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Teflon Trump 2.0 & Its Implications for India

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Reuters reported that ‘a convicted felon is elected as the 47th President of the USA.’ Yes, convicted on 34 felony counts. The only US President with 2 Impeachment trials against him. Acquitted for abuse of power and obstruction and later for the incitement of the 6th of January Insurrection and attack on the Capitol. A corrupt, venal person, a bankrupt billionaire and 78, the oldest person to stand for the Presidential elections. A true democracy would have barred him from contesting for the highest office in the land. He has brushed aside everything for a second term at the White House. Truly remarkable. Nothing sticks to him. Teflon Trump.

What has shocked the left-liberal elite is that Trump has rallied against the odds and won the mandate emphatically in a democratic way. He has won the popular vote against VP Kamala Harris by almost 5 million votes. His electoral college votes stack up to 312 vs 226 for Harris. 46% of women voters have supported him despite his anti-abortion stance and misogynist comments; Latino votes surged to 45%; young blacks signed up for him, and Evangelicals thronged up in large numbers. Many of the latter viewed the failed assassination attempts as a Divine Call of Destiny.

The Liberal/Woke meltdown is a seminal lesson for those living in a bubble; it’s also a wake-up call for genuine liberals as their potent ideology has been diluted and contaminated by an influential coterie of self-serving people.  Elite Hysteria- we have been betrayed by the people. The educated elite cannot believe that everyone doesn’t share their beliefs and views. They have created a partisan and ideological echo chamber – an environment where they encounter only opinions and thoughts that coincide with their own, and alternative ideas are simply shrugged away. Their take on Identity Politics is that minorities and ethnic groups will only vote their way; their condescending attitude referring to Latinos as Latin X; the gender quotient with women voters inevitably lining up for Kamala Harris; that nationalism and patriotic politics are past tense. That it remained a potent force manifested in the fear of unchecked immigration. Legacy media houses have shown their total disconnect from ground realities. One cannot find a more liberal person than Senator Bernie Sanders who lashed out at the Democrats after the defeat saying that ‘they abandoned the working class which led to the working class abandoning them.’ He acidly pointed out that 60 % of the American workforce lived from paycheck to paycheck and that 20 million workers did not get even a livable minimum wage. It all boils down to the quote: “It’s the economy, stupid.’  Trump said that He would Fix It. A big takeaway for the Indian Government also. Focus on Development & the Greater Good. In the visceral hatred that was shown to Trump by the mainstream media, it was conveniently ignored that in the first term of the Trump Presidency, the USA was not involved in or did not instigate any wars. Strange for the military-industrial complex that is the USA; strange that the leftist, liberal Dems have been pro-war when it suits their agenda; strange that a liberal, woke party has abandoned the working class. Selective Agenda. Selective Narrative. Selective Outrage. We also see this being played out in India. With our Left, Liberal brigade and their colonial and ideological hangovers- for whom the BBC remains the Voice of Truth, the New York Times as the Words of Truth.

The USA has been revealed as a polarised and flawed democracy. Indian democracy and institutions come off better in comparison. Please watch the National Geographic documentary- The Great Indian Election, to appreciate the sheer magnitude and scale of the democratic exercise and how effectively it is conducted by The Election Commission of India. The Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) work effectively with Opposition protests only when they lose the election. Another pillar, the Supreme Court of India, shines when compared to SCOTUS, a rigged, corrupt institution where appointees have lifetime tenures. Kamala Harris could not become the first US women President; India already had 2 women Presidents and a strong Prime Minister in the late Mrs. Indira Gandhi, who held office for almost 16 years. It’s high time for us to shed our mongrel attitude-constantly deriding and undermining ourselves as Indians.

Millions of Indians are rejoicing at Trump’s phenomenal come-back. CAUTION. One cannot project one’s preferred outcomes on such an unpredictable personality. Trump 2.0 will disrupt the Global Order. His protectionist economic policies with higher tariffs will adversely impact Indian exports. Hopefully, things will turn out well for Indian-born green card aspirants. It is highly likely that Indian students will continue to be welcomed at US colleges, and so will be skilled Indian professionals. Trump is also expected to pull back on global commitments, and we don’t know how this will play out. However, a Trump Administration can ease things for India regarding national security, national interests, and strategic autonomy. Also, India and its companies may not be sanctioned for buying oil or armaments from Russia or doing business with them.

