India-US Relations : News and Discussion

Gus · Post by **Gus** » 07 Apr 2015 22:40

err..this is JEM. he wrote the book on it. Go read his BRM articles. When you can write anything remotely close to that, you can point him to threads.

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 07 Apr 2015 22:48

Gyan · Post by **Gyan** » 07 Apr 2015 22:53

India and USA are NOT enemies. If we can do something good for them, then why not.

Sagar G · Post by **Sagar G** » 07 Apr 2015 23:23

Gus wrote:err..this is JEM. he wrote the book on it. Go read his BRM articles. When you can write anything remotely close to that, you can point him to threads.

Err mismatching between Positive news and Bojitive news I think ???

member_22733 · Post by **member_22733** » 07 Apr 2015 23:33

When I point out American Hypocricy to my friends, they think that I am attacking America and I "hate" it. I dont hate mmurica, I just hate some of the crazy ideas and crazy institutional policy that have resulted in murder and disruption of millions of lives.

That said: TSJ has a point! Although I am not sure he gets it. His purpose was to make fun of a Heathen Army saving Christians (that too white). It was supposed to happen the other way

To get TSJs subconscious point think of this: If indeed there were a bunch of white Christians stuck in Yemen, what would have happened by now is that the telephone lines of the Senate representatives and the House representatives would have started to flood.

Soon the lines between Senators/House Reps/Pentagon/Army/Media/MSM would have started to flood. That would result in prompt announcement of 200 C-17s and 500 drones swooping in and saving everyone

.

The fact that there is a very muted US reaction to this issue tells me that there are not enough "vote bank" people in Yemen.

So TSJ's assessment is accurate!

ldev · Post by **ldev** » 07 Apr 2015 23:51

Besides, it may not be safe for the US Navy to go into Yemeni waters, in case people have forgotten, the USS Cole was bombed by a suicide boat in Aden harbor in Oct 2000.

Added later:
In the light of this it was prudent of the Indian Navy to keep INS Mumbai 5 km offshore off Aden and ferry evacuees in smaller boats from shore to the Navy ship.

krisna · Post by **krisna** » 07 Apr 2015 23:53

A little data point -may help to some extent.
Americans are not travel savy relative to Europeans.
1/3 of them have passports compared to 2/3 Europeans.

One reason is USA is a large country with lot of places to see . Europeans have smaller countries hence the need for passports .

Now who in their mind would go to war torn countries when the local population is angry with America.

sanjaykumar · Post by **sanjaykumar** » 08 Apr 2015 01:13

Well that is unfortunate. Not withstanding The Ugly American, a country's travelers can serve as brand ambassadors. Travel generally is an antidote to parochialism. America would only benefit if its citizen's were more widely traveled.

devesh · Post by **devesh** » 08 Apr 2015 03:59

Sagar G wrote:
JE Menon wrote:We are alike in many ways.
Somebody point this guy to the positive news thread.

Sagar G ji, I agree with the sentiment behind your statement. regardless of any rebukes from other members, sometimes even "writers of books" need a well deserved reality check.

we rescued them because those are our values. NOT because of some "we are same" fantasy. full-stop.

P.S. No offense meant to the moderator or anyone else. but really, this moment is for Indians to take stock of what they've done and realize that the neighborhood might require many more such activities in the future. It's not the time to assuage the ego of a non-Indian by singing "we are same".

member_22733 · Post by **member_22733** » 08 Apr 2015 04:08

One thing I am wondering, out of sheer curiosity, on whether Indian citizens were helped in anyway by Unkil to evacuate from Kuwait/Iraq during the conflict there.

I read somewhere (i think it was on BRF) that the then PM/MEA had to go kiss Saddam's hand to let us fly into Kuwait or some such thing. Not sure what happened then.

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 08 Apr 2015 04:59

Actually, yes. Not very pleasant, but yes.

CRamS · Post by **CRamS** » 08 Apr 2015 06:44

LokeshC wrote:One thing I am wondering, out of sheer curiosity, on whether Indian citizens were helped in anyway by Unkil to evacuate from Kuwait/Iraq during the conflict there.

