india | A Fistful of Salt

USA.

The name conjures up images of Silicon Valley and Ivy League colleges, NASA and the Pentagon, the White House and Capitol Hill, New York and Wall Street, McDonald’s, the NBA and Levi Jeans. It is the wealthiest country in history and a mighty military industrial complex. American soft-power is unrivalled and it is a magnet to millions across the world. A land of opportunity, built by immigrants.

Only China can share the stage today with this superpower.

Look closer. Reality does not quite match the hype. It is not the land of the free and the brave. Racism is back in the open. Under Trump, the clock has been turned back to the days of the KKK and the civil-rights movement. Black Lives Matter is the cry on the streets in 2017. Fuelled by the cold-blooded shootings of unarmed blacks by white cops across many cities. The Republican Party (the party of Lincoln) does not even pretend to be politically correct on this issue anymore. The focus is on appeasing its core base which brought Trump to power and is critical for their re-election prospects.

The USA today is a highly polarised and divided country. Not a beacon of democracy or the global melting-pot. Its President is a corrupt, racist, misogynist, egoistic deal-maker. A type earlier found in banana republics and despotic regimes.

Next, take the case of the NRA (National Rifles Association) and its powerful gun lobby. Students in schools are massacred and thousands have marched for gun-control. The politicians make sympathetic noises and hide behind the Second Amendment- freedom to bear guns in the late 18^th century with private militias and the New Frontier and the Wild West. Does it have any relevance in 21^st century America with its powerful DOJ and vast law and order network?

Most of the Senators and Congressmen are bank-rolled by powerful interests. NRA or big business, health-care majors or Wall Street. We talk about crony capitalism in India, an evolving 70 year old democracy. There is no difference between us and them other than the suits and the gloss.

The USA is the only country in the world which has actually dropped nuclear bombs. First on Hiroshima and then Nagasaki. It controls the biggest nuclear arsenal but sanctions countries like Iran even after a multilateral agreement is in place. It is the biggest supplier of arms and deadly weaponry to all the hotspots across the world- from Africa to Saudi Arabia, Israel, Egypt, Pakistan and South Korea. And there are 800 American military bases around the globe. War and strife are key to American business. Not peace.

More bombs were dropped in Vietnam than in the entire Second World War. Napalm scorched the earth and rivers were poisoned to kill thousands of innocents. But do you hear any talk of war crimes? No. The Americans have controlled the narrative since the 1940’s.

This great flag-bearer of democracy has not held the flag high on numerous instances. Dictators have been supported in the name of geo-political or international interests. Think Shah of Iran, House of Saud, Marcos or Hosni Mubarak. Latin America is full of such stories. The democratically elected Allende from Chile was killed in a US sponsored military coup. His crime- to shut down US companies which were tapping into his nation’s natural resources.

We know of the imperial British Empire, the French and Spanish colonies. The United States has been doing this clandestinely for decades- installing its puppet regime in many countries. These vassal states have been given loans by the IMF and the World Bank and driven into debt.

If you have watched Narcos on Netflix or tuned into Trump’s Mexican Wall, you are told about the DEA’s Great War on drugs. What goes unsaid is that whether it is Colombia or Mexico, the major consumers are Americans.

Let us look at this great economic engine. It has huge trade deficits with other major players, be it China or Japan, Germany or France. Balancing the US federal budget is a lost cause. It continues to lead the world economy as it is the largest consumer market in the world. The dollar is the primary global currency. Remember Nixon’s masterstroke of making the dollar the petro-currency. The other advanced countries have huge investments in the USA- be it in Treasury bonds or real estate, NYSE or the big corporates. They simply cannot afford to pull out.

The financial crises of 2008 revealed the glaring flaws in this massive capitalist economy. Decades of de-regulation had made the top companies fabulously rich and influential but unaccountable. Money, greed and valuation overpowered everything. When the biggies went down, the Government stepped in to bail them out. Too big to fail. The top honchos walked away with fat bonuses whilst the average Joe’s lost their pension funds and their hard earned money.

Even today, tax breaks have been given to the rich and the stock markets make them even richer. The top 1% controls everything. The wealth gap keeps on growing. For the first time, today’s average real income is lower than what it was in the mid-eighties. Even in key areas like access to health-care and higher education, the US lags behind most of the countries in Europe.

