Tag Archives: WHO

The Sinister Art of Covert Warfare

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John Adams, the second US President, had prophetically said, “The two ways to conquer and enslave a country is by the sword, the other way through debt.”

The USA, the undisputed super-power after WW2, suffered humiliating military defeats in Vietnam and Afghanistan after many years of occupation. But for decades their geo-political strategy, as supposed leaders of the Free World, was to install puppet rulers to do their bidding. They rolled out 800+ military bases across the globe in a show of sheer power. US controlled institutions like the IMF and the World Bank doled out loans to the developing and poor countries. As they got sucked into the quicksand of debt, the Americans took over their natural resources and cheap labour. Arms sales further pushed these nations into US subservience. Colonization- without the burden of actual occupation.  Please read ‘The Confessions of an Economic Hitman’ by John Perkins to get the real picture.

Xi Jinping, the Chinese strongman, has delusions of being the Emperor of China. In 2013, ‘The One Belt One Road’ (now Belt & Road) initiative was launched with grand fanfare. To supposedly promote trade, commerce and development in partnership with over 100 countries across the world. What happened? The $ 300 million power plant in Tajikistan has made the country a China vassal state. Default has led to take-over of the gold and silver mines. A debt-ridden Angola is now supplying cheap oil to its benefactor. The Hambantota port in Sri Lanka is’ a white elephant’, adding no value to the local economy. The corrupt ‘Gotta Go’ Rajapaksa family perfectly fits into the profile of leaders the Chinese government wants to deal with. The Chinese research vessel which docked at the port for a few days is a naval warship used to track down satellites and missiles. China has already established a naval facility at Djibouti on the Horn of Africa. It’s said that the Sri Lankans are reeling under a $12 billion debt from China.  In fact much more. The Chinese banks, monitored by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) have also loaned big.

Pakistan has become a willing pawn to the Dragon’s scheme of things. Govt to Govt debt of $ 26 billion has made it a basket case. The majestic African Union (AU) headquarters in Ethiopia has been built by Chinese loan money, Chinese contractors and workers and even their food sent over from mainland China. As the African countries cope with the debt, the Chinese have already cashed in. Also Huawei cameras have been installed to spy on their African brethren leaders.

The factory to the world plans to rule the world.  Markets + Natural Resources + humongous geo-political influence. Many of these countries are being coerced to vote for & support China on critical issues like Taiwan and human atrocities in the Xin Jiang province.

Vladimir Putin was a middle level KGB operative in East Berlin when the Berlin wall fell in 1989. Followed by the collapse of the Soviet Union. This trauma has dictated his world view and it helps that millions of Russians think the same. The Ukraine invasion was triggered by the NATO overreach. But control and supply of oil and gas to Europe is what the news headlines are now all about. Europe and especially Germany are in for a harsh and long winter. Putin has turned off the Nord Stream gas pipeline. The Continent is now reeling with the heat-wave and high inflation and is bracing for the inevitable recession. If you add the fact that Russia and Ukraine are amongst the world’s major wheat exporters, the consequences are even more alarming.

Trump has always been Putin’s puppet. The Tsar probably has the dirt on him-peeing on the bed occupied by President Obama during his Moscow visit or doing something more in keeping with the Donald’s playboy image. Russian oligarchs also got together to secretly bail out the distressed Trump Org through a major European Bank. Likewise, the Saudis sent $2billion to Jared Kushner’s (Trump son-in-law) dwindling account to control the fall-out of the brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi reportedly at the behest of MBS.

The army of hackers in St Petersburg have attained cult status. They delivered Brexit to Putin with the Ayes at 51.9%. Social media was flooded with images of hordes of immigrants from the Middle East & Asia. In 2016, the same ploy had helped to get Trump into the White House. Only, then the hordes were from Mexico and South America. Indian economic institutions, corporates and infrastructure utilities are major targets of hacking, mainly from China and North Korea. A hack attempt on JNPT port was thwarted a few months ago. Imagine if the ATC (Air Traffic Control) of a major airport like Dubai or Heathrow is hacked- with flights grounded for days the financial losses will be huge. A few years’ back 60 trusts of UK’s NHS (National Health Service) bore the brunt of a cyber- attack with ransomware demands. 20% of the UK Health Service was crippled. It has still not been established whether the Russian State or a criminal group from the US were behind the attacks.

In this age of frenzied social media, misinformation by hostile powers is the name of the game.  Take for example the controlled propaganda narrative about the prolonged Farmers’ Agitation in India. Public protests and rallies are an integral part of any democracy. Yes, the genuine grievances of the farmer community deserves to be heard and addressed with sensitivity and respect.  But it soon became obvious that a very grim picture was being created, hyped and funded by controllers in Canada, USA and UK. As if the entire country had come to a stand-still. The underlying objective was to create chaos and malign and embarrass the Government of the day. Even PM Trudeau jumped on to the bandwagon to satisfy a segment of his vote-base as did some western celebrities for the lure of Mammon. But Karma hit back. The transporters strike in Canada against some Covid-19 regulations saw Trudeau hiding from the public eye for days and then emerging to declare a national emergency. Hence, spreading toxicity, stoking social unrest and fanning law and order problems is the subversive agenda of such ‘warriors.’

The proxy war through radicalised terrorists has been going on for more than 30 years. Major outfits like the Ku Klux Klan (now morphed into Proud Boys), Red Army, Black September, ISIS, Boko Haram have done their work and spread their message . Young men, brainwashed on-line, are now weaponizing motor vehicles to kill and maim and to spread terror as they did in London and Spain in 2017. Interestingly, after 9/11 an unknown assailant sent weaponised anthrax through US mail in an unsuccessful attempt to kill members of the US Congress. Disruption, fear, instability and more free lancers recruitment ensues.

