Other Side of the Modi Bhakt Coin

In a recent post by Mohammed Zeeshan, I saw how viewing everything about India through the prism of Modi can blind you. For example, he can’t see that foreign policy don’t win votes and elections domestically – so that is an area which isn’t influenced (often or much) by domestic politics. Except perhaps in case of Pakistan matters, but that’s an exception.

 

Zeeshan writes at length about concerns in some pockets of the US foreign policy organization about India, specifically “What are… (Americans) getting out of this relationship?”. The irritants included India’s lack of support on Ukraine or Taiwan; that it won’t fight alongside US forces anywhere (e.g. the Suez/Red Sea now); and the fact that it felt emboldened enough to target a US citizen that they considered a terrorist on American soil.

 

And yet, America continues to support and woo India, sell higher end military tech, he says. Why, he wonders? More importantly, how long before concerns like the one listed above start to influence American policy, he asks?

 

If one isn’t biased by anti-Modi sentiment, the reasons are obvious. It is about India’s economic clout, the fact that it is only expected to grow a lot more, and its importance as a counterweight to China.

 

The other aspect he seems to forget is that, unlike Europe which needs America militarily, India doesn’t. The Himalayas severely restrict the Chinese threat. Nor, unlike Europe, does India believe America will come to its aid militarily in the event of any war. All of which means India is not obligated to align with American foreign policy the way Europe needs to.

 

Zeeshan could have looked at why neither India nor China is willing to operate in the Suez or Red Sea as part of any Western alliance. Some reasons for this are country-specific – China’s navy, for example, is not capable today of operating in the Middle East, whereas the Indian navy can and does operate in the region. There’s also a common reason why neither country will operate with the West in that region. Because, unlike for America (and thus the West), Iran is not an enemy. Operating with the West will inevitably drag us (and China) into a confrontation with Iran – why on earth would either country sign up for that?

 

The recent multi-lateral navy exercise hosted by the Indian Navy is also a clear sign that we decide who our friends and enemies are. I was amused that the exercise included warships from America, Russia and Iran (among many others). Imagine that!

 

The other side of the Modi bhakt coin are folks like Zeeshan who are so blinded by their dislike for Modi that they can’t see which aspects of India are about our self-interest as a nation, and totally independent of Modi.