I read somewhere (i think it was on BRF) that the then PM/MEA had to go kiss Saddam's hand to let us fly into Kuwait or some such thing. Not sure what happened then.

I distinctly recall an interview at that time given by Indian ambassador to Kuwait (or was it Iraq, can't recall exactly) to PBS. His name was Kamal Bakshi, and to the arrogant so called "liberal" PBS news anchors who were questioning India's stance, he was lamenting how US is obsessed about evacuating not only its citizens, but also the pets (dogs, cats etc) of its citizens, pays scant regards to the plight of Indian citizens in the manner in which blockades and sanctions were being imposed making it difficult for Indian citizens to leave the region. So much for Uncle's help.

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 08 Apr 2015 06:54

Yes, but... after all the gora log and their cats and dogs and their dogfood, catfood, fish, plants etc were safely evacuated, the Americans did evacuate the starving desi children and their parents. Whose fault is it that India, so close, couldn't send a ship or planes to get Indians out, with IAF/IN escprt, and had to depend on Amirkhani kindness? Should have used a lot more teeth against Saddam then - perhaps it would have saved him too. Instead the spaghetti-spined GOI did the usual.

For once we see proactive desi military involvement, early in a crisis. Blessed be the ModiGOI.

Neshant · Post by **Neshant** » 08 Apr 2015 06:58

There were something like 40,000 Indians working in EyeRACK back in the early 90s. No way would Umreekans evacuate them all. They might have done so if those folks were from Zooropa or Japani.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 08 Apr 2015 07:12

Gyan wrote:India and USA are NOT enemies. If we can do something good for them, then why not.

The people are not enemies.

about the governments, one is not so sure.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 08 Apr 2015 07:15

LokeshC wrote:One thing I am wondering, out of sheer curiosity, on whether Indian citizens were helped in anyway by Unkil to evacuate from Kuwait/Iraq during the conflict there.

I read somewhere (i think it was on BRF) that the then PM/MEA had to go kiss Saddam's hand to let us fly into Kuwait or some such thing. Not sure what happened then.

no body ever kissed saddam's hand. The requirement was much lower onlee.

Karan Dixit · Post by **Karan Dixit** » 08 Apr 2015 08:25

Did Indian victims (or their family) of Pan AM ever get their compensation ?

Yagnasri · Post by **Yagnasri** » 08 Apr 2015 08:41

The China ship which went near to the port in Yemen was fired upon as per reports. Hence our Ship was stayed 5km out in sea. US will take care for their people and their pets etc. We need to take care of ours. As per the Gen VKS after our people are taken and if there is some places others were taken or something like that. It is ok. Other than that there is no need for us to help anyone at the cost of our people.

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 08 Apr 2015 16:17

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/ ... MT20150408

NEW DELHI, April 8 (Reuters) - U.S authorities have upgraded India's aviation safety rating, in a boost for Indian airlines which can now increase the number of flights they operate to the United States.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said on Wednesday that India had taken corrective action to address the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) concerns, after the regulator downgraded India's rating to category 2 from category 1 in January last year, citing a lack of safety oversight.

The decision, which takes the rating back to category 1, was expected as Indian aviation authorities had said they were working hard to win back the higher rating.

Foxx did not specify the action India had taken but a person with knowledge of the decision said authorities had recruited more flight operations inspectors and streamlined certain procedures to improve safety.

The upgraded rating is expected to help Jet Airways and state-owned Air India, the two Indian airlines which currently fly to the United States. The downgrade had meant both carriers could not increase flights to the country and faced extra checks for existing ones.

"The United States Government commends the Government of India for taking corrective action to address the safety oversight issues identified during the IASA (International Aviation Safety Assessment) process," Foxx said in a statement after meeting with India's civil aviation minister in Delhi.

arshyam · Post by **arshyam** » 08 Apr 2015 19:38

Yagnasri wrote:We need to take care of ours. As per the Gen VKS after our people are taken and if there is some places others were taken or something like that. It is ok. Other than that there is no need for us to help anyone at the cost of our people.

Well said, and that's all there is to it.

