We are like them only.

" Cheating in school tests is an old Indian problem," is the first sentence of a report in the respected newspaper, The Washington Post. A typical ignorant,arrogant, racist stereotype from a western journal, what we have come to expect. Interestingly, it is written by someone with an Indian sounding name. There is no shortage of brown Uncle Toms and Aunty Tammys  who like to prove their assimilation in US society by being especially scathing about India and Indians. There is no doubt that there is cheating in exams in India. Some even feel that it is their democratic and birthright. With an ever increasing population desperately looking for jobs it is not surprising that students resort to any stratagem to get ahead of the competition. Standards are so poor that only 37% of graduates are employable. Rich people can send their children to private colleges or even abroad but the rest have to fight to survive. No need to poke us in the eye, we Indians know our problems. But what about the sanctimonious west. In Atlanta in the US 178 teachers were charged with altering answer sheets to ensure higher test scores for students because that would improve their reputations and earn them bonuses. One principal even wore gloves while altering answer sheets. While most resorted to plea bargains 12 went to trial, of whom 11 have been convicted of racketeering. A report suggests that 75-98% of college students in the US cheated in high school. Teachers in Britain whisper answers or write them down in pencil so that students can copy them. Not as dramatic maybe, but not so different from climbing walls, is it? If we have ' India's Daughter ' then a report suggests that one in six people may have been sexually assaulted in Britain. Even so called aristocrats are not immune. If we have our rotten politicians then the US had Richard Nixon, who had to resign over Watergate, and Ronald Reagan was developing Alzheimer's while still in office. Nancy Reagan was probably running the country. Scary what? If Rathore was released after only 6 months in prison and BB Mohanty retired with full pension then erstwhile mob hitman, James Files has claimed that he was responsible for killing John Kennedy. The grassy knoll is with us again. If our police beat us up then the police in the US are known for their brutality. They even shoot children to death. Even that is nothing. The CIA paid 50 million pounds to 2 psychologists to devise more excruciating forms of torture. When the CIA copies the Nazis, is it cheating? And yet the west seems to have hijacked the ' moral imperative '. When they maybe worse than us.