The intellectual and political capital that is needed for India's G20 premiership to be meaningful is being sucked dry by Russia's colonial war. It isn't a war against India, but it is a war that is taking from India the urgency of action that it was otherwise entitled to receive.
Russia, or more specifically the pandering to Russia as political "virtue signalling" of independence, is a thorn in the paw of true strategic autonomy. This isn't the cold war anymore. There is no need to balance between Russia and the USA, any more than there is a need to balance between Indonesia and the USA. And the costs of this 40-years-ago mindset are real. China is the threat and colonial wars to expand the borders like Russia is waging in Ukraine are of the same model that China would like to pursue on our northern border.
I would not waste my time with Pant. He belongs to the strata of the Indian intellectual class that continues to have a "colonialised" mentality, long after the country has seized to be a colony. They are essentially sheep. I say that because they largely think in lock-step with the prevailing Western media narrative. They cannot imagine India emerging as a multi-aligned pole unto itself. Thankfully, though, the so-called right in India has its own class of intellectuals who have done much to expose the shallow pandering of these hacks.
Mr Pant disappoints me. Well paid academics are supposed to be insulated from material concerns and yet, apparently, that is not always the case. Mr Pant seems to be singing the song the Western power brokers like to hear, and so doing, leaves us to wonder what his motives might be. George Orwell was a highly gifted writer. His first book, "Burmese Days", offered an interesting appraisal of British colonialism with all its thorns and slivers; but but it also offered a convincing portrayal of the Indian comprador bourgeoisie and the influence peddling done by the Indian middle class. Such persons always had on hand "their English man" who could be counted upon to reder favourable decisions for their Indian clients. I don't think India ever fully left off doing business this way as it still seems to be present in Indian foreign policy and foreign business dealings. Influence peddling can also quickly compromise academic reputations. While Indian foreign policy may often run parallel to other countries' interests it is always suseptable to personal gratifications. I don't doubt that a compromised foreign policy is an ever present possibility but its self-serving interests should not be so blatantly evident. India is well known as a country of wise men and competent business dealers but, alas, it is also known as a self-serving country. It is by no means the only self-serving country, but as it vies to be one of the poles of our blossoming multi-polar world it will want to be more discrete. On the world stage Indian academics will have to learn to be more introspective. Running makeup can mar an otherwise beautiful face.
The intellectual and political capital that is needed for India's G20 premiership to be meaningful is being sucked dry by Russia's colonial war. It isn't a war against India, but it is a war that is taking from India the urgency of action that it was otherwise entitled to receive.
Russia, or more specifically the pandering to Russia as political "virtue signalling" of independence, is a thorn in the paw of true strategic autonomy. This isn't the cold war anymore. There is no need to balance between Russia and the USA, any more than there is a need to balance between Indonesia and the USA. And the costs of this 40-years-ago mindset are real. China is the threat and colonial wars to expand the borders like Russia is waging in Ukraine are of the same model that China would like to pursue on our northern border.
I would not waste my time with Pant. He belongs to the strata of the Indian intellectual class that continues to have a "colonialised" mentality, long after the country has seized to be a colony. They are essentially sheep. I say that because they largely think in lock-step with the prevailing Western media narrative. They cannot imagine India emerging as a multi-aligned pole unto itself. Thankfully, though, the so-called right in India has its own class of intellectuals who have done much to expose the shallow pandering of these hacks.
Mr Pant disappoints me. Well paid academics are supposed to be insulated from material concerns and yet, apparently, that is not always the case. Mr Pant seems to be singing the song the Western power brokers like to hear, and so doing, leaves us to wonder what his motives might be. George Orwell was a highly gifted writer. His first book, "Burmese Days", offered an interesting appraisal of British colonialism with all its thorns and slivers; but but it also offered a convincing portrayal of the Indian comprador bourgeoisie and the influence peddling done by the Indian middle class. Such persons always had on hand "their English man" who could be counted upon to reder favourable decisions for their Indian clients. I don't think India ever fully left off doing business this way as it still seems to be present in Indian foreign policy and foreign business dealings. Influence peddling can also quickly compromise academic reputations. While Indian foreign policy may often run parallel to other countries' interests it is always suseptable to personal gratifications. I don't doubt that a compromised foreign policy is an ever present possibility but its self-serving interests should not be so blatantly evident. India is well known as a country of wise men and competent business dealers but, alas, it is also known as a self-serving country. It is by no means the only self-serving country, but as it vies to be one of the poles of our blossoming multi-polar world it will want to be more discrete. On the world stage Indian academics will have to learn to be more introspective. Running makeup can mar an otherwise beautiful face.
He sounds like a man on the NED/Soros payroll.