Karan Dixit saar, this was the last I heard about the Pan Am hijacking issue. Based on this, the answer is no.

http://articles.economictimes.indiatime ... passengers (dated Dec 20, 2014)

A 28-year-old hijacking case that involved a Pan Am airline may cast shadow over Barack Obama's January visit. A directive from the Ministry of Civil Aviation to the Ministry of External Affairs has suggested that it should raise with the United States the issue of not granting compensation to Indian-origin victims who were killed before the hijack ended.

While the US authorities compensated American nationals on the ill-fated flight, it refused to pay any compensation for passengers of other nationalities.

There were around 200 Indian passengers on that flight. The US had repeatedly asked India to negotiate with Libya for compensation, official sources told ET. But, interestingly, the Libyan government provided $1.5 billion to the US in 2008 as compensation for various terrorist acts against the country, including the Pan Am hijack.

The communication notes, "To expect the Government of India to negotiate for Indian passengers with the Government of Libya in such cases is unreasonable and unjustified as the flight involved was a US carrier." The Aviation Ministry further stated, "The stand taken by the US is totally unjustified and smacks of rank discrimination.

{Another reason not to fly a US carrier?}

In any case, does anyone know if Modi raised the issue with Obama?

For those who are not aware of the context, some history:
http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/p ... ms/704233/ (dated 2010)

Neerja was the first Indian woman to get the Ashok Chakra in what was a recognition of the supreme sacrifice made by her of giving up her life to save the lives of passengers on board the aircraft.

"It is a terrible turn of events. My daughter died while saving American passengers. She was an employee of an American airline, on an American plane when she died. Yet, the American government disowned all responsibility towards her and other Indians. Where is justice?" 83-year-old Rama Bhanot told Newsline. "It's not about money. I want to meet the US President to ask him why this discrimination. Didn't they die while saving US citizens? Or is the life of an Indian cheaper than a US citizen?" Rama Bhanot asks.

rsingh · Post by **rsingh** » 08 Apr 2015 20:14

krisna wrote:A little data point -may help to some extent.
Americans are not travel savy relative to Europeans.
1/3 of them have passports compared to 2/3 Europeans.

One reason is USA is a large country with lot of places to see . Europeans have smaller countries hence the need for passports .

Now who in their mind would go to war torn countries when the local population is angry with America.

I saw something very strange during my sejour in Luxor. There were some tourists in red gilets. it was very heavy on eyes and the could be spotted from miles. I asked my guide about this. It seems all Americans were obliged to wear shiny red gilets by their insurance companies. To me they were bull's eye target from far. if somebody wanted to target Americans........it was the easiest target.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 09 Apr 2015 08:19

among the countries which requested Indian help in the evacuation of their citizens from yemen are germany, france, USA. These very beggars were at the forefront of abusing Modi and carried out a venomous campaign of malicious vilification against him for a whole decade. Indeed, how the mighty are fallen. Didn't ever see these b@stards offering to help out anyone else, especially Indians.

what ever happened to that biatch and sad old crone hillary clinton?? did the cat get her tongue or did the hypocritical presidential hopeful finally learn how to hold her slandering tongue.??

krisna · Post by **krisna** » 09 Apr 2015 08:30

sanjaykumar wrote:Well that is unfortunate. Not withstanding The Ugly American, a country's travelers can serve as brand ambassadors. Travel generally is an antidote to parochialism. America would only benefit if its citizen's were more widely traveled.

Actually there is a internet joke

- america invades or creates war like conditons in different parts of the globe so that its people can improve their geography.

In a nutshell since its independence it has invaded directly or indirectly in over 2/3 countries of the world.
But still americans are poor as POTUS invades one country each presidential term. only this nobel peace winner has done in the entire ME-east europe.
kudos to him. Americans are far better in geography now.

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 09 Apr 2015 23:29

Alyssa Ayres on why the US should work with India to stabilize Afghanistan:
Introduction:
http://blogs.cfr.org/asia/2015/04/09/wh ... ghanistan/

Policy Innovation Memorandum:
http://www.cfr.org/afghanistan/why-unit ... tan/p36414

Tuvaluan · Post by **Tuvaluan** » 10 Apr 2015 01:53

The US's ally in afghanisthan is the "good taliban" aka Pakistani taliban -- these are the same guys for whom the US has built plush offices in Qatar. And 94% of the Afghans hate the pakistani taliban according to some recent polls. I don't see any upside to joining the US in Afghanisthan -- the US and Pakistan are on the wrong side of fence, and India should be on the other side of that fence.

