VZCZCXRO6457
RR RUEHBI RUEHCI
DE RUEHCG #0349 1360639
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 160639Z MAY 07
FM AMCONSUL CHENNAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0931
INFO RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 2525
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA 0775
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI 5044
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 1071
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 0552

UNCLAS CHENNAI 000349 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR SCA/PPD AND SCA/INS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL OEXC OIIP SCUL KPAO KISL IN
SUBJECT: AN ANTI-U.S. ECHO CHAMBER IN BANGALORE'S URDU SPEAKING 
COMMUNITY 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Deeply felt Muslim resentment over the Iraq war 
and U.S. policies in the Middle East, as well as misperceptions of 
American society emerged during a planned literary discussion in 
Bangalore between Urdu writers and journalists and visiting American 
author Eddy Harris.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) On May 5, U.S. Speaker Program participant Eddy Harris met 
with a group of seven prominent Urdu writers and journalists in 
Bangalore as part of  Harris' South India program arranged by post's 
Public Affairs Section.  The meeting was hosted by M.A. Siraj, a 
leading moderate Islamic scholar and social commentator, and also 
attended by post's Cultural Affairs Officer (an Urdu speaker) and 
locally-engaged program specialist. 
 
¶3. (SBU) What was planned to be a genteel conversation about 
literature quickly became very heated when Ms. Farida Rahmatullah, a 
writer and poet, asked Mr. Harris' opinion of the war in Iraq. 
Without waiting for him to reply, Ms. Rahmatullah and Ms. Fauzia 
Chaudhry, an Urdu language professor, switched into Urdu and 
launched into a diatribe against the U.S.  Notably, U.S. foreign 
policy was not the only target.  Aside from asking questions about 
how the U.S. can kill innocent children every day in Iraq and 
Afghanistan, the writers and journalists asked about what they 
perceived to be the poor status of women in the U.S. and whether the 
U.S. can still call itself a democracy. 
 
¶4. (SBU) About the U.S. media, Ms. Rahmatullah said that it is not 
free and independent but merely propaganda outlet that ignores the 
suffering of the people of Iraq and Afghanistan and pushes an 
obvious imperialist agenda.  Ms. Chaudhry added that the U.S. needs 
to know that "they" (presumably referring to the Urdu speaking 
community at large) are not stupid -- as they watch Al Jazeera and 
see what is really happening.  Notably, everyone in the group jumped 
on the bandwagon, their heads nodding in response to each other's 
statements.  Even Mr. Siraj, controversial in his community for his 
moderate social views, stated that the U.S. is no longer a democracy 
as it is held hostage by the Israeli lobby, and that he fears the 
U.S. is becoming a fascist state.  (Note: CAO observed that while 
many of the group's questions and comments seemed quite out of touch 
with reality, the convictions behind them were very strongly held. 
End note.)  The group did listen when Mr. Harris and the Consulate 
representatives rebutted their misconceptions. 
 
¶5. (SBU) The group also set its sights on Mr. Harris, castigating 
him for not writing about Iraq.  They said every writer in their 
community is writing extensively about U.S. foreign policy and the 
conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.  (Comment:  This, indeed, appears 
to be the problem as this echo chamber amongst Bangalore's Urdu 
speakers reinforces a very negative view of the U.S.  Thus, 
notwithstanding the high regard many urban Indians have for the 
U.S., this community is an exception and consequently a public 
diplomacy challenge.  End comment.) 
 
¶6. (SBU) In the end, the group warmly expressed their appreciation 
of the chance to engage with Consulate officials, particularly in 
Urdu, and they said they would welcome opportunities to do so again. 
 Ms. Chaudhry colorfully added that the group only felt comfortable 
enough to initiate such a conversation because Mr. Harris is black 
and "in every white man we see George Bush." 
 
¶7. (SBU) Comment:  PAS Chennai chose to meet these writers and 
journalists because they are the leaders and opinion-makers of 
Bangalore's Urdu speaking community.  We can assume that if they 
hold such vehemently anti-U.S. views that many in the community 
follow their lead.  Urdu newspapers in Bangalore have up to 100 
thousand readers; eleven percent of Karnataka's 52 million 
inhabitants - roughly 5.7 million people - are Muslim.  This 
highlights the depth of this public diplomacy challenge.  The 
contentiousness of this encounter was an exception to the others 
programs of Eddy Harris' excellent and largely literary tour of 
South India.  Other programs will be reported septel.  End Comment. 
 
 
HOPPER