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Mihir S Sharma: Our shameful kowtow
Mihir S Sharma / Mar 31, 2012, 00:18 IST
The awe-inspiring leadership of the Peoples Republic of China probably doesnt concern itself much about public opinion among those people not fortunate enough to be born Chinese. But they certainly scored a pretty impressive own-goal during the BRICS summit in New Delhi last week, efficiently aided by Indias timorous leadership. It isnt just that the Chinese delegation at the Oberoi ate all the mutton chops at the lunch buffet (true) or that they shut off all traffic around Khan market at lunchtime (also true) although a power that carelessly antagonises Lutyens Delhi lunchers is unwisely overconfident.
It was, of course, what millions of Delhiites saw that will have turned them off China-sympathy: Tibetans being rounded up, made to squat in the sun; the ever-sensitive Delhi Police indulging in the worst sort of racial profiling, demanding that people who look even vaguely Tibetan prove their credentials or be locked up. People of Manipuri descent wondered why they left home without their passports. Those living in dozens of Tibetan-dominated areas were cordoned off from the rest of the city like Palestinians on the West Bank. The Tibetan poet, Tenzin Tsundue, was bundled offstage by the cops after an academic discussion at the India Habitat Centre, and sent to Tihar.
Was there, perhaps, an even minimally credible threat to the life of Our Glorious Leader, Hu Jintao? No. Because the Tibetan movement has always been resolutely non-violent. Indeed, that has been Indias price for the grudging asylum we have provided them. In spite of that, the Chinese government had the gall to issue a statement thanking India for cracking down on Tibetans and finally recognising the troubles that they present. Given that any real law-and-order threat only exists in the deceitful newspeak of a totalitarian party, why has Indias craven government undermined its pretensions to democracy and its only real argument for running a better state than Chinas by beating up and jailing its own, non-violent citizens?
Because heaven forfend the Chinese dictator see a Tibetan flag hanging limply somewhere. Man! It would be 1962 all over again. As it is, he almost had an aneurysm when watching the original cut of Sadda Haq from Rockstar. Thank heavens the Censor Board prevented an all-fronts invasion that time by forcing the blurring of Free Tibet posters in the video.
The Indian government cannot afford people to start looking more closely at its continued kowtowing to China. (Kowtow: verb, meaning to kneel and touch the ground with the forehead in submission, as to the Chinese emperor.) It should fear its citizens waking up to this, because far too much of its foreign policy is predicated on placating the Chinese. This comes about because of an odd political coalition between a government and prime minister too eager to crash a world stage without any apparent understanding of what global power entails; and an elite that is capable of any sort of intellectual dishonesty in the service of an ingrained anti-Americanism.
Consider the organisation that caused New Delhi to be graced by the presence of President Hu. (And three other leaders, none of which expected people to be rounded up as sacrifices to herald their arrival.) India preferred the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) grouping, but because the Chinese and the Russians wanted a forum in which they could denounce the West, India assented to the BRICS idea. For Indias leaders, the more summits they have to prepare for, the better. No matter that the BRICS have nothing whatsoever in common, and have spectacularly failed in any sort of international coordination.
India has gone further, helping to derail climate-change talks by allowing itself to be bracketed with China in the worlds eyes, although China pollutes much more per capita than India does. It has stood with China at trade talks in spite of the fact that China is the worlds worst trade offender and, it has been persuasively argued, is dumping goods in India that could destroy our manufacturing base. But it doesnt matter; international photo-ops are what matter on Raisina Hill, a reminder to our restive population that its unpopular government is so beloved in the chancelleries of the world. Dr Singh and Mr Krishna need a reminder perhaps: Beijing doesnt have a vote in India except one or two indirectly, one surmises, in the Rajya Sabha.
Indias government has been allowed to get away with this because it has not been held to account. This is because some of Indias best policy minds are in thrall to the idea that India must, of necessity, benefit most in a world in which China has greater power. Why? Because, in their confused notion of how global power equations work, that means that America has less. And America, as we all know, is Bad. It persecutes Muslims no mention of Xinjiang, please, and so what if Barack Obama thankfully didnt expect Indians who looked Muslim to be locked up when he arrived in town. (Can you imagine the articulate protests from our now-silent independent thinkers if he had?)
This policy elite is firmly convinced that India has a moral imperative and historic destiny to help balance the scales against American power. If America is Bad, and China the only real challenger in sight, then a government suspected of not hating America enough will go unquestioned when it bends over backward to please Chinas leaders. Position papers will argue for rebalancing and such. But dont get fooled: its just another word for kowtowing.
Mihir S Sharma: Our shameful kowtow
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Its really discouraging to see our present government bending over backwards to appease everyone. My only hope is that our establishment has some actual strategy in place when all this hits the fan. That being said, i am appreciative of our efforts in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, African continent and in international forums to improve India's image.