RoyG · Post by **RoyG** » 10 Apr 2015 02:03

The US along with the idea of "Westernism" built on Judeo-Christian values is the long term threat. Not China. They're merely a partner for now because it suits our interests. There is nothing more to the relationship.

While the talk about technology transfers, clean energy, etc which is 95% bullsh*t, they keep the funds flowing to their sepoy network.

I'm sure that R&AW is now being told to expand their espionage ring to encompass defence companies and universities. We need the technology.

vishvak · Post by **vishvak** » 10 Apr 2015 08:19

Please sir, India is actually investing in US tech as it is. An example, New Motion plans to invest Rs 1000 crore in India, set up global manufacturing hub

While charging a car using a regular power socket takes about 6-7 hours currently, New Motion's smart chargers can charge 80% of the vehicle in 15-30 minutes.

Montfrans said, based on the outcomes and the overall cost of manufacturing in India, the company would be look at selling its chargers to other countries from India.
..
"Now with the first Rs 1,000 crore funds allotted by the finance ministry for the pilot projects ...
..

Karan Dixit · Post by **Karan Dixit** » 10 Apr 2015 08:41

arshyam,

Thanks for the information! It seems like riding a U.S. carrier is a lose lose situation for an Indian.

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 11 Apr 2015 17:37

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/nri/ ... 884373.cms
"A Hindu wedding for a US lawmaker" (Tulsi Gabbard).

Falijee · Post by **Falijee** » 12 Apr 2015 00:26

Philip wrote:I saw a docu 30 yrs ago with credible evidence that Jesus during the lost early years visited India,studied at Benares and returned to Palestine.Here is one site with its claims.
http://reluctant-messenger.com/issa.htm
The Lost Years of Jesus:
The Life of Saint Issa
Translation by Notovitch

Falijee wrote:
I read somewhere that one of the core beliefs of the the Ahmedis / Qadianis ( who are not considered Muslims by the hardcore fanatics) is that they are sure that Jesus Christ was not crucified, but spent his last remaining days at a monastery somewhere in North India (Kashmir / Ladakh)

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 12 Apr 2015 07:48

The way I have heard is from 400% reliable sources, and it is slightly different:
Yeso Kristo, G.Buddhu and Mo Hameed were buddies who used to paint downtown Ulan Bator red, hopping bars until closing time, and then singing at the top of their voices:

Of all the Animals in the Zoo, Parlez-Vous
The Monkey ***** the Kangaroo, Paaarlez-Vous..

until the sun came up, and then they snored until afternoon, when they got up and started getting drunk again.

No wonder they call them the "last years". Who would want to publicize that?

Melwyn · Post by **Melwyn** » 13 Apr 2015 03:31

Hillary Clinton announces her US presidential bid

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON: Hillary Clinton promised to be a champion for everyday Americans on Sunday as she kicked off a long-awaited second run for the White House as the commanding Democratic front runner.

"Everyday Americans need a champion. I want to be that champion," Clinton said in a video released on the internet that announced her run.

"Americans have fought their way back from tough economic times, but the deck is still stacked in favor of those at the top," she said.

Clinton, who lost a bruising Democratic nominating battle to Barack Obama in 2008, was expected to travel soon to Iowa, the state that holds the kickoff nominating contest in early 2016.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 13 Apr 2015 21:09

How the US and India Can Collaborate in Afghanistan
http://thediplomat.com/2015/04/how-the- ... ghanistan/

