The Rice Thresher, Vol. 97, No. 6, Ed. 1 Friday, September 25, 2009 Page: 4 of 20
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4 NEWS
the Rice Thresher
Friday, September25,2009
Martel welcomes former ambassador to speak on India
By Anna Wilde
Thresher Editorial Staff
In an effort to increase talks by
notable speakers at the residential
colleges, Martel College hosted Am-
bassador Swashpawan Singh last
Thursday.
Speaking to an audience of about
30, Singh, the former Indian ambassa-
dor to the United Nations, gave a talk
entitled "The India Story: More Fact
than Fiction," where he discussed his
country's current success, in addition
to its development and obstacles to
becoming a world power.
The talk was jointly coordinated
by the Martel Peer Academic Advi-
sors, the Indian Students at Rice and
the James A. Baker 111 Institute for
Public Policy.
Singh, who serves as India's per-
manent representative to the United
Nations in Geneva, said he was moti-
vated to share information about his
country after discovering how little
Americans knew about India. India
boasts an enormous voter turnout for
elections and is the largest democracy
in the world, he said.
Around 430 million people voted
in India's latest elections, a number
which encompasses the combined
populations of the United States,
Canada, the United Kingdom, France,
Germany and Switzerland. Singh said
most Indian citizens are so passion-
ate about their right to vote that they
would be willing to relinquish every-
thing else to keep this right.
In addition, Singh said India has
made a major mark on world powers
— even McDonald's Corporation. To
this day, no beef is sold at any Indian
McDonald's restaurant for Hindu di-
etary reasons, a demand that initially
seemed laughable to the company
when it considered expansion into the
country in 1996.
Singh also pointed to India's geo-
graphical significance, situated be-
tween China, Pakistan, Afghanistan
and Nepal.
"India is an island of stability in a
difficult neighborhood," Singh said.
India's tolerance, not only for its
different neighbors but for its own
diversity, is a key to its continued suc-
cess, he said. India's focus on secu-
larism is not equivalent to an absence
of faith, but rather a coexistence and
acceptance of each other's beliefs,
Singh said.
44
I don't think you
guys use your elbows
enough.
Swashpawan Singh
Fmr. Indian Amb. to the UN
W
Additionally, Singh encouraged his
U.S. listeners to be proactive, rather
than complacent.
"I don't think you guys use your el-
bows enough," Singh said.
India has the second-largest res-
ervoir of workers and an average age
of 23. While Americans may consider
India to have an overpopulation prob-
lem, Singh said that India views its
large population as "a stock of creativ-
ity and innovation, not a liability."
Singh went on to discuss India's
difficulties, as it is still a develop-
ing country with half of its popula-
tion below the poverty line. Singh
cited infrastructure, energy secu-
rity, education and health care as
areas for improvement.
Singh said he hopes to see India
collaborate with the United States to
solve similar problems such as drug
RUPD POLICE BLOTTER
The following items were reported to the Rice Univer-
sity Police Department for the period Sept. 16-22
Residential Colleges
Wiess College Sept. 19
Brown College Sept. 20
Other Locations
West Lot Sept. 16
Fondren Library Sept. 17
Off Campus Sept. 18
Alumni Drive Sept. 19
Theft
Theft
Failure to stop and give
information
Theft
Alcohol violations, driv-
ing while intoxicated
Evading detention
713.529.2891
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trafficking, nuclear weapons, climate
change, the spread of pandemic dis-
eases, economic issues, terrorism and
higher education. India currently has
around 90,000 students studying at
U.S. universities, many of whom will
remain in the United States following
graduation rather than contribute to
India's development.
He mentioned the possibility of
a Rice campus in India in the future
to open up the opportunity of higher
education to more Indian students in
their country.
President David Leebron, however,
was hesitant to set a specific date for
future collaboration.
"Because of our comparatively
small size and limited resources, we
have emphasized building partner-
ships with foreign universities, for
both teaching and research, rather
than trying to establish our own cam-
puses abroad," Leebron said. "While
we remain open to a range of discus-
sions, it is likely that we will continue
with that strategy. We have a keen in-
terest in increasing our relationships
with India and the opportunities for
both our students and professors."
Martel PAA Veronica Torres said
the ambassador gave her a new view-
point on the country.
"It was really interesting to hear
what he had to say in comparison to
what some of my friends said about In-
dia after visiting this summer," Torres,
a Martel junior, said.
Fellow PAA Janhvi Doshi said she
was impressed with the ambassador's
honesty.
"I definitely didn't expect [the
speech] to be as good as it was. It
was his honesty that I didn't expect,"
Doshi, a Martel junior, said. "I didn't
see him trying to dodge questions. He
was consistent with his opinions, in
addition to government ideas."
The plans for Singh's arrival were
set in motion years ago.
Martel Master Jerry Dickens had
Former ambassador Swashpawan Singh speaks to a group of Rice
students about India's success, development and impact in the world.
been in conversation with the univer-
sity about hosting notable speakers
and other events at Martel soon after
he became master in 2005. Dickens,
an earth science professor, was ap-
proached at the beginning of the se-
mester by Nancy Hawes, executive
director for external affairs at the Jesse
H. Jones Graduate School of Business,
about hosting Singh.
The Martel Peer Academic Advisers,
led by junior Bo Shi and senior Maram
Salaheldin, agreed to assist with the talk
following an e-mail asking for help, in
addition to the suggestion of Assistant
Dean of Undergraduates and Director of
Academic Advising Brian Gibson, also a
Martel resident associate.
Salaheldin said the PAAs' involve-
ment made sense, as the group exists
for academic enrichment at the college
and has the manpower to help.
"We were basically asked to handle
logistics," Salaheldin said. "It wasn't a
novel tiling for us to do."
According to Salaheldin, the
uniqueness and success of the event
gave the PAAs more visibility, as the
group is generally just known for
hosting study breaks and handling
students' academic concerns.
Salaheldin also praised the
speaker's accessibility compared to
that of past notable speakers such as
President Bill Clinton and the Dalai
Lama. Shi and Salaheldin coordi-
nated publicity for the ambassador's
talk alongside Deepa Ramachadran,
president of Indian Students at Rice.
Martel junior Raul Villarreal said
the more casual setting of events
held at the colleges made him more
likely to attend them.
"Even though I've taken classes
at the Baker Institute, it's intimidat-
ing for undergraduates to go into lec-
ture series where everyone is wearing
suits," Villarreal said.
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Michel, Casey. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 97, No. 6, Ed. 1 Friday, September 25, 2009, newspaper, September 25, 2009; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443170/m1/4/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.