Insidious infiltration of the political parties, journalists and academia has been the game-plan of the CIA & KGB from the 1950’s onwards. ‘The Mitrokhin Papers’ (KGB archivist who fled to the UK) reveals how top Indian leaders and bureaucrats were compromised by the KGB in the 60’s. The Comrade ideology was soon embraced by journalists, writers, poets, professors and even some in the film industry. Vodka, honey-traps and money did the trick where Ideology did not deliver. Now the Chinese are up to the same tricks. Besides India, Australia, Indonesia, Philippines, Eastern Europe and South America are on their radar. In India, we have heard some netas screaming that the People’s Liberation Army has occupied over 2500 square km of Indian land over the last 2 years. Debunked by international intelligence agencies of standing and repute. The Lab leak of the Wuhan virus and gross negligence by China has been downplayed by some of our top TV channels and newspapers. Moreover some human rights activists and NGO’s have kept eerily silent on the brutal pogrom run by the CCP against the 1 million Uyghur Muslims in the Xin Jiang province of China. Surely, the Comrade-rie is growing.

The Wuhan Lab leak happened when a ‘Gain of Function’ research was on.” This refers ‘to serial passaging of micro-organisms to increase their transmissibility, virulence, immunogenicity and host tropins by applying selective pressure to the culture.’’ A Red Flag alert to the scary scenario of bio-chemical warfare. The USA sprayed Agent Orange and napalm bombed Vietnam with brutality. They weaponised and stockpiled 7 bio-agents by the time they shamefully exited Vietnam. Saddam Hussein’s stockpile of chemical weapons was unleashed on the Kurds and during the Iraq-Iran war. Russia used Novichock nerve agents to murder political opponents in Salisbury, England in 2018.

The other intriguing facet enabling the Art of the unconventional power-scramble is the undermining of independent international institutions. The IMF & the World Bank were run by the US for decades. The WHO played tango with China to cover-up the country’s responsibility in the origin and spread of the pandemic which cruelly enveloped the world for 2 years. The UN and the Security Council are clearly impotent in dealing with tragic crises like Yemen, Syria or the Ukraine war. This has led to an unstable and untrusted world order. India as the largest democracy, the most populated nation and the 5th biggest economy in the world does not have a seat as a Permanent Member of the Security Council. This tells the whole story of the power struggles in the elite, self-serving club and the overwhelming desire for control.

Conventional war-fare is no longer the preferred option for the big powers. If wealthy Europe can be brought to its knees by shutting down the Nord Stream gas line, why not?! Hacking and disrupting the Pentagon or a financial powerhouse sends an incredibly strong message. A much wanted terrorist in Kabul can be taken out by a drone attack. Planted news articles and relentless social media propaganda can diminish a country, manoeuvre an election there or even topple a legitimate government. Sinister disinformation and conspiracy theories can lead to riots and even civil wars. The Remote, covert way of warfare is now the espoused strategy by both States and fanatical groups. The world may not be on the brink of WW3 despite all the noise and posturing but the world is certainly a very troubled and uncertain place.

The Origins of Covid 19??

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I have no desire to go down a rabbit hole only to dig out some far- fetched conspiracy theory. Having said that, the murkiness surrounding the origins of this global pandemic has to be thoroughly cleared. Did nature or humans open the Pandora’s box in Wuhan? After all, the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) is Asia’s largest virus bank.

The first inklings came out in a South China Morning Post news video. 44 persons have been infected by a mysterious illness in Wuhan, China. All have been quarantined. 11 of them in a serious condition.  No medical personnel infected. Most patients worked in the seafood market where birds and rabbits were also sold. Unlike 2002 SARS outbreak, China has quickly shared all information with the World Health Organisation (WHO). Origins and nature of viral pneumonia spread unknown. Medical researchers across China on the job. The government in full control.

Now for some relevant context. As always, Xi Jinping and his CCP comrades muzzled all information about the early days of the virus. Indeed, China weighed in on the WHO and virtually decided on the Committee to first visit Ground Zero.  There was no mention of any lab escape whilst there was not a single shred of evidence of a natural escape from bats.

The Director General of WHO, Tedros Adhanom played perfect PR for the PR (People’s Republic) of China. In his Jan 2020 visit he expressed full solidarity with his hosts and complimented them on the way they had handled the outbreak. 2 months later WHO declared COVID 19 a global pandemic. The institution has morphed into a public-private partnership-a deviation from the UN Charter.  The USA is its largest contributor with $480 million or approx. 22% of the budget, compared to China’s $89 million. However assessment fees are based on population and wealth of the member nation.  The prospect of China becoming a major contributor is very alluring to the Agency.  It needs China on its side.

The drum beaters for ‘the lab leak’ theory were President Trump and his men.  His Secretary of State Mike Pompeo openly declared that Corona virus had escaped from the Wuhan lab. Trump and the Fox News anchors sneered at ‘the Chinese virus’. The liberal media termed this as a racial slur and immediately dismissed this hypothesis. A bio-science scenario snuffed out by political polarisation. Chinese propaganda had won the day. As for the scientists, only those with no conflict of interest spoke up but their versions had few takers. And with time there emerged a UK variant, A South African variant, a Brazilian mutant and an Indian mutant.

