India responds to Obama's populist attacks on outsourcing

As if his nonstop attacks on outsourcing weren't enough, President Obama advises the Indian government to open up the economy.  Does he not realize the tragic irony himself?  Or is Obama that comfortable with the economic forked tongue?  An Orwellian doublethink from the great leader!

To know and not to know, to be conscious of complete truthfulness while telling carefully constructed lies, to hold simultaneously two opinions which cancelled out, knowing them to be contradictory and believing in both of them, to use logic against logic, to repudiate morality while laying claim to it, to believe that democracy was impossible and that the Party was the guardian of democracy, to forget, whatever it was necessary to forget, then to draw it back into memory again at the moment when it was needed, and then promptly to forget it again

No surprise that reactions in India have been swift and pissed. 

This op-ed in The Hindu points out the irony:

Mr. Obama’s advice on the need for opening the economy has to be seen in the context of his own statements against outsourcing of jobs to India which is also protectionism. If it is right for the U.S. to stop its corporations from outsourcing jobs to India, which incidentally only increases their efficiencies, it is also right for India to stop a Walmart at the door to protect its own small retailers who will be wiped out if the multinational chain sets up shop.

Of course, Indian consumers and suppliers who might have benefited from the efficient supply chain of organised retail will be the ultimate losers. But that is the futility of protectionism, the price that an economy pays for it. There is enough economic literature available for those interested to read on how protectionist measures adopted by various countries prolonged the Great Depression in the 1930s. So where do these protectionist tit-for-tats stop?

Globalisation, which is all about free movement of products, funds, people and also jobs, is the answer. But for it to be successful, every country has to play the game fairly. 

The BBC reports:

Corporate Minister Veerappa Moily said Mr Obama was "not properly informed" and blamed "international lobbies" for spreading negative information....
MPs from several opposition parties also criticised Mr Obama for his remarks.
"If Mr Obama wants FDI [foreign direct investment] in retail and India does not want, then it won't come just because he is demanding it," Bharatiya Janata Party leader Yashwant Sinha said.

Another minister reminds Obama that these are sovereign decisions:

“Our foreign direct investment (FDI) policy is investor-friendly and, anyway, these are a country’s sovereign right to decide,” was Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma’s response to US President Barack Obama's urging on India's investment climate.

In addition to the hypocrisy, Obama has done another serious disservice--he has provided the best possible distraction away from India's screwed up and dysfunctional government.  

Nice going, Mr. President!