The Trump win may pay other dividends for India on the geopolitics and national security front against covert, subvert warfare by foreign parties. George Soros, a hedge fund manager, played a major role in triggering the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. He bet against the Malaysian currency and ruined the economy and also made huge profits by betting against the Thai Baht. The South Korean Won and Indonesian Rupiah were also targeted with dire results; this led to currency devaluation, large outflow of capital and years of political instability. Earlier in 1992, he became famous as the man who broke the Bank of England by betting against the British pound and making a billion dollars for himself in the process. Cut to 2023 when Hindenburg Research, a forward trading investor, made allegations about questionable financial dealings through offshore entities connected with Adani. Some months later, The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), funded by the Soros Open Society Foundation, alleged that Adani had engaged in stock manipulation and accounting fraud and channelized large funds to fronted offshore accounts. Old habits die hard. Adani shares tanked, and about a dozen unknown entities profited from the spoils. The Soros plan was to kill two birds with one stone. Sure enough, Rahul Gandhi and the Congress started screaming about Crony Capitalism and Corruption. Name-calling and allegations of corruption are the norm -whether it is the USA or India. The 2024 elections were around the corner. It’s the insidious, clandestine foreign meddling which is deeply disturbing. The Opposition did not join the chorus as expected and for a simple reason. Adani already had a gas-line project in the DMK-led Tamil Nadu; the Communist Government in Kerala had awarded the business house the contract to manage, operate and maintain a large port; Adani had built a major port in Naveen Patnaik’s Odisha; even the Congress-led Rajasthan Government had awarded the largest hybrid power project to the Corporate.

The Hungarian American billionaire Soros has been the largest donor to the Democratic Party for many years. Suggest to please read the book ‘Shadow Party’ by David Horowitz and Richard Poe- about how the Clintons and Soros and the 60’s radicals took over control of the Democratic Party. A NYT article eulogized him as a protector of democracy, an anti-communist, an anti-nationalist, global liberal. Soros’s clandestine influence extends to liberal media, Ivy League colleges, and established Think Tanks & NGOs, which enables him to manipulate societies and even destabilise governments. Alternate media in the US have talked about his dark side- controlling society without interfering with legislation but by controlling how laws are enforced. Thus, creating chaos and undermining the power of lawful authority.

With a Trump White House, Soros and his influential minions will be on the back foot. Especially with a powerful Elon Musk to contend with. Hopefully, it will provide India with respite from malevolent foreign interference—some examples. In 2018, Soros Open Society backed NGO -Sherpa Association filed a corruption complaint with the National Financial Prosecutor in France against the 36 Rafale aircraft deal. Connect the dots. Rahul Gandhi, Congress and the Opposition screamed ‘Scam’, and this was amplified by our Left, Liberal media in the run-up to the 2019 General elections. Frustrated that his plans had not worked out, at the 2020 Davos Conference Soros openly slammed the PM Modi Government ‘as the biggest and most frightening setback for the survival of Open Societies’ specifically mentioning CAA & Kashmir. Move to the prolonged farmer’s agitation (mainly from Punjab and in part from Haryana) in 2020-21, funded by Soros and Canadian Khalistan outfits. Please recall celebrities like Rihanna and Greta Thunberg (environmental activist) and some from Bollywood butting in.

The shadowy power of Soros. Reuters Alessandra Galloni, whose quote started this blog, is on the Committee to Protect Journalists, funded by Soros—likewise, NBC’s Lester Holt & Associated Press’s Julia Pace. CNN’s Christiane Amanpour is on the Board of Centre for Public Integrity, another Open Society venture. On a prime-time TV show she spoke of PM Modi in the same breath as Xi Jinping, Putin and the Dear Leader from North Korea. Really!! The glowing tribute of a book, ‘The Philanthropy of George Soros’ is written by Chuck Sudetic, a NYT columnist who now works for the Open Society Foundation. Economist Sanjeev Sanyal hits the bulls-eye when he says that there is so much anti-India stuff around that if AI or Chat GPT had to submit an India report, our democracy , human rights record, and governance would be shown in a starkly negative light. So, to Rahul Gandhi’s Cambridge University visit a few years back. He waved a copy of ‘The Guardian’ with the headlines, ‘Indian democracy in danger.’ It’s amusing to note that after Trump’s election, The Guardian offered counselling & therapy services to its staff and reporters.