Why is ‘the lab leak origins’ plausible? First, the Chinese response. They delayed giving access to the Wuhan lab for months after the initial outbreak guaranteeing that the lab had been deep cleaned before any forensic analysis could be done. They did not share any raw data of the early Covid patients or any lab records or data logs that were critical to understanding the origins of SARS Cov2. A key avenue would have been to run a genetic sequencing on original samples that the lab was working on. The Chinese sign board at the entrance read- No Entry!!! Trespassing Prohibited!!!

18 months after the first cases on record there is not a single shred of evidence that it was transmitted from bats, pangolins, minks, rabbits or frozen meat. There was some buzz about a few young kids in Yunnan province coming down with fever and breathing problems after a visit to a bat cave. This was said to have some similarities to the corona virus symptoms. But Yunnan is 1800 kms from Wuhan and bats do not travel far. Also, these creatures start hibernating from the month of September leaving no possibility for a colony of bats acting as carriers. Reports also emerged that no trace of virus or its RNA molecule was found in the wet market in Wuhan.

Some more perspective on this Centre of Interest/Intrigue- the Wuhan Lab- will be in order. After the 2002 SARS epidemic, China had become obsessed with developing vaccines and cures for such viruses. The Wuhan Institute of Virology was set up in 2014 through French collaboration and US support. By 2017 both had been side-lined. The Chinese State took over all control and the military stepped in. Maj Gen Dr Chen Wei became a key figure. He had earlier been involved in the research for an Ebola vaccine in Africa. It is from here that rumours started that the lab was being used for bio-chemical warfare- to create weaponised viruses. It is also pertinent to note that it was the military which shut down the lab after alarm signals went out.  Another important player is Prof Shi Zhengli, a Director at WIV, famously known as ‘the Batwoman’. She and her team had performed hundreds of experiments on bats and mice. It was common knowledge in scientific circles that the lab researchers were creating new viruses by using reverse engineering on bat coronavirus. Also that humanised mice in the lab confines were very well adjusted to human cells. Juicing up Viruses is done in labs across the world. The novel corona virus has proved to be far more transmissible, virulent, mutant-prone and fatal than SARS 1 in 2002. This indisputably puts the WIV on the investigative radar. Consider this- SARS Cov1 had 8437 reported cases and 813 known deaths from 2002-2004. It was traced to horse-shoe bats in Guangdong province. The current pandemic has already logged 16.9 crore cases and till date more than 35 lakhs people have succumbed across the world. Merits some serious thought and action, right!

On the 24th May 2021, the Wall Street Journal reported that 3 staff researchers at the Lab were taken acutely ill in Nov 2019 and had to be hospitalised. The official Chinese case of the first novel corona virus patient is the 8th Dec 2019. Over the years repeated concerns had been raised about the bio-safety of the Wuhan lab with the US embassy in Beijing officially communicating it in the fall of 2017. A major lab like WIV should have been rated at P-4 – complying with the highest bio- safety standards. BSL-4 or Bio-Safety Lab -4. But it was opened for international inspection only in the fall of 2019 and the first safety protocols declared.

The first WHO investigation report in Jan 2020 was co-authored by 17 Chinese scientists (??) many of whom worked with State institutions. An important member was Dr Peter Daszak, whose credentials will be discussed later. The lab-leak angle was barely discussed. A clean-chit? On the 31st Dec 2019, the Taiwan Central Epidemiology Command Centre has sent a red-flag message to WHO – warning about the possibility of human to human transmission by the virus. Taiwan? Who? Considered by China as its territory and not yet a nation member of the World Health Organisation. Yet again in late Dec 2019 and early Jan 2020, Chinese virologist Li- Meng Yan (Post- Doctoral fellow at Hong Kong University)  sounded the alarm bells. As part of the first medico-forensic team to land in Wuhan she refused to become part of the cover-up. She had to flee to New York and turned whistle-blower. Amongst her observations- China had deliberately suppressed the number of afflicted patients in Wuhan in the early days. Also that her WHO supervisor told her not to cross the red-line by talking about human to human contagion and the high mutation rates.

A sinister trail leads to Dr Ai Fen, Director Emergency Services at Wuhan Hospital, who went missing for many months. In a story which broke more than a year ago, she referred to an early patient ( early Dec 2019) with signs of flu and influenza who did not respond to the conventional treatment. She had broken into a cold sweat when she discovered symptoms of SARS Corona virus. But her seniors at the hospital muzzled her voice and her concerns about human to human transmissions. The Chinese Dragon ensured her disappearance in the critical months when the pandemic was declared. She reappeared later in strange circumstances with an eye surgery which has left her nearly blind in one eye..

Now to the core problem which may have resulted in the leak of a virulent SARS Cov2. The controversial ‘Gain of Function’ research. The underlying mantra- to get ahead of the virus instead of chasing them down. To protect people from viruses which jump from one species to another. They deliberately set out to create dangerous variants of viruses so that they can study and research them. It is a reverse genetic engineering process. Helping pathogens and micro-organisms to grow, reproduce itself and mutate freely into lethal viruses. A Jurassic Park scenario. Fraught with real dangers and risk. The WIV passionately embraced the Gain of Function Research with China’s ambitions to develop capabilities and be a world leader in this critical field also.

