On Tuesday, hundreds of students and members of the Carnegie Mellon community weathered the stormy skies and crowded into Rangos Hall to hear the Ambassador of India to the United States speak. Ambassador Ronen Sen spoke to the crowded room for about 40 minutes before taking questions from the audience for another 50 minutes. The main focus of his speech was on Indian economic and geopolitical growth, and the strength of Indian-American relations.

"India is a country of great diversity, with an underlying unity of spirit and purpose," said the ambassador as he clearly addressed the crowd. Ambassador Sen was quite candid about India's problems, including poverty and illiteracy, but spoke mostly positively about India's expectations for the future. The ambassador praised Carnegie Mellon as the "gold standard in information technology," and repeatedly commended India's expanding technology sector. "[India is] an old civilization, but a young, forward-thinking country," noted Ambassador Sen, praising his own country's development.

When the question session began, Ambassador Sen was adamant that the questions not be limited to any set topics. The audience members seemed to take this request to heart and addressed the ambassador with questions ranging from the Indian space program to stem cell research to food imports.

When asked about controversial subjects such as application biotechnology and arms deals with Pakistan, Ambassador Sen was careful not to criticize U.S. policy. Ambassador Sen stated that he has no power over U.S policy-making, just as the U.S. has no power over Indian policy-making. Specifically on the subject of Pakistan, he gradually broached the subject of the future of the conflict over Kashmir. The ambassador stated that India and Pakistan shouldn't "hold whole relationships hostage to one issue," and cited India's recent economic cooperation with China as a model for the future of Indo-Pakistani relations.

When questioned about a possible United Nations Security Council seat for India, Ambassador Sen seemed to develop a real passion for the issue, saying the "U.N. shouldn't ignore one-sixth of humanity in the Security Council." He added that ignoring the world's largest democracy did not reflect the U.N.'s democratic policies. "By any objective criteria, India fits the bill," claimed the ambassador.

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