Let’s talk about the recent events in Bangladesh. Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League are overthrown in a well-orchestrated coup by so-called student leaders—an Islamist, extremist+ the Soros signature – an anarchist movement. The Chief Advisor to the interim government is none other than Muhammad Yunus- the esteemed ‘Banker to the Poor’ through the micro-finance Grameen Bank. He is also a Nobel Laureate, winning the Peace Prize in 2006. With humungous support from former President Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton and who else… George Soros. The Anti-Corruption Commission acquitted him of the graft charges of misappropriating $ 2 million from the Grameen Telecom Workers and Employees Welfare Fund. The Soros heir, Alex Soros, visited him in Dhaka on the 2nd of October to reinforce his support. In 2016, Yunus contributed generously to Hillary Clinton’s Presidential campaign fund. Trump’s upset win left him ‘shattered and barely able to speak or breathe.’ He dismissed it as a ‘solar eclipse’. Trump’s return to the White House has left him writing a long, rambling congratulatory message. This was surely not anticipated by ‘the Deep State.’  It is a relief of sorts for India with another hostile neighbour appearing on our borders. A point to ponder. Candidate Trump before the Election date condemned the attacks on Hindu places of worship in Dhaka and Chittagong. The Nobel Peace Prize winner has remained silent.

Although India and China have already entered into a border cease-fire agreement, the US election results will help in dousing the dragon fire to an extent. With economic problems and the threat of high tariffs for Made in China products, Emperor Xi Jinping and the CCP will have to reset their priorities. If nothing else, the uncertainties unleashed by Trump will keep them guessing. But you never know with Trump. The Saudi Prince made him dance with a sword and followed up by bailing out his son-in-law Jared Kushner from a financial crisis. If China confers him with the Ancient Order of the Dragon or invites him to grace a throne on the Great Wall, one never knows. It’s certainly bad news for Pakistan. They badly need bailouts from the IMF and the World Bank which are controlled by the USA. Also, Trump’s acknowledgement of India as a major power and the apparent Trump-Modi bonhomie will alarm the Pak Army-ISI Establishment.

Justin Trudeau will be unnerved by The Donald’s comeback. Trump had called him ‘two-faced’. The USA is Canada’s big brother, and 75% of the nation’s exports go there. He has called Khalistan Canadians celebrating the assassination of PM Indira Gandhi as ‘just exercising freedom of speech’. I sometimes wonder why the grandson and daughter-in-law are not up in arms as they should be. The unsubstantiated allegations against the Indian Government of killing Nijjar have taken a heavy toll on diplomatic relations. The attacks on Hindu temples and devotees have further undermined his hollow narrative and exposed his hypocrisy. It’s all vote-bank politics to secure his political future. Thus far, the Biden-Harris administration has played along, claiming that there was an imminent threat to another guy called Pannun. Knowing that his cosy days in the US are over, Pannun has moved to Canada and threatened to attack Hindu temples this month, including the Shree Ram Temple at Ayodhya on the 16th/17th of November. Justin Trudeau represents the white, woke icon who has self-destructed over the last few years. As regards the Sikhs, they are a hugely respected community in India for their contributions to society and the country. (Trivia- the convicted assassin of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman – Captain Noor Mohammad- has been enjoying the good life in Canada for the last 3 decades and more. Just so that you get the big picture.)

Liberal philosophy is, in its essence, a progressive philosophy. But anything good, if taken to the extreme, becomes counterproductive. Unfortunately, this humane ideology, which was primarily meant to uplift the disadvantaged and focused on human welfare, rights, freedoms and values, has been hijacked to suit the personal ambitions and agendas of some powerful people. Disconnected from the problems of the common folk and from ground realities. Many, many others have been misled, lured and trapped in this Elitist bubble. India is on track as the world’s largest, functioning democracy. However, it is a work in progress with issues of criminals in politics, corruption, unemployment, long-pending structural reforms of the judiciary and police, tax reforms and societal fractures around caste, creed and community yet to be addressed effectively. The Trump re-election will put on hold the subversive warfare launched against India to halt its progress and growing global structure. It also has many lessons for our Government and political leaders- to listen to all sections of society & to focus on innovative, inclusive development for The Greater Good.