 The story gets curiouser and curiouser. The Wuhan lab was set up in 2014. President Obama banned Gain of Function research in Oct 2014 (except for National Security purposes). In May 2014 the National Institute of Health (NIH) and its affiliate National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID- headed by Dr Fauci) gave $ 3.4 million grant to the Eco Health Alliance (ECH) run by Peter Daszak (one of the first scientist investigators to reach Wuhan). ECH sent $600,000 to WIV between 2014 and 2019. The Alliance has 30 member countries. In a recent interview Dr Fauci has denied that these monies were meant or used for Gain of Function research in China. But both he and Dr Daszak remain champions of this risky method of research. In a 2011 co-authored opinion piece published in the Washington Post, Dr Fauci had said as much. So it’s not surprising that throughout 2020 both these top scientists vehemently rejected the lab-leak theory. Further, Global Viral Project has recently sanctioned $1.2 billion for such research projects. One of the important reasons as to why even the media has been blind-sided is deference to the Science experts. Donald McNeil, New York Times Science Reporter has admitted that he had debunked the virus leak possibility out of respect for Dr Fauci’s stand. The latter seems to have done a 180 degree turn in a 11th May 2021 interview to Politifact, “The leak hypothesis is legitimate and needs to be investigated.”

However, what has created a paradigm shift in the approach to the Wuhan intrigue is a 10,000 word article published on Medium on the 2nd May 2021. The writer is British scientist Nicholas Wade, earlier associated with the New York Times and The Science Journal. He has brought the lab-leak hypothesis both front and centre. The title is ‘Sustained Chinese Propaganda blocking Covid origin facts’. He says with simple clarity, “There are two possible scenarios. But if you look at all the evidence and ask yourself which scenario explained all the facts better, it seems to me at least, that the lab leak hypothesis explains it a lot better. In their labs they created viruses more dangerous than those which exist in nature. They argued that they could do so safely and that by getting ahead of nature they could predict and prevent natural ‘spillovers’- the cross-over of viruses from animal host to people. If SARS2 had indeed escaped from such a lab experiment a savage blow back could be expected and the storm of public indignation would affect virologists everywhere and not only in China.”

Another respected authority, Italian Professor Tritto has lent authority to this view-point in his book, ‘China Covid 19, The Chimera Which Changed the World’.  Let me bring in another significant voice Dr Ralph Baric of North Carolina University, an eminent virologist and a fervent supporter of Gain of Function research.  For years he has been a confidant and collaborator of Dr Shi Zhengli, (the Batwoman) Director, Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases, Wuhan Institute of Virology. He is one of the 18 scientists who on the 13th May 2021 wrote an open letter to The Science Journal seeking a more rigorous investigation into the origins of the corona virus, saying that the theory of accidental release from the lab and a natural spill-over both remain viable. There are lab-leaks every year in some lab or the other but they are contained quickly. For instance at the Fort Detrick, a military lab in Maryland USA. In August 2019 its deadly germ research operation was abruptly shut down following serious safety violations- in particular relating to the disposal of dangerous material. 

So how are the 2 major actors performing in this long drawn drama? WHO has not quite lived up to its name.  After its massive endorsement of the Chinese Government in January 2020 itself, this institution has blundered its way along. After declaring the pandemic in March 2020, on the 4th May 2020, WHO categorically stated that Covid 19 was of natural origin and the lab-leak story was extremely unlikely. On the 19th May 2020, 137 member nations called for a thorough scrutiny and inquiry into the origins of the virus. The organisation suddenly fell into line. In a 30th Nov 2020 statement it said that it was committed to find out about the origins of the virus. Dr Tedros offered hypothesis and promises. Bats, frozen-meat, minks, pangolins, lab-leak were all on the table. What followed, bordered on the ridiculous. Transmission from frozen meat, bats, directly from animals to humans everything was deemed possible. Finally on the 5th January 2021, a WHO delegation of 10 specialist virologists landed in Wuhan.  The Chinese tactics of delay and defy had paid off. The WHO Chief issued a disclaimer, “The mission will not find all the answers.” This investigative sojourn turned out to be a charade. With TV cameras lined up- trips to the WIV and the wet meat and seafood market and the Centre of Disease Control, Wuhan. In this well staged event, China also got all the sound-bites it wanted.  So 18 months after SARS Cov 2 was detected, the world is still waiting for answers. A few days back WHO put out its latest status update-, “We must continue to follow the science and leave no stone unturned.”

China refuses to budge and indeed has dug its heels in as the call for an independent probe escalates. Dr Shi Zhengli’s latest report says that, “The novel coronavirus is closer to pangolins than bats.” On the 25th May 2021, China told the annual gathering of WHO’s decision making body that it considered the investigation in its country complete and attention should now turn to other countries. The Great Wall of China remains impregnable.

Of late, TV channels and media have started saying that ‘the lab leak theory’ has got a new lease of life. Investigation into the origins of the novel corona virus is both legitimate and imperative. If nothing else, to prevent the next pandemic. This can only happen if the Chinese State allows unfettered access to the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Wishful thinking, what?

What the ISMS!!!

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Photo by Jack Hunter on Unsplash

Let’s take a look at the Ideologies and Doctrines which have dominated discourses and radically shaped the world- geopolitically, economically, culture-wise- over the last 100 years. Whilst science and technology, IOT and social media have made today’s world a different place, in many ways we are stuck with the same ‘Isms’ albeit in variant forms. What the ‘ Isms’. Time to revisit these long-held and almost sacrosanct beliefs. Review how they have stood the test of time and actually fared in practice. Are they still effective and relevant or past their shelf-life.

I post this blog as a student and an observer. Recommend that you take it with A Fistful of Salt.