Mihir S Sharma / Mar 31, 2012, 00:18 IST
The awe-inspiring leadership of the Peoples Republic of China probably doesnt concern itself much about public opinion among those people not fortunate enough to be born Chinese. But they certainly scored a pretty impressive own-goal during the BRICS summit in New Delhi last week, efficiently aided by Indias timorous leadership. It isnt just that the Chinese delegation at the Oberoi ate all the mutton chops at the lunch buffet (true) or that they shut off all traffic around Khan market at lunchtime (also true) although a power that carelessly antagonises Lutyens Delhi lunchers is unwisely overconfident.
It was, of course, what millions of Delhiites saw that will have turned them off China-sympathy: Tibetans being rounded up, made to squat in the sun; the ever-sensitive Delhi Police indulging in the worst sort of racial profiling, demanding that people who look even vaguely Tibetan prove their credentials or be locked up. People of Manipuri descent wondered why they left home without their passports. Those living in dozens of Tibetan-dominated areas were cordoned off from the rest of the city like Palestinians on the West Bank. The Tibetan poet, Tenzin Tsundue, was bundled offstage by the cops after an academic discussion at the India Habitat Centre, and sent to Tihar.
Was there, perhaps, an even minimally credible threat to the life of Our Glorious Leader, Hu Jintao? No. Because the Tibetan movement has always been resolutely non-violent. Indeed, that has been Indias price for the grudging asylum we have provided them. In spite of that, the Chinese government had the gall to issue a statement thanking India for cracking down on Tibetans and finally recognising the troubles that they present. Given that any real law-and-order threat only exists in the deceitful newspeak of a totalitarian party, why has Indias craven government undermined its pretensions to democracy and its only real argument for running a better state than Chinas by beating up and jailing its own, non-violent citizens?
Because heaven forfend the Chinese dictator see a Tibetan flag hanging limply somewhere. Man! It would be 1962 all over again. As it is, he almost had an aneurysm when watching the original cut of Sadda Haq from Rockstar. Thank heavens the Censor Board prevented an all-fronts invasion that time by forcing the blurring of Free Tibet posters in the video.
The Indian government cannot afford people to start looking more closely at its continued kowtowing to China. (Kowtow: verb, meaning to kneel and touch the ground with the forehead in submission, as to the Chinese emperor.) It should fear its citizens waking up to this, because far too much of its foreign policy is predicated on placating the Chinese. This comes about because of an odd political coalition between a government and prime minister too eager to crash a world stage without any apparent understanding of what global power entails; and an elite that is capable of any sort of intellectual dishonesty in the service of an ingrained anti-Americanism.
Consider the organisation that caused New Delhi to be graced by the presence of President Hu. (And three other leaders, none of which expected people to be rounded up as sacrifices to herald their arrival.) India preferred the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) grouping, but because the Chinese and the Russians wanted a forum in which they could denounce the West, India assented to the BRICS idea. For Indias leaders, the more summits they have to prepare for, the better. No matter that the BRICS have nothing whatsoever in common, and have spectacularly failed in any sort of international coordination.
India has gone further, helping to derail climate-change talks by allowing itself to be bracketed with China in the worlds eyes, although China pollutes much more per capita than India does. It has stood with China at trade talks in spite of the fact that China is the worlds worst trade offender and, it has been persuasively argued, is dumping goods in India that could destroy our manufacturing base. But it doesnt matter; international photo-ops are what matter on Raisina Hill, a reminder to our restive population that its unpopular government is so beloved in the chancelleries of the world. Dr Singh and Mr Krishna need a reminder perhaps: Beijing doesnt have a vote in India except one or two indirectly, one surmises, in the Rajya Sabha.
Indias government has been allowed to get away with this because it has not been held to account. This is because some of Indias best policy minds are in thrall to the idea that India must, of necessity, benefit most in a world in which China has greater power. Why? Because, in their confused notion of how global power equations work, that means that America has less. And America, as we all know, is Bad. It persecutes Muslims no mention of Xinjiang, please, and so what if Barack Obama thankfully didnt expect Indians who looked Muslim to be locked up when he arrived in town. (Can you imagine the articulate protests from our now-silent independent thinkers if he had?)
This policy elite is firmly convinced that India has a moral imperative and historic destiny to help balance the scales against American power. If America is Bad, and China the only real challenger in sight, then a government suspected of not hating America enough will go unquestioned when it bends over backward to please Chinas leaders. Position papers will argue for rebalancing and such. But dont get fooled: its just another word for kowtowing.
Mihir S Sharma: Our shameful kowtow
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Its really discouraging to see our present government bending over backwards to appease everyone. My only hope is that our establishment has some actual strategy in place when all this hits the fan. That being said, i am appreciative of our efforts in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, African continent and in international forums to improve India's image.