Though President Obama has pledged to keep 12,000 American troops in Afghanistan through the end of the year, it’s no secret that the White House’s focus on the war-torn country is waning. When those troops, largely still in place to train and equip the fledging Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and Afghan National Army (ANA), finally depart the country, Kabul will need a new patron to guarantee its security. Who will step up?A new policy innovation memo authored by Alyssa Ayres, Senior Fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations reframes that question as a conversation. For Ayres, Washington must work with Delhi to stabilize Afghanistan’s fragile economy, military, and institutions while doing as much as possible to quell Pakistani anxieties. Can that approach succeed?It depends on where you look. On Thursday, a green-on-blue attack left an American soldier dead in the eastern province of Nangarhar, another sign that the ANSF’s fight this summer won’t be a walk in the park, with enemy combatants lurking behind the guise of military uniforms. In his quarterly report to Congress in January, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan, John F. Sopko, openly feared that American personnel were having trouble adding up the ANA’s true force strength. A revised count showed further attrition in those ranks, with an 8.5 percent drop, to 169,203 troops in January.
India and the U.S. also face a fluctuating security climate. Civilian casualties nearly tripled last year from 2013, with Taliban and insurgent forces in the southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar capitalizing on the tumult surrounding the run-off election to succeed Hamid Karzai. With Afghan forces leading the way in the south this year, almost anything could happen. Sangin District remains a bloody angle in Helmand’s northern section that continues to fester: militants use the embattled area as a launching point into neighboring Kandahar.With that fight looming, Delhi could play a crucial role. Ayres sees India as a linchpin in Afghanistan’s nascent civil society, accounting for 27 percent of Kabul’s export market. They’ve pledged an additional $2 billion in foreign assistance and helped to train Afghan civil servants and tradesmen for careers in government and the marketplace. When Karzai’s relationship with Pakistan fell into disrepair, he agreed to a partnership pact with then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and contracts for heavy weapons assistance, later scrapped by his successor, President Ashraf Ghani, perhaps over concerns of upsetting Pakistan.So how can Washington prevent Islamabad from playing the spoiler? Ayres, who served as deputy assistant Secretary of State for South Asia from 2010 to 2013, suggests that Washington should be straightforward with Pakistan about boosting India’s role in the Hindu Kush. By bolstering plans for economic integration in the region, building on India’s private sector support to develop market connections and trade routes, like the Attari road, and implementing of the Silk Road initiative, Ayres thinks a partnership between Washington and Delhi could be a boon to regional stability. India enjoys high approval ratings all across Afghanistan, but the partnership will need Ghani’s approval to be successful. If the weapons contract is any indication, his support could be tough to win.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 14 Apr 2015 02:57

I don't see how India can collaborate with US on Afghanistan. All these ten years US cooperated with TSP and see the mess they are in.

No need to bail them out.

They have installed a Brookingzai with a cooked election.

Manny · Post by **Manny** » 14 Apr 2015 08:24

Hinduism In American Classrooms

Dave:

Any particular historical and/or social outworking of Christianity is interpreted in context, and distinguished from universal Christian theology. Hence, the feudal system in medieval Europe, which was widely justified via Christian theology and texts, is not used as a defining characteristic of Christianity or an interpretive key for its theology today. The same could be said for the system of slavery upon which 'Christian' America was built. In fact, as time moved on, Christian theology and biblical interpretation were later used to overturn these systems.

Likewise, unjust social and economic structures in predominantly Christian countries today are not used as defining characteristics of Christianity or Christian theology. To give one more example, Christian theologians today have repudiated the anti-Judaism which was widely practiced in Christian societies for a long time and culminated in the Holocaust by arguing that anti-Judaism is not a part of 'genuine' Christianity as properly understood.

Most Christians today (and most scholars of religion) would be scandalized if the feudal system, slavery, capitalist exploitation or anti-Judaism were used to define the essence of Christianity. They would understand these things to be historically and socially bound and not part of Christian universal ideals. In short, descriptions of Christianity in textbooks would distinguish the core or essence of Christian theology from specific social, historical and political contexts. However, Hinduism is not treated in the same way.

Dave:

That is unfortunately the case. Let's look at the example of caste again. When it comes to portraying Hinduism, scholars use 'caste' (itself a European construct) as a (and sometimes the) defining characteristic of Hinduism and Hindu theology/philosophy. As Ronald Inden has emphasized, caste has become an 'essence' in defining Hinduism and India. Little or no attempt is made to understand caste as a context-bound social structure apart from the more universal elements of Hindu thought.