Capitalism, we have been told, is about free markets with limited government intervention. Defined by the profit motive of entrepreneurs and corporates, freedom of consumers to choose goods and services, fair competition(?),  flexible labour markets (!!), robust finance sector and free trade. The Capital of this ‘Ism’ is the USA. It has been said that if Wall Street sneezes the rest of the world catches a cold. The $ is the global and petro currency. From Europe to Japan to China and Saudi Arabia trillions of dollars have been invested in US Treasury bonds, real estates and the US stock market. Silicon Valley rules the roost in the IT of things. A galaxy of American brands shine over the world. At $ 22 trillion the US economy accounts for 25% of the world’s GDP. The wealthiest, most powerful nation in history. A roaring success, right???

Not quite. Almost 40% of the US population live in poverty. Another 10% hold on to 2 jobs to put food on the table and send the kids to school. The proportion of middle class (the weather bell index) has fallen below 50% over the last 5 decades. Real Income remains stagnant at the 1989 levels. More than 20% of the adults are illiterate. College grads carry a staggering burden of $ 1.3 trillion debt. Amongst developed nations the USA ranks a poor 15th in healthcare and services. Yet, yet … in 2020 the richest 400 Americans paid tax at a lower rate than any other section of the society.  Unbridled, deregulated capitalism was unleashed by the economist Milton Friedman and President Ronald Reagan. (Curiously around the same time the movie ‘Wall Street’ was released with the Gordon Gekko character saying, “Greed is Good.”) This led to the meltdown of 2008. The US government bailed out the ‘Too Big to Fail’ firms ($ 700 billion program) and their CXO’s walked away with fat salaries and bonuses. Sadly as millions across the USA and the world lost their jobs, pensions and homes. The corrupt nexus between Capitol Hill, the White House, Wall Street, the media houses and the Ivy League experts is out there for all to see.  As is the plight of a worker who does not even get the time to pee as he sweats to keep the line moving. Did I say minimum government intervention, earlier on. It is the irony of ironies that the Biden administration has got a $ 1.9 trillion relief bill passed to help out millions of ordinary Americans caught up in the Covid crises. The Federal administration as the Saviour. What the ISM!!!

The Russian Revolution of 1917 led by Lenin brought the Communist Manifesto into practice and it shook up the world. The doctrine quickly took over Eastern Europe, parts of Asia, spread to Africa and Latin America with Cuba becoming a flag bearer and a flash point. The footprint grew rapidly. A Communist State became a state that was administered by a single party-guided by the Marxist/Leninist/Maoist philosophy.

The captivating charm of this philosophy lay in its egalitarian, humane and idealistic welfare promises. A better socio-economic order. Remember the oft quoted definition of Communism, “a theory or a system where all property is owned by the State, where each person contributes according to their ability and gets according to their needs.” Intellectuals, academics and activists in Europe were swept away by the fervour. A few decades later the bearded guerrilla Che Guevera was romanticised around the world with his face adorning T shirts and jackets. As Chairman Mao had said, “Power flows from the barrel of a gun.” PM Nehru was a great admirer of the Soviet Union and the Stalinist 5 year plans. As the years rolled by, many in India- politicians, bureaucrats, professors, economists, writers and activists bought into the Vodka fuelled narrative. The hangover still lingers on. Only today the General Secretary of our communist parties sits in Delhi whilst the Chairman sits in Beijing.  West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura have had leftist governments with multiple tenures.

How did the Utopian ideal work on the ground. China’s stupendous economic growth over the last 40 years has been driven by a mutant Ideology. China and Russia still remain dominant military and nuclear powers. But after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia has struggled with its economy which is heavily dependent on oil, natural gas and minerals. An embarrassing fall for a country which till 1989 was the other super-power. East European nations- earlier a part of the Iron Curtain- are still struggling to play catch-up with their Western neighbours. The case of the 2 Germany’s is stark and glaring. Even after nearly 4 decades of re-unification and an infusion-aid of $ 2 trillion, East Germany has twice the rate of unemployment and lags behind in wages to the extent of 20%-40%. The meltdown of the oil rich Venezuela is another example of the collapse of the command economy model. Castro’s Cuba has done well in health-care and education. As is the case with the Indian state of Kerala and esp. on the literacy front. The Naxalbaris of the late 60’s with their violent protests did augur in substantial land reforms in West Bengal. The State became a communist bastion for 3 decades. Today the Naxal movement has degenerated into domestic terrorism funded and armed by China and Pakistan. On the side, they have evolved into a Mafia group deep into an extortion and protection racket and illegal trading.

The only Communist wickets left standing are China, Cuba, Vietnam and North Korea. Vietnam’s economy is picking up pages from the Chinese model. North Korea is the worst embodiment of the communist practice- a Hermit Kingdom run by a cruel dictator, a wannabe nuclear power with millions living in poverty and misery. The really dark side of communism is not as freely discussed as it should be. Probably because so-called intellectuals and left leaning activists still control the narrative in India and many other parts of the world. Millions and millions have been brutally killed by the likes of Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot in Cambodia and the Dear Leaders in North Korea. Surprisingly, these mass murderers continue to be deified and have their portraits in Parliament Halls, Public offices and even Universities.

Let the final word rest with George Orwell’s classic ‘Animal Farm’ – the best unravelling of the Communist culture and state of mind. What starts of as the Utopian ideal of creating a paradise of progress, justice and equality where all are happy and free but fatally ignores the human weaknesses for power, control and greed. Alas, the revolution against tyranny leads to totalitarianism, just as terrible.

