Feminist activist calls Russia to import Indian men

Moscow, Sep 11 (UNI) ''Indian men promise the ideal marriage to Russian women, affected by exorbitant male death rates largely through Russian men's unhealthy lifestyles,'' feels Maria Arbatova, leading Russian feminist author and a prominent television presenter.

The International Biographical Centre of Cambridge, UK, recently awarded her its 20th Century Outstanding Achievement gold medal.

India can be of help now that Russia has come to grips with its formidable demographic problem, Ms Arbatova said at the presentation of 'A Taste of India', her latest book, at the 20th Moscow International Book Fair. Her book appeared on sale last spring, and later became a bestseller.

''Import of eligible bachelors from India is my big geopolitical idea,'' she told RIA Novosti.

''Both Russians and Indians are Indo-Europeans, and speak related languages. Moreover, the archetypal Indian man is a 'fanatic paterfamilias'. To raise children is his cherished dream, and he makes the best possible husband,'' remarked Maria, presently married to Prince Shumeet of Bengal.

Attracting Indian bachelors to Russia should be a government policy, she noted, saying otherwise Russia would soon have two crosses to bear-- one of its own male deaths and the other of Chinese birth rates.

''Asian Russia, from the Pacific coast up to the Urals, is full of Chinese men anxious to marry Russian girls. If the Chinese are not promptly balanced out, either Asian Russia will become a Chinese province before 2050, or Chinese will become Russia's second official language,'' she quipped.

The author pointed out several other similarities in Russian and Indian life. ''Socialism got my country out of the Big Game for seventy years. Colonialism did the same to India for two centuries.'' UNI