Lessons from the room

So I watched the entire session of the US Congressional hearing on ‘Human Rights in South Asia’ and I noticed a couple of things:

1. Members and delegates just don’t listen to the questions already made. The same questions are repeated with the two primary witnesses Ms Alice Wells, US Assistant Secretary (Acting) of State and Mr Robert Destro, US Assistant Secretary for Human Rights and Labour trying different verbiage to answer them.

2. It baffles me at the sheer ignorance and simplicity with how some of these delegates look at the issue of J&K (or any other subcontinental issue for that matter)

3. I also noticed there is a sense of grandstanding of words by the members. It is also demonstrated by the fact that many of these delegates don’t sit through the entire hearing. They come at a designated time and use their allotted time to raise questions/comments and then conveniently leave. Maybe that partially explains the repetition of the same questions over and over again. Or maybe they are indeed busy to dedicate their full time.

4. At one instance, Secretary Destro referred to South Asia as South Africa. I am ready to take it as an inadvertent gaffe but can’t stop myself from pointing it out.

4. This nowhere discounts the fact that some of the questions raised are very relevant and urgent and timely. Though need to add, those type of questions or even comments were very rare in this particular session.

5. In the allotted time the delegates were often seen to comment often with their incomplete knowledge of the matter than pure questioning. In other words, comments took precedence over questions.