Deng Xiao Ping who followed Mao jettisoned the Great Leader’s Ideology. Sacrilege! His oft quoted mantra- “Black Cat. White Cat. What does it matter what colour the cat is so long as it catches mice.” Just 40 years later, China is the second largest economy in the world at GDP $15 trillion. In purchasing power parity (PPP) it has overtaken the USA. State Capitalism. The factory to the world. The capital of off-shoring.  Leveraging cheap labour to power the world’s largest brands and plants. Benefitting from and eating into the tech transfer. Transforming this huge country into the world’s largest market. But it continues to be governed with an iron fist by a single party with a strong man at the head. The cutting to size of Jack Ma of Alibaba fame shows who’s the Boss. This is Bian ti, the Chinese variant of capitalism. Ironically this rapid, exponential growth has rolled out because of the authoritarian regime. The Comrades have bulldozed their agenda through, lands and communities cleared overnight to set up factories and for infrastructure projects. No courts, no opposition, no activism.

This massive economic surge has propelled more than 30% Chinese into the middle-class., majorly in urban areas. Basic health-care insurance covers have been provided to all citizens.  Mandatory school education from the age of 6-15 years has also been a game changer.

But there is much that is hidden. The yuan is a tightly managed currency and the Communist Government manoeuvres to keep it low. Off late, there have been rumblings in the US and Europe about the theft of patents and IP rights. The Chinese have stolen everything from the formulae for drugs, technology for mobiles and blueprint for heavy equipment. The reason for joint ventures with a not so subtle aim to access state of the art Western and Japanese technology. And there is the controversial issue of large scale dumping- selling its oversupply in overseas and Indian markets, depressing prices and hurting indigenous manufacturing. There are many many secrets behind the Great Wall- forced labour from rural areas on construction sites, sweat -shop factory hubs and the origins of the Wuhan virus. The Comrades and Capitalists have much in common- Greed and a lust for power. Human nature being what it is. With Big Brother watching, corruption is rampant.

Europe is deemed to be the cradle of liberal thought and practice with England and France claiming to be at the vanguard of the movement. Liberalism can be broadly defined as a socio-economic and political philosophy which promotes democracy, civil rights and individual liberties and free enterprise. A liberal being a person with an open-mind -receptive to opinions, ideas and lifestyles different from one’s own. The report card has been impressive on the whole-voting rights for adult population, gender equality, marriage equality, racial equality, environmental justice, minimum wages and stipulated work conditions, labour unions and constitutionally limited and democratically elected governments.  Positive Progress.  But any thought, however virtuous and taken to the extreme can be counterproductive. Look at France today. Unregulated freedom of expression has sparked an outrage amongst millions of Muslim faithful around the world. On the other hand French liberals have reset themselves into the belief that these communities should espouse the values and culture of the country they are living in and integrate themselves into the mainstream to the extent possible. Now these are being implemented through laws. Across the continent also there are many European leaders and peoples who now believe that their way of life is being undermined and challenged by these migrants- The Other. Attitudes are hardening and suspicions are rising. Is this ‘The Clash of Civilisations’ as predicted by Samuel Huntington..

Also genuine liberal thought is on the wane. Reaching out to understand where the other is coming from is a rare occurrence. Objective and reasonable opinions and analysis based on sound research is no longer the norm. Self -proclaimed liberals and activists are often aligned to a political party or ideology or an NGO or a think tank with an agenda of its own.  Why are our progressive intellectuals silent on the mass persecution of Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang province of China.!!??  The basic premise of an open mind-set has long been jettisoned.  Even once trusted institutions like the BBC and The New York Times have lost a lot of credibility. The latter, for example, provides a platform and $money to discredited Indian journalists to vent their opinion and bias. No fact-checking. No one like Mark Tully (the famous BBC correspondent in Delhi) to deep-dive and ascertain the real situation. India and the world need the conscience-keepers and the sane and reasonable voices more than ever. May their tribe increase. However, liberalism has to reboot itself to be an effective influence and to resonate across borders.

For the concept of secularism, let us turn again to a French philosopher and sociologist Jean Bauberot and the French word ‘laicite’ with its anti-clerical roots.  It refers basically to the separation of State from religious institutions. No domination of the political sphere by any religious community or entity . Neutral State in an Open Society. In  increasingly plural and diverse nations Secularism seeks to maximise harmony and minimise conflict. Another exploration of the term brings out 3 core principles-institutional separation, freedom of conscience and belief and no discrimination on the grounds of religion. “These conditions allow for the competing concepts of the good life to be pursued in society.”

In practice, this philosophy ran into a lot of hurdles. The clarion call for Religion to be entirely excluded from the public square and manifest solely as a private matter remained a non-starter. Human nature being what it is and the power of religion being what it is. For centuries, the State and the Faith had fed off each other and used each other to consolidate their powers. It is to Dr Ambedkar’s credit that he realised the impracticality of introducing the word ‘secular’ in the Indian constitution. Mrs Gandhi added it in the year 1976 for political reasons and political capital. Taking a leaf from the playbook of our colonial masters, our GOP (Grand Old Party) mastered the art of Divide and Rule, Vote Bank politics and selective appeasement on regional or religious grounds. All political parties play the same psuedo secular card today. An idealistic and progressive Idea  remains unrecognisable – hijacked and manipulated beyond measure. In the Indian context we have to reclaim the soul and spirit of our secularism-Genuine tolerance for all religions rather than separation from the temporal – with a secure place for even non-believers.

