japan can come out  of its two lost decades and dazzle the world yet again.