Buckle Up For the Great Indian Election’s Global Ride

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The 2024 General Elections will be a Great Indian Blockbuster Tamasha. The stakes couldn’t be higher: for the I.N.D.I.A bloc of 26 opposition parties, have come together solely to overthrow the Modi Sarkar; and for the BJP-led NDA coalition, which is trying for an unprecedented hat-trick of wins. The sheer scale of the elections will be breathtaking. The magnitude of efforts taken by the Election Commission, the administrative and law and order eco-system, will be awe-inspiring. The ultimate salute to democracy.

Unfortunately, the toxic side will also be on full display. The old Congress playbook with its ‘winnability’ formula – Money, Muscle, Caste, Creed – has been embraced across the entire political spectrum. Many candidates with criminal backgrounds, dubious credentials, and low merit will be voted in as our future Members of Parliament. Vitriolic language and uncouth barbs will capture our media headlines. Political families will break up, and even long-affiliated leaders will head for supposedly greener pastures. Divisive rhetoric will prevail, and even some communal and regional disturbances may be instigated or inflamed to consolidate vote banks. TV channels, print media, and social media influencers will go berserk, spewing out a lot of stuff – less real news and loads of propaganda and negativity.

However, the X factor in the 2024 election will be the global interest, and more so, the meddling and interference, and even infiltration by some governments and nations, special interest groups, and social media disruptors. Indian political parties slugging it out is all okay. When foreign money and deliberate disinformation come in to subvert the election process, it takes on a dark and troubling dimension.

Let’s take the case of the Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros and his Open Society Policy Centre (OSPC). Ostensibly to push back against strident nationalism in any country, Soros publicly announced at the Davos Conference that he was going all out against the Modi Government. Hardly surprising! In 2018, the Sherpa Association backed by Soros filed a complaint with the financial prosecutor of France against the 36 Rafale Aircraft deals with India. The Opposition parties in India raised the decibel meter of ‘Corruption’ in the months before the 2019 elections. Is it a coincidence or is there more to it than meets the eye? Then his Organised Crime and Corrupt Repairing Project (OCCRP) targeted industrialist Adani immediately after the Hindenburg allegations (Investment firm with a focus on short selling). Are they just separate events or is there a definite pattern to it? If there is any substance in the allegations, Indian Regulatory and Investigative agencies are perfectly capable of probing into it. Period. It’s extremely likely that in the next few months, another top Indian industrialist comes on their radar, and ‘crony capitalism’ becomes the most uttered jibe by our desi politicos. Beyond this, it will lead to shocks in the stock market and jolt the Indian economy.

Generally, in conspiracy theories, there is talk of a ‘Deep State.’ Here, it is all out in the open if you know where to look. The BBC, CNN, New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Guardian, Observer… The BBC keeps talking about the instability and unrest in the Indian State of Kashmir. They have to keep the pot boiling. Remember that it was in a 2001 BBC interview that Yasin Malik (JKLF) had casually admitted to killing a judge, some unarmed Indian Air Force personnel, and some civilians. (Fact check – more than 13 million Indian tourists have visited the Valley till July this year, with another 3 months of the season to go. The hotels and guesthouses are full, and also the buses, cabs, and shikaras.)

After the inspiring success of ISRO’s Chandrayan 3 landing on the South face of the moon, a British news anchor patronizingly asked India to return 2.3 billion pounds in aid given between 2016 and 2021. The years cited are the giveaway. The British Foreign Office has formally acknowledged that no British aid has been given to India since 2015. The corpus relates to a joint investment fund for fighting challenges like climate change. Sadly, our news media did not directly rebut the fake news but instead spoke about reparations of $45 trillion dollars which the colonizers had looted from India. Remember that it was the BBC that played up the big lie about Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) to justify the invasion and destruction of Iraq by Anglo-American forces. Christiane Amanpour, in a CNN interview, spoke of the Indian PM in the same breath as Putin & Xi Jinping. The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post’s default setting on India is to showcase the country in a negative light. $2000 per Op-ed article is given to members of our very own Vodka Biryani brigade (you know the names) to highlight the slow death of democracy in India and the persecution of its minorities. Remember that our national Opposition leader brandished a copy of the Guardian paper with the same headlines as he spoke to a gathering at Cambridge. The Empire Strikes Back!!

