After prolonged deliberation the choice for Viceroy has been finally declared. Richard Rahul Verma is a close associate of the next-in-line-to-the-throne Madam President. A master-stroke by Obama no doubt. Now we have an Indian-American under secretary for South Asia (Neha Biswal), an I-A ambassador and all that remains is for Hilary Clinton to declare Dr Ami Bera from California as her choice for V-P.
We are not sure whether to be proud (first time an xx-American has been appointed to an xx country) or parochial (why not a Bong or Mallu ambassador, why do Punjus always get to go first?). Then again we are given to understand that when appointed to important government posts (also university faculty positions) in the USA you have to declare that you have not been knowingly associated with communists. One cannot be too careful these days you know.
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Richard Verma remembers the time when he was a little kid, seeing his mom in her sari waiting for a bus to go to work in sub-zero centigrade temperatures in blowing and drifting snow. His father had emigrated from Punjab, arriving in New York City in 1963 with $24 in his pocket, and his mother and siblings had followed a few years later. ...
"The times were hard. We had no money. The kids could be mean in school to this new immigrant family. But they persevered," he recalls. "They showed us what it meant to be strong, what it means to stay together, and confront challenges as a family, and they taught us to be proud of our roots."
On Thursday, the proud son of Indian immigrants who personify Indian enterprise and academic excellence — his parents were the first ones in the family to be educated; his father went on to earn a PhD — was nominated by US President Obama to be the US ambassador to India. He will be the first Indian-American to take the job if (or when) he is confirmed by the Senate; indeed, he will be the first Indian-American to get an ambassadorial appointment to a major country, not counting the sinecure (to Belize) Obama's bestowed on his collegemate Vinai Thummalapally.
Richard Rahul Verma is from a different stock from the entrepreneurial Thummalapally, who now has a key job in the Department of Commerce; the Indian-American of Punjabi stock is himself no slouch when it comes to academic and professional accomplishment. While there is an element of surprise in his nomination given his south Asia background and India roots, his formidable resume (including an ongoing PhD program at Georgetown University) and the Washington roadmap he has traversed for two decades make him a shoo-in for the New Delhi job, despite reservations in some quarters about whether an Indian-American is best suited for the post.
Verma is a consummate Washington insider who has worked in both the legislature and the executive; in fact, his last post bridged the two — he was the Assistant Secretary of State for legislative affairs during Hillary Clinton's stewardship of Foggy Bottom — and that job came to him by virtue of his years as a chief foreign policy aide to Senate leader Harry Reid. Before that, between clerkships and stints at law firms, he worked with the legendary Pennsylvania lawmaker Jack Murtha, learning the ropes on the Hill.
So despite the Senate holding up some 50-plus Obama appointments due to a political gridlock, the reckoning among South Asia veterans is that if there is one candidate who is a surefire confirmation, it has to be Rich Verma. Although some India hands suspect that the announcement of his nomination is timed to lubricate the Modi visit, it has the added advantage of providing continuity should Hillary Clinton make it to the White House in 2016. For there is no greater Verma supporter in town than the former Secretary of State, although Verma first signed up for the Obama camp when he prepped the President for the presidential debates in 2008.
In fact, in a farewell to Verma when he left the US state department job in 2012, Clinton recalled in a very personal way how much Verma guarded her back and how much he meant to her. "My mother lives with us in our house here in Washington, and I was saying goodbye to her this morning and she said, 'What's wrong, you don't look very good.' And I said, 'Well, I know, I am not just in a very good mood today.' And she says, 'Well, you know, there's so much going on in the world, all over the country, and the economy.' But I said, 'No, it's not it; it's Rich Verma (leaving).'" Clinton related.
President Obama himself sent his National Security Advisor Tom Donilon to the farewell with a personal letter that paid glowing tributes to his contribution to the administration. It read: "Dear Rich, I extend to you my sincere thanks for your valuable service to my administration. Over the past two years, our country has faced a host of challenging foreign policy and national security issues. At each turn, your skilled judgment and leadership has helped shape effective Congressional engagement. You played a key role in our efforts to ratify the New START treaty, to manage the response to the tragedy of the Haiti earthquake and to negotiate a powerful Iran sanctions bill. You worked in a demanding environment and always responded with able advice and good humour. I appreciate your dedication and professionalism."
