I think IA did well this year. He's such a good speaker, reminds me a lot of Bill Clinton. That southern twang and a warmth to his voice, he draws you in. Last year they picked Monihi Bhardwaj which I personally was surprised about. She didn't show up for the event, her father came instead. It should have gone to Vanita Gupta that year, she was a special award recipient. Sonal Shah was perhaps their best one. Swati Dandekar was the first one. I'm waiting for Bhairavi Desai to get it. She's my hero.

My nomination would be the people of Iraq, Afghanistan, Ukraine, and Lebanon, who all saw their freedoms expanded in varying degrees through their own efforts (here and there with help of course).

It is becoming clear that India's economic rise may play the geopolitical role that the US-China entente of 1975 (Nixon going to China) had in shifting the balance of power against the Soviet Union. Only this time India economic and military emergence will hopefully shift the power against China.

The two women from the India currents list, Asra Nomani and Bhairavi Desai are more worthy, than Bobby "Purple finger" Jindal, anyday.

Abhi, I suppose we could have seen this one coming. I mean, every time I've read one of Aziz Haniffa's puff pieces in India Abroad about Bobby Jindal during the past year, I've had to stop myself to make sure I was reading the news section, and not a profile in the matrimonial pages in the back of the paper seeking a wife for the guy.

Fortunately, HR 4437 has only passed the House of Representatives. Hasn't yet reached the Senate, though there's ample cause to be concerned that even the Democrats in the Senate might cave -- even the two New York senators. It's a truly awful bill, and Bobby should be ashamed of lending his support for it after taking so much money and gaining so much support from the community. But I'm sure that very few of the desis who have opened their wallets or supported him in other ways will open their mouths to say anything about this issue -- too many "politically active" desis are neither Democrats nor Republicans, in any principled sense, but are simply Photocrats, donating money in exchange for a nice photo op.

Janeofalltrades, I'm with you on Bhairavi Desai. One painful irony about Bobby Jindal getting this award, however, is that he has voted for a bill that could well make her job itself illegal:

[Under HR 4437] U.S. citizens and other legal immigrants could also be charged with felonies for recruiting or referring undocumented immigrants for employment, even if they did not know that they were dealing with undocumented immigrants. As a result, organizations such as union hiring halls, non-profit groups, worker centers, day laborer sites, and other job placement and referral programs would be responsible for verifying immigration status for everyone they refer to a job, even though they are not the employer.

Humanitarian relief volunteers in the U.S. already are facing these kinds of criminal charges:

Daniel Strauss and Shanti Sellz were members of a group of volunteers called “No More Deaths”, a network of individuals and organizations set up primarily to try to prevent deaths of irregular or undocumented migrants, hundreds of whom die each year after crossing into the USA from Mexico. The largest proportion die while crossing the Arizona desert which has reportedly claimed more than 260 lives in the past year alone. Many of these individuals died as a result of exposure to extreme temperatures, such as the record high temperatures that were reached during July 2005.

The three migrants picked up by Daniel Strauss and Shanti Sellz on 9 July 2005, were reported to have been extremely thirsty and hungry, suffering from persistent vomiting and from severe, crippling blisters which, if left untreated, could prevent a person from walking, a frequent cause of death in the desert. Strauss and Sellz were driving the three men for treatment by volunteer medical professionals in Tuscon when they were stopped by the United States (US) Border Patrol and arrested.

Daniel Strauss and Shanti Sellz were charged with committing two felonies under federal law: transporting illegal aliens and conspiring to do so.

These aren't minor charges -- Sellz and Strauss face "a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and up to $500,000 in fines." But H.R. 4437 would make it infinitely worse, criminalizing the work of many of people working in faith-based charities, teachers, lawyers, health care workers, and even the constituent service employees of elected officials. Who knows, maybe even members of Bobby's own staff, unless perhaps they have a policy of screening callers' immigration status over the phone before offering any assistance.

Gee, thanks Bobby! And thank you India Abroad.

Gosh, I hate Bobby Jindal. I really don't think it's a coincidence that his (adopted!) initials are "BJ."