In Nisha's swearing in, a touch of grace amid power

WASHINGTON: Subrat Biswal walked into the state department auditorium for his wife Nisha Desai's swearing-in as assistant secretary of state for South Central Asia, with their young daughter Kaya bawling in his arms for mommy. Eminence grises of the establishment, who were gathered for the solemn occasion, essayed a collective and loving "awwww!" at the touching sight of the child crying for the mother. On stage, Nisha, flanked by secretary of state John Kerry and White House chief of staff Denis McDonough, reached out for her daughter.

For the next 45 minutes, through the long speeches and the short ceremony, little Kaya stayed on stage with and around her mother, happily soaking in the attention and the adulation. It was as much a celebration of family and children in public life as the immigrant experience in America, which Kerry and the Obama administration intended to showcase. More than military might and multinational reach, it spoke to what makes a graceful society and a beautiful country.

The swearing-in of assistant secretaries in the US — equivalent of an "additional secretary" in protocol-conscious India — is not a big deal. Typically, they are sworn in at a small ceremony on the eight floor of the state department by the secretary of state, with a small gathering of family and friends.

But Nisha Desai Biswal, in Kerry's own estimation, is no regular nominee: Her journey to the US and through the American political system was worthy of the celebration it occasioned.

"It's a great story; it's an American story. And it's proof of the power of the American journey," said Kerry, among the many US veterans who have welcomed her ascent. "The story of a woman who left a small town in India at age 6 to come to America and now becomes one of the most important leaders in the department of state. It helps capture how in every generation, immigrants revitalize America and renew us and help to remind us of our common roots and then go on to write the next chapter of American history."

The fact that Desai is of Indian-origin being appointed to a key position who will function as the South Asia pointperson is not something that is causing any misgiving in the Obama administration. Notwithstanding the disquiet of a former Pakistani envoy, who once complained about the emergence of so many Indian-Americans in key positions in the administration, Kerry actually made it clear that it was intended to show Washington's deep ties with New Delhi.