Of course, Obama would know — also personally. Verma assisted him in debate prep during his 2008 Presidential campaign, and like the President and his wife, Verma and his wife Pinky are also legal eagles, a power couple with law degrees from American University and UPenn respectively. When he arrives in New Delhi later this year or early next year, Verma will bring with him not just legalese, having worked on a ton of legislation and international treaties (including some New Delhi is not particularly fond of), but also a smattering of Hindi, which he is said to have kept up with.
Doubtless, much more than that will be needed to elevate the US-India partnership. But despite his relatively modest vintage (he's only 45 and of Asst. Secretary rank; previous US ambassadors have been heavyweight political appointees like David Mulford and Tim Roemer; or foreign service veterans such as Frank Wisner and Tom Pickering), Verma will bring to the table impressive range of work, from national security legislation to international treaties on non-proliferation, to bilateral agreements, including the US-India Civilian Nuclear deal, which he oversaw from the Senate side.
But most of his, he will bring an India connection, the likes of which is unprecedented, as is evident from this story he relates: In the fall of 2009, Verma was invited to the White House arrival ceremony of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. When he told his father about this, his dad was very excited "because in my dad's words, 'we are from the same place' in India."...With my dad, says Verma, no matter what Indian person we meet anywhere in the world, shopkeeper, waiter, restaurant owner, doctor...it doesn't matter, he always say you are from the same town, went to the same school, from the same village. "I said Dad, there are 1 billion Indian people, it is mathematically impossible that all of you can be from the same place....he said well, I'm telling you, you should tell the PM. Thanks, dad, but I'm not doing that...."
"When the day comes, and I am getting my turn in line, and there is the President, and he says this is Rich he works at the State Dept (you could tell the President was relieved to have at least one Indian person in the receiving line...). The Prime Minister looks at me, and says oh you are Indian, I said yes...the President nodding approvingly. What do you do? Prime Minister Singh asks: Oh I work at the State Dept Great, he said. Where are your parents from? I said, Northern India, Punjab. He asked where ... and I said my dad is from Jullundur. The Prime Minister turned to the President and said, "Oh, his father and I are from the same place...."
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Link:
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Link: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Richard-Verma-new-US-envoy-to-India-brings-wealth-of-experience-to-diplomatic-tabl
....
regards
We are not sure whether to be proud (first time an xx-American has been appointed to an xx country) or parochial (why not a Bong or Mallu ambassador, why do Punjus always get to go first?). Then again we are given to understand that when appointed to important government posts (also university faculty positions) in the USA you have to declare that you have not been knowingly associated with communists. One cannot be too careful these days you know.
.....
Richard Verma remembers the time when he was a little kid, seeing his mom in her sari waiting for a bus to go to work in sub-zero centigrade temperatures in blowing and drifting snow. His father had emigrated from Punjab, arriving in New York City in 1963 with $24 in his pocket, and his mother and siblings had followed a few years later. ...
"The times were hard. We had no money. The kids could be mean in school to this new immigrant family. But they persevered," he recalls. "They showed us what it meant to be strong, what it means to stay together, and confront challenges as a family, and they taught us to be proud of our roots."
On Thursday, the proud son of Indian immigrants who personify Indian enterprise and academic excellence — his parents were the first ones in the family to be educated; his father went on to earn a PhD — was nominated by US President Obama to be the US ambassador to India. He will be the first Indian-American to take the job if (or when) he is confirmed by the Senate; indeed, he will be the first Indian-American to get an ambassadorial appointment to a major country, not counting the sinecure (to Belize) Obama's bestowed on his collegemate Vinai Thummalapally.
Richard Rahul Verma is from a different stock from the entrepreneurial Thummalapally, who now has a key job in the Department of Commerce; the Indian-American of Punjabi stock is himself no slouch when it comes to academic and professional accomplishment. While there is an element of surprise in his nomination given his south Asia background and India roots, his formidable resume (including an ongoing PhD program at Georgetown University) and the Washington roadmap he has traversed for two decades make him a shoo-in for the New Delhi job, despite reservations in some quarters about whether an Indian-American is best suited for the post.