NYT Mangalyaan Cartoon October 2014

The hypocrisy and double standards in peddling news is staggering. A few months back, an unarmed 17-year-old man of North African descent was killed by the police in a Paris suburb, sparking off weeks of violence in the city and across the country. Cut to BBC reporting on the banlieue (suburbs) where the migrant populace stays, “Is the violence the result of poverty and discrimination?” Not quite. “It’s a law and order problem. Gangs and petty criminals use anger over a tragic death to sow mayhem. Their problems have long been recognized by the authorities. But it will not be resolved anyway soon.” BBC Verify also talked about false posts and images about the French riots spreading online. Remember that Brexit happened with a 52%-48% leave vote majorly influenced by images of a wave of immigrants from Africa, the Middle East, and Asia swamping the country. These images were dropped by Putin’s army of social media manipulators sitting in St. Petersburg. Rest assured that the handlers from ISPR (Inter-Services Public Relations Unit of the Pakistani ISI) will be extremely active in fear-mongering and spreading toxic disinformation in India in the run-up to the 2024 election. Insidious versions of Chinese whispers will also pass around.

Sticking to Britain, the extradition of fugitives Nirav Modi & Vijay Mallya will be drummed up by our Opposition bloc as a major election issue. Status – Nirav Modi – his case is said to be ‘statute barred,’ indicating further pending litigation. This after he lost his final appeal in November 2022. The latest about the ‘King of Good Times’ is that he cannot be extradited till a ‘confidential legal issue’ concerning him is resolved. When our MEA tells us that the entire extradition process is tortuous, it is exactly right. No wonder that London is the haven for financial fraudsters and oligarchs.

Recently, liberal France banned the wearing of the Islamic Abaya dress in schools. Check out the reaction from the Western media. Zilch!! Why then the uproar when the erstwhile Karnataka Government talked about standard school uniforms for all. Think about the profound disrespect shown against a Great Religion in Sweden and Denmark in recent months. Shrugged off by the Western media and channels like Fox News as mere ‘freedom of expression.’

Let’s move to Canada. Justin Trudeau openly supported the farmers’ agitation in India, which was confined to 2 States and went on for months in a heavily politicized manner. His vote bank politics led him to interfere in another sovereign country’s internal affairs. The funding for the agitation came from Khalistanis and allies in Canada, the UK, the US, and Australia. Fast Forward. How did the Canadian PM respond to the country-wide transporters’ strike in his nation relating to some Covid regulations? He went missing and underground for a week. He emerged to declare a national emergency (Fact Check – which was the party in power in India when the Khalistan crises came to a boil?).

It is an undeniable fact that the Union and State Governments in India handled the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic challenges more effectively than any advanced nation. Yet papers in the US and Europe showed photos of dead bodies at the Varanasi ghats as Covid deaths, which were being suppressed by the Indian authorities. India supplying vaccines to more than 100 countries also did not receive the media attention it deserved.

Selective Outrage. Remember that the World Health Organisation (WHO) and reputed Western virologists and bio-scientists played PR for Beijing after the Wuhan leak. China is the second-largest funder of WHO, and The Gain of Function Research which resulted in the leak has been a financial bonanza for the scientific community. Likewise, the persecution of over a million Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang province of China does not raise protests from even Islamic countries. It’s not surprising that our human-rights Comrade activists are quiet.

In the 60’s & 70’s, the KGB infiltrated the top rungs of the Indian government, public service, media, university campuses, and even the Hindi film industry (The Mitrokhin Papers). If not Ideology, Vodka, Money, or a Honey Trap did the trick. Now it is Chinese money that is funding leftist media outlets, some political parties, NGOs, and social influencers. It’s distressing to hear the complete silence from the Opposition parties and this eco-system when China recently released a map claiming Arunachal Pradesh as its territory. All political parties in the Philippines joined together to lambast China’s claims to their part of the South China Sea. A joint US-Philippines naval exercise followed. It is high time that our political parties, irrespective of ideology or political compulsions, do not undermine serious matters of National Security. Remember that ahead of the 2019 election a national political leader after meeting the Chinese Ambassador claimed that the PLA (People’s Liberation Army) had occupied 2400 sq km of Indian territory. Mocking the Indian Army just to take some political potshots.

China’s remarkable growth over the last 3 decades has been propelled by the Communist Party’s absolute dictatorship and State Controlled Capitalism. No dissent is allowed. India as the world’s largest democracy has made a more gradual but definite progress. With the additional internal challenge that some elements in the political domain and media have actively worked to undermine the national interest. Today the bottom line is that India’s growing geo-political clout and economic rise do not sit well with 2 neighbors, some Western countries, and their special interest NGOs and agenda-driven Think Tanks. It is interesting to note that Harvard has received $1 billion from China over the last decade, mainly as gifts. Show me the money. Be prepared for a lot of negative flak from Ivy League intellectuals over the next 10 months.