At the global level also, Secularism has been resisted and derided. It is seen by many as a maligned Western concept. When the burkhas and veils were banned in many European nations the International Humanist and Ethical Union of the Middle East protested that this was not their secularism. The powerful Evangelical lobby in the USA supported the venal Trump to move the needle on their agenda- Anti abortion and anti LGBTQ. Even a much debated issue like Mercy Killing remains on hold because of the overlap of Religion and Public Policy. It took Independent India seven decades to ban a practice like the Triple Talaq, which had already been rejected by many Islamic countries. The issue is complex and sensitive. It is not helped by the fact that many religions have themselves fragmented into different denominations and there is even discrimination and hostility amongst some. As the churning in Europe demonstrates it is difficult to get all sides on board to agree to a common definition of Secularism for the Greater Good.

Another ‘ISM’ in currency is Internationalism- a political movement that advocates greater economic and political cooperation amongst nations of the world. It is meant to promote peace and security, economic stability and humanitarism. Organisations like the United Nations, World Bank, ASEAN, OECD, WTO, WHO, UNICEF are the tangible results of this thought. Single nation states cannot resolve systemic global issues like climate change, nuclear disarmament, cyber terrorism, global tax avoidance, pandemic and the catastrophe risk. These agencies have stepped in with varying degrees of success. For instance, climate change has been addressed through the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Accords. The latter had 195 signatories- a possible tipping point to take on this crisis. However the terms are not enforceable on the nation states and any progress is subject to the focus/ whims of the large and powerful signatories. President Trump withdrew the USA from the Paris Agreement and also the World Health Organisation. Likewise, the World Trade Organisation has to a large extent stabilised global trade through agreed upon terms which are fair and remove inequities amongst trading partners. It has also played a significant role in the reduction of trade protectionist policies. But the large scale dumping from China continues to disrupt other markets. The World Bank has helped nations recover after the global recession of 2008. Peace keeping forces have played a stellar role in controlling hostilities in war zones. The International Red Cross has gallantly stepped in during the Ebola pandemic and in providing humanitarian aid in war ravaged countries. The positives are many. International sports events like the Olympics and the football World Cup have connected countries like never before as have cultural exchanges like music, movies and cuisine.

The downside is also stark. The world is a more troubled place and new blocs are forming. There are many hotspots and prolonged localised wars. Yemen and Syria are truly cursed lands. The scourge of terrorism continues unabated. North Korea continues to be a nuclear rogue whilst the Iran deal may be back on the table. COVID 19 has again demonstrated as to how the rich countries call the shots. They have pre- booked and stocked the major supplies of vaccines and left the rest of the world to their own fate. The pandemic crisis has been gravely compounded by the WHO chief playing PR for the Chinese and playing down the gravity of the virus.

Colonialism did not die with the British Empire. The USA stepped in with its subtle model – leveraging on its 800 military bases across the globe, its industrial might and its control over the international finance agencies. China takes the baton forward in a refined form. The Belt and Road initiative is one with its expansionist dream of a great Chinese Empire. Pakistan and Sri Lanka and some East European and African countries will soon be reduced to debt-ridden vassal states. China will have unfettered access to raw materials, minerals, trade routes and markets. As British historian Mark Mazower aptly observes in his book ‘Governing the World’, “Internationalism was first and foremost a Euro-American project.  It was a gift the West promised to give the Rest but like all Gifts created its inadequacies and dependencies.” National Interests and ambitions of these dominant powers plus geo-politics will determine what the future of the global order will be. They guard the same with intense zeal. How else does one explain that India as the world’s largest democracy with a 1.3 billion population and the 6th largest economy in the world does not have a permanent seat at the UN Security Council.

And so we wait for the next great experiment which will enamour the world.  Hope it has Humanity at its core. Where basics like food, shelter, health, education, public utilities, law and order will co-exist with entrepreneurship and innovation, aspirations and wealth creation. Where quality of life will also factor in the Happiness Index. The signs are out there with Canada seriously debating about Universal Basic Income and New Zealand raising its minimum hourly wages and taxing its 2% super-rich at 39%. Hopefully, they will bridge the gap between theory and practice by factoring in human nature. And hark back to another Deng Xiao Ping mantra “Of crossing the river by touching the stones.”  Meaning gradual implementation of the reforms or models to know which policies produce favourable outcomes and which do not before they can be implemented across.      

A Strange and Troubled World

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Photo by Drew Hays on Unsplash

We live in disturbing times. Eerily reminiscent of a century back. The Spanish flu, the British and French colonies, the failure of the League of Nations, the rise of Stalin, Mussolini and Hitler and of course the Great Depression.

Take COVID 19 which has brought the world to its knees. The secrecy shrouding its origins and spread- the buck stops with China. Check-out the reckless social behaviour of millions- defying medical science and data. In the US, to wear or not wear a mask has become a political statement.

The anti-mask group belong to the Trump cult. A racist, divisive, incompetent, venal and corrupt President. Surely, the holy Evalengicals would deride and oppose him. No, they are his biggest supporters. A quid-pro-quo to get their agenda on anti-abortion, LGBTQIA+ and immigration passed or ruled into laws.

The most powerful man in the world is Putin’s puppet. The Russian mob-boss and his oligarchs do as they please- manipulate elections and poison their enemies. The former KGB agent has only one life purpose and that is to restore the glory of the former Soviet Union. He has high approval ratings in Russia.

Xi Jinping fancies himself as the Chinese Emperor. He covets lands in India, Bhutan, Nepal, Taiwan , Japan, Philippines and surprise, the city of Vladivostok in Russia. He wants to control the South China sea. His one-belt one road policy is not just the revival of an old trade route. Chinese footprints have reduced Pakistan, Sri Lanka, some African countries to debt-ridden vassal states.