Also, textbooks often ignore attempts by Hindu reformers and thinkers to use Hindu theology itself to combat what many see as an unjust social system that has little to do with 'genuine' Hinduism. The sophisticated theological, historical and sociological interpretation given to Christianity (and other religions) is often denied to Hinduism. Instead, 'caste' is used as a club against Hinduism, in order to prove its backwardness when compared to other religions.

http://www.jagritbharat.com/index.php/o ... classrooms

They are trying to distort history and Thats why its documented here so we do not forget.

THE CHRISTIAN CASTE SYSTEM

http://www.desicontrarian.com/?p=646

pankajs · Post by **pankajs** » 14 Apr 2015 10:07

Saurav Jha ‏@SJha1618 2m2 minutes ago New Delhi, Delhi

Advocacy of CISMOA by Dalals is nothing short of treason.

Saurav Jha ‏@SJha1618 15m15 minutes ago

The truth is, America has already given China a lot of transformative tech over the years whether it be DF-31 tech or advanced GE avionics.

Saurav Jha ‏@SJha1618 11m11 minutes ago

When America's Thiokol set up solid rocket motor facilities for China's '4th Academy' that led to the DF-31 ICBM was any CISMOA signed?

Saurav Jha ‏@SJha1618 15m15 minutes ago

The latest American Trojan is this supposed desire to 'empower' India with 'transformative' tech subject to India signing CISMOA.

Tuvaluan · Post by **Tuvaluan** » 14 Apr 2015 21:57

Looks like the democrat vermin from Hillary's posse are coming out of the woodwork already. This one made me snort and chortle...from the WSJ mouthpiece in India. Apparently Hillary Clinton is good news for India, just like syphillis is highly recommended for sanity and mental health.

http://www.livemint.com/Politics/3eqis8 ... for-I.html

Dipanker · Post by **Dipanker** » 14 Apr 2015 23:36

Neshant wrote:There were something like 40,000 Indians working in EyeRACK back in the early 90s. No way would Umreekans evacuate them all. They might have done so if those folks were from Zooropa or Japani.

More than that, India evacuated over 111,000 Indians in the biggest airlift in the history by a commercial airline, Air India creating a Guinness Book of World record in the process. Compared to that the current "Rahaat" operation is quite modest in size.

You won't believe where the biggest Human Air Evacuation took place!

Evacuating nationals from the conflict zone is one of the major tasks for any country, be it superpower America or developing country like India.

There have been plenty of rescue operations done by the countries in the past but the credit of carrying the biggest ever air evacuation in the history of mankind goes to none other than India.

In 1990, Air India entered the Guinness Book of World Records for the most people evacuated by a civil airliner. The operation was carried out during Persian Gulf War to evacuate Indian expatriates from Kuwait and Iraq.
The rescue operation, which lasted for 59 days, evacuated over 111,000 people from Amman to Mumbai – a distance of 4,117 km.

Indian government, led by VP Singh, systematically flew over 488 commercial flights in association with Indian Airlines from 13 August to 11 October 1990, ensuring safe return of all Indian citizens.

However, back home in India, it was politically one of the most fragile times. India was in financial trouble and the VP Singh government was lacking support with the opposition trying to bring the government down. But leaving all problems aside, the Indian govt. decided to rescue its citizens.

And now in 2015, Narendra Modi government is carrying out the rescue operation “Raahat” to evacuate Indian nationals from strife-torn Yemen. With nearly 3,300 of its nationals out of Yemen, the government is looking at wrapping up the evacuation operation in a couple of days.

pankajs · Post by **pankajs** » 15 Apr 2015 15:32

http://www.gatewayhouse.in/is-the-u-s-i ... t-to-last/
Is the U.S.-Indian Relationship Built to Last?

TSJones · Post by **TSJones** » 15 Apr 2015 18:22

^^^^^ Finally, someone from my government indicates they understand the complexities of US-India relationships. I am so sick and tired of the Pollyanna false-face positives that are presented by the US government when it publicly deals with India. It is like the US officials don't even bother reading Indian news outlets for their editorial opinions and analysis. It's equivalent to Martians stepping on Indian soil and muttering "take me to your leader". WTF !!!! Yeah, yeah, go ride the elephant, see the tiger, visit the Taj Mahal.