Cartoon from German Magazine Der Spiegel

In April 2023, a cartoon in the German magazine Der Spiegel depicted an overcrowded Indian train passing a modern Chinese bullet train on a parallel track with only 2 drivers inside. The many passengers on top of the Indian train are holding the tricolor.

‘Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But they are not entitled to their own facts.’ Daniel P. Moynihan-US Senator and Ambassador to India. The stakes and criticality of the 2024 Lok Sabha election cannot be overstated. Please fact-check. Please don’t get misled. Please see through the clutter and noise. Then please cast your valuable vote. Once the dust has settled and the debris removed we will have our new Government per the mandate and will of the people.

Own Goals which have cost India dearly

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Over the last 75 years, India’s standing and development have been heavily compromised by statecraft blunders, misplaced ideology, prejudices and biases and lack of vision from our top political netas and a compliant babudom.  They have shown a flair for scoring own goals in the fields of geopolitics and national security. They have also undermined national welfare and governance in the single-minded pursuit of power at any cost. Some of our most esteemed leaders have let the nation down through short-sighted policies and actions and even more so through sheer inaction.

Let’s put the Kashmir problem in context. In 1946 Sheikh Abdullah raised the call of ‘Quit Kashmir’  to get rid of the Dogra rulers. Mr Nehru rushed to support his friend and Raja Hari Singh stopped him at the border. The Nehruvian ego cost India dearly as subsequent events proved. In July and Sept 1947, Raja Hari Singh approached the Indian leadership for accession to the Dominion of India. Nehruji declined. He wanted Sheikh Abdullah to first take charge of a provisional government and accession would come later. National interest, logic and common sense dictated that he accept Kashmir’s accession to the Indian Union, forever shut the door on any Pakistani plans and then go for the change in administration. His intransigent position still haunts us after more than 7 decades. Pakistan took advantage and invaded Kashmir occupying a large portion of it and the State became a disputed territory. The Instrument of Accession was finally signed on the 27th Oct 1947. All the tragic events which have panned out since have been a corollary to this original sin.

Worse was to come. On the 2nd Nov 1947 PM Nehru announced that the fate of Kashmir would ultimately be decided by the people through a referendum held under the auspices of the United Nations. So the Kashmir problem was internationalised by our own Prime Minister. To aggravate matters further Article 370 came into force in 1954 with the Agreement of the State Constituent Assembly- basically granting local authority to the State of J&K. Article 370 was a temporary provision with its applicability to last until the formulation of the State Constitution.  However, the State Constitution dissolved itself without recommending the abrogation or amendment of Article 370. The huge benefits of this special provision and the Union Government’s generous funding accrued to Nehruji’s dost Sheikh Abdullah’s family and the family of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. Shockingly, some terrorists and separatist leaders sponsored by Pakistan enjoyed a luxurious lifestyle in the Valley with security also provided by the Indian government. Finally, on the 5th Aug 2019, the pernicious Article 370 was abrogated.

In the 1950’s, PM Nehru rejected Nepal King Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah’s offer that the Himalayan kingdom become part of the Union of India (The Presidential Years- Pranab Mukherjee). The same is also detailed on the Shodhganga website. Nehruji rejected the offer on the grounds that Nepal was a free country and should remain so. The late President has commented in his book that ‘had Indira Gandhi been in Nehru’s place she would probably have seized the opportunity as she did with Sikkim.’

On the 5th of May 2018 (Karl Marx’s birthday)Mr Sitaram Yechury celebrated the merger of the Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist-Leninist) and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) as a transition from a once-Hindu kingdom to a Republic.  Since 2006 the Indian Comrade had become a mentor to this nation’s tryst with Communism. Cut to 2023. India faces an imperialistic China with humungous influence in Nepal. At times it does seem that our Comrade General Secretaries sit in Delhi. Their Chairman sits in Beijing.

