Its happened all over once again.
Now before you ask what has happened all over again, lets do an "if-then" analysis and then perhaps the thing will become clear.
If : A foreigner celebrity ( read Presidents and Prime Ministers of other nations) visits our country, or decides to visit our country.
Then : What happens?
Then : The India media (and to some extent some Indian people too) goes gaga about the trip. Melodramatic, over excited, out of the mind, exaggerating- all of these and many other words are just indicative of the reactions of Indian media. We seem to be too much obsessed about everything foreign ( read American) and this tendency is at its best when someone says something about India, or someone comes to India.
The Recent trip by the POTUS ( as the White House Officials put it, President of the US) to India, and to some extent the marriage of 'some' Kate Perry and Russell Brand was another case supporting our if-then analysis and validating our opinion about the Indian media.
Even before Mr Obama had actually arrived here, Indian media had tried their best to 'enlighten us' about his "love" for India, his "affection" for India, why India is great (because he is coming), the "special" US- India relationship and much more myriad topics. Some had even taken out supplements describing the importance of this trip and the "greatness: of the President. To compare him with Gandhi was something which very few news channels and newspapers avoided. One thing was common across the supplements, whether it be English media or the vernacular media : There was less of substance and more of fiction in all those articles published and "special" news coverages.
Lets get somethings straight :
There isn't anything like being "special" friend or "strategic" partnership. Its all about plain business and political acumen. US wants to increase exchanges with India as it wants to increase with other countries around the world. The difference may be in the degree of these exchanges and the willingness for it.
India makes sense for the US in ways more than one : India's rising middle class with all their rising income can be a perfect consumer for US ( or other) companies and US does not want to lose out on this, India has been spending on purchasing arms like no other country barring China and US sees a great potential in it. But hold on: All talks of "special" friendship go begging when one considers that US sells weapons to both India and Pakistan. Now it does not require too much wisdom to realise how "special" is this friendship when you sell weapons to both A and B knowing fully well that these will be stocked and used against one other. It is nothing but plain business and US is doing its bit to make the most. If it can sell weapons to both the parties and yet give sermons on peace, US is not going to shy away from it. Afterall, Mr Obama has himself declared openly that every $ 1 billion of exports to India creates 5000 jobs back in the US. That is more important than all those talks of "peace" and "stability" in the region.
What US is doing with Indian now has been previously done with other countries, albeit in a different costume. It starts with political ties, then business ties, and slowly US would start "expecting" that others see the world around them in the fashion US does, or else " either you are with us or you are with them" philosophy becomes the guiding light for the US. One recent example of the Indian policy being coerced by the US was the India's response to IPI ( Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline). The manner in which India withdrew itself from IPI suggested that it had little to do with the practical technical problems of the IPI than more about not annoying the US.
Now coming on the second most important "hyped" up topic: India and the US are the two largest democracies. All these talks of "two great democracies" are also without much substance. India has been a democracy not since last 10 years or 20 years, but since 1947. Did US not notice it earlier? Or has this fact dawned on the US suddenly now?
The reality is that this is another topic on which the US ( and her sympathisers) can harp while she is busy pursuing her strategic interests with India. As long as any country has interests in other country, it will keep on harping on the similarities, while if the interests start to wade, more and more dissimilarities will start emerging in the open. US is different from other countries in the way it seizes an opportunity and the manner in which it goes about the job. US has strategic interests in Saudi Arabia, so democracy is not an issue there. It was not an issue either with Saddam Hussein as long as he was friends with the US.
The reason why US is not on friendly terms with Iran, Myanmar or North Korea is not because they are not democracies, but because these countries have not followed policies which the US ( and on some topics,most of the world) wants. If these countries had toed US line, one bets US would not have problem carrying out business with it. China knows this and therefore it has relations with all these countries. George Bush may have uttered these words " Either you are with us, or you are against us", but this philosophy somehow always appears to be at the background of US policies. What the Indian media should be accused of is that it has overlooked these aspects and has been singing only one tune.
When I say all this, I for no moment say that India must not pursue relationship with the US, but India must do that keeping her interests over and before other party's interests. She must not get carried away ( which unfortunately is the tendency among most of us) by some gestures, or some talks. India must also not compare itself in all spheres with China. Obama may have made lots of fans in India when he said that India is not a developing country anymore, but it has arrived on the big stage already, but I disagree with it. It is nothing but a gimmick to make the other party to feel special. India's growth has no doubt been impressive but it still has a long way to go. All spheres are yet to witness the same growth, some regions are yet to witness growth ( forget about same growth), and to talk that job is done, we are at the world stage is too amateurish to say at least. We must not compare ourselves with China all the time. What we can do is look at China to understand how things can be done in a short span of time. We should look around the world to take the best from everywhere and make it happen in India.
One last thing: learn from history and progress cautiously dealing with US.
Whenever US has been "too friendly" with any other country, that country in eventually has lost its own and independent identity( take UK or Australia for example).
Wow..
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