Given that the United States is the most powerful country in the so-called community of nations, it is generally wise for our leaders to speak softly, and treat other countries with dignity and respect. Pride is a powerful emotion, and no one (let alone any country) likes to feel bullied. However, sometimes feelings of insult and honor tend to be aroused for all the wrong reasons, and should be dealt with less subtly. A case in point is the absurd row that has erupted between the United States and India, and which is dominating the news in the latter.

It all began last week after an Indian diplomat in New York City was arrested for improperly arranging a work visa for her maid. (She is also accused of lying to authorities about the alleged visa fraud). Moreover, the diplomat, Devyani Khobragade, was (not surprisingly) paying this housekeeper less than the minimum wage. She was taken into custody, strip-searched, and released on bail.

In the Indian news media, the case has registered powerfully. The Hindu reports:

The government asked all U.S. consular officers to turn in their identity cards and the entire American diplomatic corps their airport passes while senior Congress leaders snubbed a visiting U.S. Congressional delegation for the second straight day by refusing to meet it.

Even more outrageously, "The government also ordered the Delhi Police to remove concrete barricades on public land and roads that have existed for years around the U.S. embassy, sought salary details and bank accounts of all Indian staff employed at the missions and stopped all import clearances for the U.S. embassy, especially for liquor."

There's a hint in this last detail about the underlying reactionary nature of the response, and the gender and class angles of the case are thus worth paying attention to. An even casual glance at the Indian media reveals that the plight of the poor maid is not the subject of outraged talk. Indeed, as The New York Times accurately notes, "It is not unusual in India for domestic staff to be paid poorly and required to work more than 60 hours a week; they are sometimes treated abominably. Reports of maids being imprisoned or abused by their employers are frequent. But the idea of a middle-class woman being arrested and ordered to disrobe is seen as shocking." [Italics Mine] Or, as an editorial in The Times of India states, Khobragade was "treated like a common criminal." In short: only poor people should be treated like "common" criminals.