Then there is the curious case of India being offered a permanent seat in the UN Security Council in the 1950s. In 2023, it remains one of the country’s top diplomatic objectives considering the chaotic geopolitical situation. A seat at the table should be reserved for the world’s largest democracy, the 5th biggest economy, an established nuclear and military power plus a Soft Power in its own right.  The Great Wall of China is the barrier. Even left-wing media in India have acknowledged that in August 1950 as the Cold War gained momentum, America dangled the bait for a permanent seat at the UNSC. There was more to come. Servapalli Gopal’s biography of Nehru (1979) specifically mentions that ‘he (Nehru) rejected the Soviet offer in 1954 to propose India as the sixth permanent member of the Security Council and insisted that priority be given to China’s admission to the august group.’ Please note that the historian was the son of President Radhakrishnan, a close friend of the Prime Minister. Further, a detailed exchange between Nikolai Bulganin and Nehruji on this subject is part of another Nehruvian scholar’s book- AG Noorani’s ‘Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru’ (2002).  Some Congress leaders and intellectuals have dismissed this as baseless rumours and a conspiracy theory of the BJP. The Hindi-Chini bhai-bhai bonhomie was rudely jolted by the Chinese invasion in October 1962 resulting in the loss of Aksai Chin territory in Eastern Ladakh. This humiliating loss is detailed in Brig John Dalvi’s ‘Himalayan Blunder’. The helplessness and shock displayed by the PM and his close acolyte, Defence Minister Krishna Menon. The outdated rifles of the Indian army and even the lack of warm clothing. Today, China has its eyes on Arunachal Pradesh.

In 2017, 2018, and 2019 the PM in waiting Rahul Gandhi met the Chinese Ambassador multiple times. He publicly announced that India had lost hundreds of square km to the Chinese without a fight.  Shameful!!. A disparaging remark by a national party leader for the Indian Army just to score some political points. But flashback to 1962. His grandfather had done exactly that. Foreign intelligence agencies reported that in a few clashes in recent years, the PLA had retreated with a bruised nose. The latest is that the Chinese are reinforcing their border forces with Han-Tibetan soldiers.

The Vodka Biryani brigade, which drives the ‘Aman ki Aasha’ narrative should get a reality check done. China and Pakistan are hostile neighbours. Period.  Check out what happened after the PM Atalji Vajpayee- PM Nawaz Sharif Lahore peace declaration in early 1999. KARGIL!!.

In the late 1970s, Mrs Indira Gandhi’s Congress attempted to co-opt Bhindranwale in a bid to split the Sikh votes and weaken the Akali Dal- its chief rival in Punjab. For starters, Congress supported his candidates in the 1978 SGPC election. Mr Sanjay Gandhi and Giani Zail Singh are credited with transforming an obscure preacher into a Frankenstein monster. The rest is history leading to Operation Blue Star.  Followed by the shocking assassination of PM Mrs Indira Gandhi. Then the genocide of thousands of innocent Sikhs with Congress leaders inciting the mobs and goons. Even 40 years later justice has not been done. Connect the dots to the well-orchestrated Khalistan rallies in Canada, the UK, the USA and Australia. Follow the money to the funders of the farmers’ agitation.

The implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is a hotly debated topic today amidst the Amrut Mahotsav of Azaadi. Countries with large Muslim populations like Indonesia and Bangladesh have adopted the same. UCC has been practised for decades in Goa and Puducherry. Dr Ambedkar tried to reform Indian society by recommending the UCC.  It just ended up as an article of the Directive Principles stipulating that ‘the State shall endeavour to secure for the citizen a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India.’ The recommendation remained a dead letter because Muslims took a hard line on their personal law. There was also a pushback from traditional Hindus who were opposed to reforms of Hindu practices like inheritance, marriage and divorce and adoption. But the next few decades did see codification and reforms of the Hindu code as also the practices of Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists.

In 1985 the Shah Bano case became the litmus test for the progressive Rajiv Gandhi government. A 73-year-old woman was divorced through Triple Talaq and denied regular maintenance under Muslim Personal Law. The Supreme Court ruled in favour of Shah Bano (Section 125 of All India Criminal Code) pertaining to the maintenance of wives, children and parents irrespective of religion.  The Congress Government with 400+ Lok Sabha seats capitulated to vote bank politics and appeasement. In 1986 the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights of Divorce) Act was passed making Section 125 inapplicable to Muslim women and verily overturning the Supreme Court decree. Alimony or maintenance was deemed payable only for 90 days after divorce.