After the collapse of the Soviet bloc, it was hoped that democracy would thrive. Instead, there is a plethora of strongmen across Brazil, Venezuela, Turkey, Hungary, Philippines, North Korea (is he alive?). These authoritarian leaders (some with elected credentials?) take their cue and inspiration from the master manipulator, Putin.

The fickleness and spinelessness of the political class has become obnoxious. In India, the Grand Old Party and their leftist comrades shed copious tears for the plight of the Rohingya Muslims. But there is deafening silence about the incarceration of a million Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang province in China. It does not suit the narrative of these human rights activists. And the Islamic Republic of Pakistan remains subservient and loyal.

Even in the 1990’s the UN, NATO and the ICJ (International Court of Justice) played an effective role in ending the long-drawn genocide and hostilities in Eastern Europe. The Syrian and Yemen conflicts drag on and on. The world has become numb to the devastation and human suffering.

The United Nations is impotent. The US, Russia or China veto whatever does not suit their geopolitics. India should have a permanent seat at the Security Council. The largest democracy of 1.3 billion people and a growing economy does not get a seat at the table.

The WHO has disgraced itself with its mishandling of COVID 19. In the critical first months, it covered up for China and played PR in glowing terms. It called out the pandemic very late and its confusing directives on the spread and even measures like wearing the mask have been very disappointing.

Free media, the vaunted fourth pillar of free nations, is past tense.  Jamal Khashoggi, a well-known Saudi journalist in exile is dismembered in the Saudi embassy in Turkey- on the orders of Prince Salman. The outrage lasts for a few months. Then, it is back to business.

Fox News exemplifies the mockery of an independent, objective media. It has degenerated into a Trump channel. And the President gets his opinions, sound-bites and Twitter content from these TV anchors.

The Virus has dealt a body blow to the world economy. Manufacturing, IT and service sector, airlines, hospitality, tourism, local shopkeepers have all taken the brunt. Especially heartrending is the desperation of the down the line workers with no safety nets and the daily wagers and migrant laborers. Another nightmarish scenario lurks ahead-the eviction of millions of ordinary tenants who are unable to pay their rent.

In the movie “Wall Street” the Gordon Gekko character says the famous lines “Greed is Good”. Mark Zuckerberg of the $ 70 billion Facebook Empire could not agree more. He shrugs off hate content, misinformation and manipulation on his global social platform. It was used to undermine the 2016 US Presidential election and possibly even to swing the Brexit vote. Who cares!

Think Jeff Bezos at Amazon. He runs a boot camp where front-line workers do not have time to even take a leak. Show me the Money. Who Cares!

You can scratch your head on this. The great Warren Buffett has at times paid less Income tax as a percentage than his Secretary!!! With income disparities growing, the top 1% does not pay its fair share of the taxes.

Football is the most popular sport on the planet. Sports transcend borders. It should aspire to higher standards of human behaviour. The powerful apex body FIFA hands over the 2022 world cup to Qatar. Dubious, Controversial. A Disgrace!!! Meanwhile, poor migrant workers slog it out in inhuman conditions to build the grand infrastructure. Hundreds have died.  Deadly silence. When the kick-off happens, blood would have already seeped into the grounds. The players will be left to sweat it out in this hot Gulf country.

George Floyd whispers “I can’t breathe” in a chilling 9 min video as he is murdered by a racist white American cop. In 2020, ‘the land of the free and the brave’ and ‘the leader of the free world’ is a deeply divided and polarised country. Anti-Semitism is again rearing its head in Europe and the US. Fault-lines are developing all over on ethnic, religion or color basis.

Indians also have to wake up to how we treat our North Eastern brethren. Ostracising them for how they look or speak reflects poorly on us. We have a lot to learn from the cultures of this beautiful part of our land.

But there is reason for hope. The Black Lives Matter protests are resonating as never before. The protests in the US and Europe have been largely peaceful and have attracted world-wide attention. Thousands of whites, Asians and Hispanics have joined the cause and taken to the streets.

But as Angela Davies, a black activist, cautions- “It is no longer enough to be a non-racist. One has to be an anti-racist.”

Marquee corporates have started to move away from Facebook to advertise their products and services. The filthy rich billionaire is now being forced to discuss and review the toxic content on the platform.

In India also, many people are turning away from the negativity of their TV channels. These only spew propaganda, bias, hatred and sensationalism. Here’s hoping that we will be slowly moving to more mature and credible content.

Colin Kaepernick, the courageous NFL star, protested against racism a few years back by kneeling during the anthem. He was immediately kicked out of the league and vilified. He may now get a chance to play again this season. The powerful National Football League (host of the Super Bowl) has also publicly apologised for its denial of this serious issue over the years. NASCAR has withdrawn Confederate flags from its car-racing venues- the symbols of slave-owners. Even, statues of knighted and glorified slave traders are being taken down in the UK and Spain. Many players in the revived English Premier League took a knee to show their solidarity in the fight to end racial injustice.

The Indian State of Kerala was the first COVID 19 hotspot. With the Nipah success behind them, the public health officials acted efficiently to contain this new scourge. This southern state can also teach us about the laudable community model policing. With urgent need for police reforms in diverse lands like India, US, UK, Hong Kong, Venezuela, Egypt…… they can take a leaf out of this successful programme.

If the world has to become a better place, civic action and community participation are a must. The bar has been set very low for politicians, public departments, community leaders and business tycoons. It is time for a reckoning. Also time for truth and reconciliation forums. Time to tell the rich and influential that they cannot get away with everything. Take them off the pedestals and hold them accountable.  Only strong institutions and responsible governance can take us across the line. Then and only then can the common citizen- BREATHE.