In January, 2020, India, the US, and the world, need more peace, love and healing. We need a renewal and a reawakening of our better angels. Those of us who understand this must hear the voices of King and Gandhi and step forward to “walk in the light” and to “be the change”. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, and Mahatma Gandhi died on January 30, 1948. However, there is a much more indelible connection between these two foremost practitioners of non-violence … [Read more...]
Articles
Frank blogs regularly for the Huffington Post and writes occasional columns and articles for publications such as the International Business Times and The Economic Times of India.
Frank writes on a wide variety of topics that are critical to shaping the future of America and the American dream and to making the United States and the world a better place. These include: Business; education; poverty and inequality; politics and public policy; immigration; manufacturing; innovation; leadership; citizenship; and social commentary.
Frank’s most recent blogs are highlighted on this page. To read other blogs or articles by Frank, click on the categories or publications links on the left.
China’s Inexcusable Internment of Uighur Muslims: Reason for a Boycott and Sanctions
On January 15, President Trump announced phase I of a trade deal with China, proclaiming, “This is the biggest deal anybody has ever seen.” In spite of the hoopla surrounding the announcement, many knowledgeable commentators and experts were skeptical about the size and nature of the deal. There has been little skepticism or disagreement, on the other hand, about the gravity of China’s internment of Uighur Muslims there and what the U.S. should do in … [Read more...]
2019 Word of the Year: Trust
As 2019 drew to a close, various organizations announced their word of the year. Oxford Dictionaries named “climate emergency.” Dictionaries.com named “existential.” Merriam Webster named “they.” As this new year begins, our choice for word of the year just past is Trust. We select trust not because of its presence in 2019 but because of its absence. Indeed, this absence of trust could be seen as one of the underlying reasons or a root cause of the climate emergency, which is precipitating an … [Read more...]
Sixty years hence: Are India and US set for a ‘defining partnership’?
This past December, the United States and India celebrated the 60th anniversary of the first visit of a US President to India. That President was Dwight Eisenhower (Ike). Since then five other Presidents have come to India. Their visits and they have all had an impact on the manner in which US-India relations have evolved. In my opinion, there have been three stages for the US- India relations to date: * 1947 – 1990: Fledgling Relationship * 1991 – 2016: … [Read more...]
A 2020 VISION FOR PATRIOTISM
These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from their service; but he that stands by it now deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Thomas Paine wrote those words on December 23, 1776 during the darkest days of the Revolutionary War. America is in a war today — a war with itself. It is an uncivil war, pitting citizen against citizen, with clashing views of patriotism, and with many on each … [Read more...]
India should be a secular democracy with equal opportunity and economic mobility for all
The county is now being bracketed with some of the worst violators of human rights. Mahatma Gandhi’s India doesn’t belong in that club. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), passed by the Indian Parliament on December 11, has triggered widespread protests across the country. Though large-scale agitations are not new to India, not since the days of the Emergency in the mid-1970s has the country witnessed such a nationwide mobilization on the streets. Protests have erupted in … [Read more...]
China’s Inexcusable Internment of Uighur Muslims
There has been much written and an outpouring of protests throughout 2019 against the Chinese internment of more than one million Uighur Muslims in the western Xinjiang region of China. In response, China has continuously rationalized its horrific treatment of the Uighur Muslims as an effort to contain and stop Islamic terrorism. It has also claimed that the internment camps are vocational skill retraining centres. The evidence clearly shows these are falsehoods. In a stunning November … [Read more...]
Preserving Our American Democracy Through Civics Education
Our American democracy is not dead. Nor is it on life support. But it is definitely ailing. As discussed in detail in our August 14 blog, a major source of that ailment is us — the American citizenry. In that blog, we stated, “At the heart of what is needed is increased civic engagement and citizens to step forward and take the lead in initiating and participating in a change management process.” Over the past few years, the New York Times has published several articles on … [Read more...]
Bold moves needed to right India’s economic ship
Only six months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi won his re-election with a resounding mandate, the economic outlook in the country looks somewhat bleak. The overall state of the economy was not a primary focal point during the recent Lok Sabha election. Still, it was no secret in the run-up to the polls that sectors such as real estate, manufacturing, banking and finance were troubled. Nevertheless, at the beginning of Modis second term, many hoped that the Prime … [Read more...]
Why India should close a trade deal with the US
During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the United States (US) in September, in which President Donald Trump made a cameo appearance at the “Howdy Modi” event in Houston, the two leaders were expected to announce a trade deal. But, the two sides could not agree on the contours of such a deal before that landmark trip ended. Media accounts suggested that, over subsequent weeks, New Delhi and Washington appeared to be near a trade deal several times. Nonetheless, as 2019 draws … [Read more...]