In October 1993, the Vohra Committee submitted its 100-page report which has never seen the light of the day. The Home Ministry now claims that it has been misplaced. It is said to have explosive revelations of the cosy relationship between senior Maharashtra ministers and politicians, Mumbai crime branch officials and primarily the D Company of Dawood Ibrahim and some other underworld figures. The Netflix serial ‘Scoop’ tangentially refers to this in a 2011 time frame. If only the Vohra Committee report had been discussed responsibly in the public and national interest.  The needle moves to 25 years later and the sordid saga of the MVA government in Maharashtra with its Home Minister in jail, an absconding Commissioner of Police and a reinstated sub-inspector- who had easy access to both- running an extortion racket targeting bars, dance clubs and restaurants. Truth be told, the Congress playbook with its winnability formula for elections- money, muscle, caste and creed have wholly been embraced across the political spectrum including by the BJP. So we have 233 elected MPs in the current Lok Sabha with criminal charges; 65% of sitting Kerala MLAs with criminal records with 21% in ‘the serious category’; and the BJP leading with 37% criminally tainted representatives in the UP Vidhan Sabha.

It is said that a fish rots from the head down. Independent India’s first official scam was the Jeep scam. In 1948, Krishna Menon, High Commissioner to the UK bypassed protocols and ordered 2000 refurbished jeeps for military use from an unknown foreign company. A substantial amount then of Rs 80 lakhs was paid upfront.  155 jeeps were delivered but did not pass the Defence Ministry tests. PM Nehru’s patronage ensured that even judicial enquiries were dropped in 1955. In Jan 1956 Menon was inducted into the Council of Ministers and continued till he met an inglorious end as Defence Minister in the disastrous Indo-China war of 1962. Those were supposed to be idealistic and patriotic times with memories of the freedom struggle still fresh. The Scourge of corruption was unleashed and has now become synonymous with India; gnawing like termites at the vitals of the nation and hurting the poor and needy and the middle class the most.

Jaichand and Mir Jafar are not confined to our history books. In 2008, India Today presented the Youth Icon Award to the mass killer and Kashmiri terrorist Yasin Malik.  He was cheered on by the Vodka Biryani brigade in full strength. The trophy was handed over by a well-known Harvard-educated industrialist. In 2002, Malik had laughingly admitted to the killings of a Judge, some unarmed IAF personnel and some innocent bystanders in a BBC Hard Talk interview. Not surprising, what?! Consider which self-respecting government would have done absolutely nothing after the persecution and forced exodus of half a million Kashmiri Pandits from 1990 onwards. Just 2 years after 26/11 we had Digvijay Singh, Mahesh Bhatt and Zakir Naik on the stage for the release of the book- ‘26/11 an RSS conspiracy. Disgusting!!!  Several Congress and Opposition leaders were in denial after the Balakot surgical strike against Pakistan. Can’t blame them, what? It’s totally beyond their comprehension. But more seriously, this is the reason India is seen as this soft, fractious and easy to lecture to and meddle with country. Even national security matters have become political football.

The majority governments of PM Nehru, Smt Indira Gandhi and Mr Rajiv Gandhi faltered and messed up in vital areas and the side-effects are still being felt. PM Modiji in his second term and with a majority in both the Houses also does not seem to be focused on urgent structural reforms. Possibly his own BJP Parliamentarians, Legislators and Corporators are the nay-sayers who defend the toxic status quo. The Supreme Court in 2006 in a landmark judgement had directed the Centre and State Governments to bring in urgently needed police reforms on a PIL filed by a retired senior police officer. Road maps on the way forward were already in place. Zilch!! (meaning nothing.)The 33% reservation of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies was first proposed in 1996 and was also part of the BJP election manifesto. The Sound of Silence!!! A well-thought-through election finance bill on the lines of the French model to curb black money has never been on the table.  To borrow some lines from Bob Dylan’s famous protest song- ‘The answer my friend… Blowin’ in the Wind.’

 So it seems that in 2047, 100 years since independence, India will remain a work in progress. The country may make huge strides as a major economy, in technology and defence innovation and in global geopolitics. However, in key areas which directly influence governance and the greater good we may still languish behind as a developing nation. Courtesy of the reluctance of our tall political leaders to go the whole hog in cleaning up, revamping and reinforcing the entire edifice of the country’s public institutions and support systems.

Over the last 2 decades, a galaxy of stars of Indian spirit and origin has sparkled brightly in the space of business, technology, culture and entertainment. Is this destined to be India’s century- with India leading the comity of nations?!