It feels like a Pakistani dictator is ruling us
Never before has an Indian prime minister gained so much popularity in his homeland for his vociferously tom-tommed proximity with a foreign superpower.
This dangerous showmanship smacks of a leader and a party having no sense of direction or specific action plan. How else will our "heroic" prime minister distract the people from empty promises he made before coming to power?
One does not have to go too far to see the razor's edge we are treading on if this trend continues.
Dictators
One must realise that this is exactly how the dictators of Pakistan have fooled their countrymen. We too will bleed like them and many others who have chosen this path. Because of the US, the Third World remains a wretched place today.
America's understanding of its engagement with any developing country is clear and its policy has been demonstrated repeatedly. Juice the relationship till the sugar keeps coming.
When done, stick it in some corner and forget about it. This is how it is and has historically been.
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| Narendra Modi and Barack Obama during the NSG meet. (Reuters) |
There are two types of dictators/leaders who sway their own people's opinion using America as a pivot. In 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini did it, by raising the slogan "Death to America" and managed to rally all Iranians behind himself.
Around the same time Saddam Hussein did the same and his nation stood as one behind him, or so they say. Most recently Venezuela's Hugo Chavez did it and rallied support around his Left-leaning politics.
But of all these people the most remarkable man with amazing results is the relatively young and seemingly inexperienced dictator from North Korea - Kim Jong-un.
Then, there was Yahya Khan, followed by Zia-ul-Haq and Pervez Musharraf, who in turn are now followed by every other Pakistani general/prime minister.
They were seen as allies of America for nearly half a century before the 9/11 attacks happened. Zia orchestrated Charlie's War in 1979 against the Russians in Afghanistan using his leverage with both the US and Pakistan, to solidify his position from a usurper to a political leader.
Yahya Khan opened the gates of his highly secret hangars in Peshawar to let in the American U2 spy plane which Gary Powers flew and was shot down in the erstwhile Soviet Union - the incident which Steven Spielberg recently showcased in the film Bridge of Spies.
So what is every potential Pakistani dictator's ticket to power? That he is a "friend" of America and the US needs him. It is the same image Britain has had for a very long time and for which the rest of Europe has resented it.
It is this very image that Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is trying to live down. In spite of having hosted the Incirlik airforce base for American sorties all over the Middle East and for amping up the pressure on the Adriatic and the Black Sea against the Russians.
But America is no friend of anyone. And Erdoğan has seen it most recently in Syria and Iraq where the US is playing the Kurds against Turkey, much to his displeasure.
Terrorism
Look at Pakistan. When it was convenient, it was an ally in America's war on terror. But, both CIA and other US planners realised that America's meddling in Pakistan was isolating it across the world.
And so it began distancing itself from Islamabad. So much so that even the F-16s that Pakistan was promised for so long are finally not being delivered to it.
Therefore, being America's friend is fraught with dangers, especially if you are a Third World country. It is horrifying to note that Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are faltering economically and they have both been fully integrated into the American system.
In case of Pakistan, the tail had begun to feel that it was wagging the dog. But the country has been learning a hard lesson, of late. It has been given the cold shoulder almost to the point of humiliation.
Connect
In the past, however, there have been levers that countries connected with America would use to get the US to move or act in their favour. In the case of Pakistan, it was always the terrorism lever. So America would yield a little to silence it.
In case of Saudi Arabia, the lever was petrol and petroleum products. But ever since petroleum prices have crashed, Saudis have been losing their importance.
With limited resources, a huge population, extreme poverty and a window of opportunity that is not going to remain open for a very long time, you can either open it to Americans or you can open it to your countrymen.
Our PM is choosing to open it to the Americans and not to his own countrymen. Indeed, the rich in India will only become richer, but the middle class and the poor will be hit badly.
But Modi's propaganda machinery is so well-oiled that every problem that he faces is a legacy of the past. Do think about how long Pakistan been a so-called friend of America?
And where is its economy and socio-political stability? Has America found a new Pakistan? Is Modi the new Zia/Musharraf? I shudder to think of the consequences.
It is up to India whether it wants to be the isotope or the singular element.
(Courtesy of Mail Today.)