THE WORLD AND THE FAR RIGHT
“The far right too is multiracial.” In liberal and left circles in the U.S., this “discovery” has become a common refrain in efforts to explain the rise in Trump’s Latino, Asian and African American vote.
It should however be asked: Was there ever a time when the darker skinned of the world, whether they lived in the U.S. or in Latin America, Asia, or Africa, did not include among themselves a good chunk of right-wingers? Was love of wealth, of money, and of power, or love of enterprise and of free enterprise, or love of ill-gotten wealth and ill-gotten power, always confined to the white race?
Or to people only of European origin? Moreover, did countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America never have dictators? Should it really be shocking that “colored” people living in the U.S. are as susceptible as America’s whites to an anti-elite manifesto? And to promises of strong action against “criminals” and “drug-spreading immigrants”?
In my mind, such questions are firmly joined to another question, a crucial one, which thus far a majority of America’s liberals and progressives have sadly run away from. Can you really say you are passionate for democratic liberties, for equal rights, and for the American Constitution, when you remain silent about cruelties and excesses elsewhere in the world?
SEALED LIPS
When you are not only silent over ethnic cleansing in Gaza but in fact support it with dollars and weapons? When you are totally silent about open declarations of annexation and ethnic cleansing in Palestine? When you are completely silent also about attacks on democratic institutions, and campaigns of falsehood and hate, in a huge country like India because you think that the government there would be a useful partner in your contestation with China?
Can you really fight racial supremacy in the U.S. when at the same time you seal your lips as forces in India work round the clock to establish the supremacy of that country’s Hindus over its Muslims, Christians, and Sikhs?
I should be forgiven if while making a broad point I also focus on India. Its immense numbers (more than 1.4 billion, i.e. four times the U.S. population) as also the skills and talents of its people, who after migration have attained prominent and even dominant positions in some other countries, make India a powerful player in the world.
Everyone knows that Americans with origins in India are influential in both the Republican and the Democratic parties. A woman whose mother was born in India, and whose father was born in Jamaica, came close to becoming the American president. Another woman with close India connections will soon be the U.S.’s Second Lady.
WHAT ARE THE RISKS?
I must record my deep disappointment that silence over assaults on democracy in India has been the public posture of most politically influential Indian Americans. I don’t know whether these silent public figures – silent on happenings in India – even have relatives or properties in India to worry about. Which may mean that they can speak frankly without risking too much. Even now they can raise their voice and speak about steps against democracy in India and thereby assist the cause of liberty and equality everywhere. Including in the U.S.
I am not claiming that frank criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza, or of assaults on democracy in India, would have produced a Harris victory earlier this month. Yet I am suggesting that consistency on fundamental matters would not only not have done any harm. It would have strengthened a sense that America’s liberals and progressives are committed to great human goals and are in politics for more than temporary fame and transient power.
Some have suggested that there exists, among the American people, an indescribable, unwritten commitment to democracy, which ultimately is a force even more powerful than the White House, the Senate, the House, and the Supreme Court. A force that could act through citizens, journalists, lawyers, civil servants, judges, and others. The world must hope that this is the case.
ELON MUSK & GAUTAM ADANI
While the Trump-Musk partnership and its future is bound to interest many in the world, in India there is excitement over the evident revelation that five years ago, in 2019, India’s richest individual, Gautam Adani, who owns ports, air terminals, minerals and much else across the planet, took an active part in the formation, through defections, of a pro-Modi government in India’s most prosperous state, Maharashtra.
The revelation was made by Ajit Pawar, major Maharashtra politician and close ally of Modi and Modi’s party, the BJP, in an interview with respected journalist Sreenivasan Jain for the online portal, The News Minute. In remarks widely screened via YouTube, Pawar told Jain that Adani had first flown to New Delhi with Pawar to meet Amit Shah (Modi’s Home Minister) and then taken part in a meeting in Mumbai, the Maharashtra capital, with Pawar, Shah and other politicians to discuss the formation of a new government.
Since Adani is continually in negotiation with the Maharashtra government for buying land and launching new projects in the state, his direct participation in talks on government formation there raises major ethical and legal issues.
Fearful and cautious, India’s major TV channels do not seem to have reported the apparent revelation, but part of the Pawar-Jain conversation may be seen here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2xK20pNLSw
Shortly after Jain’s interview was shown on The News Minute, Flora Swain of the Indian Express talked about it, as may be seen here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhoSjKvgH7M
Satya Hindi, another YouTube channel, presented a discussion on the subject:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Akl3LQ3MCok
The story is not likely to go away.