Verma is a consummate Washington insider who has worked in both the legislature and the executive; in fact, his last post bridged the two — he was the Assistant Secretary of State for legislative affairs during Hillary Clinton's stewardship of Foggy Bottom — and that job came to him by virtue of his years as a chief foreign policy aide to Senate leader Harry Reid. Before that, between clerkships and stints at law firms, he worked with the legendary Pennsylvania lawmaker Jack Murtha, learning the ropes on the Hill.
So despite the Senate holding up some 50-plus Obama appointments due to a political gridlock, the reckoning among South Asia veterans is that if there is one candidate who is a surefire confirmation, it has to be Rich Verma. Although some India hands suspect that the announcement of his nomination is timed to lubricate the Modi visit, it has the added advantage of providing continuity should Hillary Clinton make it to the White House in 2016. For there is no greater Verma supporter in town than the former Secretary of State, although Verma first signed up for the Obama camp when he prepped the President for the presidential debates in 2008.
In fact, in a farewell to Verma when he left the US state department job in 2012, Clinton recalled in a very personal way how much Verma guarded her back and how much he meant to her. "My mother lives with us in our house here in Washington, and I was saying goodbye to her this morning and she said, 'What's wrong, you don't look very good.' And I said, 'Well, I know, I am not just in a very good mood today.' And she says, 'Well, you know, there's so much going on in the world, all over the country, and the economy.' But I said, 'No, it's not it; it's Rich Verma (leaving).'" Clinton related.
President Obama himself sent his National Security Advisor Tom Donilon to the farewell with a personal letter that paid glowing tributes to his contribution to the administration. It read: "Dear Rich, I extend to you my sincere thanks for your valuable service to my administration. Over the past two years, our country has faced a host of challenging foreign policy and national security issues. At each turn, your skilled judgment and leadership has helped shape effective Congressional engagement. You played a key role in our efforts to ratify the New START treaty, to manage the response to the tragedy of the Haiti earthquake and to negotiate a powerful Iran sanctions bill. You worked in a demanding environment and always responded with able advice and good humour. I appreciate your dedication and professionalism."
Of course, Obama would know — also personally. Verma assisted him in debate prep during his 2008 Presidential campaign, and like the President and his wife, Verma and his wife Pinky are also legal eagles, a power couple with law degrees from American University and UPenn respectively. When he arrives in New Delhi later this year or early next year, Verma will bring with him not just legalese, having worked on a ton of legislation and international treaties (including some New Delhi is not particularly fond of), but also a smattering of Hindi, which he is said to have kept up with.
Doubtless, much more than that will be needed to elevate the US-India partnership. But despite his relatively modest vintage (he's only 45 and of Asst. Secretary rank; previous US ambassadors have been heavyweight political appointees like David Mulford and Tim Roemer; or foreign service veterans such as Frank Wisner and Tom Pickering), Verma will bring to the table impressive range of work, from national security legislation to international treaties on non-proliferation, to bilateral agreements, including the US-India Civilian Nuclear deal, which he oversaw from the Senate side.
But most of his, he will bring an India connection, the likes of which is unprecedented, as is evident from this story he relates: In the fall of 2009, Verma was invited to the White House arrival ceremony of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. When he told his father about this, his dad was very excited "because in my dad's words, 'we are from the same place' in India."...With my dad, says Verma, no matter what Indian person we meet anywhere in the world, shopkeeper, waiter, restaurant owner, doctor...it doesn't matter, he always say you are from the same town, went to the same school, from the same village. "I said Dad, there are 1 billion Indian people, it is mathematically impossible that all of you can be from the same place....he said well, I'm telling you, you should tell the PM. Thanks, dad, but I'm not doing that...."
"When the day comes, and I am getting my turn in line, and there is the President, and he says this is Rich he works at the State Dept (you could tell the President was relieved to have at least one Indian person in the receiving line...). The Prime Minister looks at me, and says oh you are Indian, I said yes...the President nodding approvingly. What do you do? Prime Minister Singh asks: Oh I work at the State Dept Great, he said. Where are your parents from? I said, Northern India, Punjab. He asked where ... and I said my dad is from Jullundur. The Prime Minister turned to the President and said, "Oh, his father and I are from the same place...."
......
Link:
....
Link: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Richard-Verma-new-US-envoy-to-India-brings-wealth-of-experience-to-diplomatic-tabl
....
regards