The Indian fascination with everything American is well-known. The US is home to a large Indian diaspora who are doing well and millions more travel out with student and work visas. And obvious comparisons are made. The oldest democracy and the largest democracy. The multi-ethnicity and diversity of both nations.

The purpose of this blog is not to pull down the capitalist US as an ideologically driven leftist may do. Communism is also a God that has failed. The US remains a powerful engine for technology, research and innovation. It remains a leader in breakthrough ideas and thought. Not to forget its huge foot-print in music, entertainment and culture.

The object is to look at its position and influence through a clear lens. Not through rose-tinted glasses. Not getting swept away or seduced by the overpowering imagery.

India is a work in progress. Widely tipped to be the next economic power. It too is increasingly acknowledged as a soft-power through its movies and music, yoga and spirituality, cuisine and culture. And yet, there are things to learn from the US experience. That if we are to chart our destiny, it’s not enough to be a great military or economic power. We should also aspire to be a better, happier nation of 1.2 billion people.

The recent Padmavaati controversy sadly represents India, circa 2018. Is the all powerful government losing the plot? Will India be third time Unlucky?

The controversy surrounding the film sadly represents India, circa 2018. A little known outfit, ostensively to defend Rajput honour, stirs the political pot and gets four State Governments to ban the film. The media goes into a frenzy looking for the most vicious sound bites. They get it when some politico announces a bounty of Rs 5 crores to whoever beheads the lead star, Padmaavati aka Deepika Padukone. Sounds familiar? A sign of the times.

The Supreme Court effectively steps in and “freedom of expression” triumphs over “hurting the sentiments of a people”. Also thankfully, the Censor Board under its new Chairperson finds nothing objectionable in the movie and certifies its release. Imagine if the previous gent had been in the chair. As a laughing-stock, our stock would have soared further.

The movie itself, not much to speak about, is breaking box-office records. A 100 crores or so is thanks to this self-styled Sena. Ironically, it glorifies the “Aan Ban Shan” of the Rajputs whilst over-dramatizing the tragic custom of Jauhar. Also the four States which had abjectly surendered are grudgingly falling in line for the release of Padamaavat under tight security.

It is a pity that the majority government at the centre has again succumbed to the threats from some fringe elements. The Baba Ram Rahim episode is still fresh in memory. The powers that be do not seem to realise that even their genuine achievements are being drowned in all this unnecessary intimidation,noise and confusion.

Cut back to 1972. After the Bangladesh war, Shrimati Indira Gandhi is compared to Goddess Durga. A truly powerful pan-India leader at the top of her game. Just three years later the Emergency happens and the rest is history.

1984. Riding on a sympathy wave, Mr Rajiv Gandhi’s Congress wins an astounding 404 seats in the Lok Sabha. A young, modern leader will pilot the country to unprecedented heights. Just three years later, the government is engulfed by Bofors, Mandal and Shah Bano.

Forward to 2014. Enter Shri Narendra Modi on the national stage. People vote for him in droves and the BJP cruises to a majority of its own. His clean image and CEO style of governance holds a lot of promise. The mantra is Development. Just three years later Vikas (aka development) has become the butt of jokes on social media. The level of political debate has fallen to a new low. Regressive and uncouth motor-mouths hijack headlines every other week. Nothing has changed. The same political machinations prevail. Horse-trading, whole-sale defections, criminal candidates. Money, muscle, caste and community-the formula remains the same. Only today’s chanakya has a different name. Has Modiji lost his mojo?

Will India be unlucky a third time around. Has another golden opportunity for progress been missed?

At the risk of sounding naïve and foolishly idealistic, I stick my neck out. India has thousands of politicians- most of them corrupt, feudal, venal and full of themselves. Isn’t it high time we are blessed with a few Statesmen. Mature visionaries who act for the greater good. A few good men who do not surround themselves with “Yes” men. Tall leaders who are not bothered about the next election. A few public personalities with the ideas and the drive to change the narrative for this vast and great nation.

There is a still a year to go before the next general elections. It is time for some more big bang reforms to positively change our economic, social and political future. If I had the honourable PM’s ear, I would earnestly recommend that a Padamaavati bill be tabled in Parliament asap ensuring 33% reservation for women in both houses. Yes, a majority of them will be proxies for their politician fathers, husbands and brothers. But even if 50 get elected on merits it will be a tipping point in our toxic politics.

Then, fresh winds of change will blow through our corridors of power.