News coming from the United States says that former President and next Republican Presidential hopeful Donald Trump has been banned by judges in Colorado from participating in the state’s primary ballot ahead of the Presidential elections next year. The verdict was given by judges appointed by the Democratic governor of the state and is obviously political. The elections are around a year away and the decision will be challenged in the US Supreme Court and is more than likely to be overturned. But that is not the point. The issue is about forcefully attempting to subvert people’s will by not allowing their preferred candidate to contest. The buzz is that if Donald Trump contests, there is a possibility that he will return as US President. It’s to nip that possibility in the bud that the current Democratic establishment is using all means possible, including sending Trump to jail, to stop him from running. In this they have the support of those who are known as RINOs—Republicans In Name Only. Trump is a controversial public figure, with his utterances and behaviour during his Presidency leaving much to be desired. But he is still hugely popular, even though he lost the last Presidential election to Joe Biden. Large swathes of people voted for him—over 70 million—and will likely vote for him again if he runs. Hence, the only way to thwart him is by blocking him from contesting—by knocking him out of the race on what his supporters claim are fake charges. Trump is an inconvenient candidate for the Washington Beltway, the real establishment with both Democrats and Republicans being part of it. The problem is that these people will not wait for the voters to show him the door, but will brazenly subvert democracy in the name of saving the US. Interestingly, not a word of protest on this is coming from the US mainstream media or activists, the self-appointed upholders of democracy and liberal values. Instead, such is the “liberal” hatred for Trump, there is constant justification for whatever is being done to him.
Now imagine something similar happening in India and the cacophony emanating from the US. India has been facing a deluge of criticism for the so-called backsliding of democracy. When Rahul Gandhi was suspended from Parliament by a court verdict, it was taken as proof of the near demise of democracy in India. Take the latest round of suspensions from Parliament, and it will not be a surprise to see it being built up as the final proof of the death of democracy in India. Given that the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) rules will be made public early next year, expect mayhem to be unleashed by certain quarters, with the usual suspects escalating matters globally, propagating the fake claim that the minorities in India are being disenfranchised. In fact, the government needs to handle this matter extremely sensitively, as the path forward will be riddled with misinformation and disinformation in these testing times. Already, one US government affiliated organisation, USCIRF, is pushing for sanctions on India because of allegations of a so-called Indian government official plotting to murder Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on US soil. In fact, it is strange that the US is allowing the Pannun issue to impact India-US relations, at least in public perception—and this in spite of Joe Biden’s claim that the India-US relationship is the most consequential of this century. A known terrorist like Pannun is being described as an activist by US government officials. Now that the family of Nikhil Gupta, the alleged middleman in the Pannun case, has gone to the Indian Supreme Court, it will be interesting to see how the US defends a known terrorist in the Indian court. Given this scenario, it is but natural that questions will rise if the US is using the Pannun case to arm-twist India to extract some concessions from it on some matter. It seems, as far as the US is concerned, democracy and liberal values are just another tool to be weaponized at its convenience even against friendly countries. And then US policymakers wonder why they are looked at with suspicion by a large part of the world.
Take Bangladesh for example, What sort of a democracy is the US promoting there, by throwing in its lot with the opposition BNP and the radical Jamaatis? Is it stemming from the influence that Wahhabi elements have on US policy? After all the US is allowing war criminals from Bangladesh to run amok on its soil—war criminals who are part of the worldwide Wahhabi project and are acting not only against the current Hasina government but also against India. In his “values based” foreign policy that the Biden administration pursues, it is the values that are in short supply. What democratic value does the Pakistan Army chief bring to the table, so that General Asim Munir gets an audience with the civilian leaders in Washington DC during his recent visit? By what yardstick is Pakistan more democratic than Bangladesh? Why isn’t there a word from Washington about the annihilation of the minority population in Pakistan? Is it because Pakistan is important in the US’ geopolitical scheme of things, but not Bangladesh? The message that the US is giving to the world is that self-interest trumps democracy any day internationally. Something similar seems to be happening in the US domestically too—and all this, while simultaneously glorifying liberal democratic values. What a sad fall for the land that considers itself to be the beacon of freedom.
