George Bush on India's Eating Habits!

Bush said it- bluntly. as he always does. blunt talk. Many tend to dismiss him as cerebrally challenged when he comes out with these what appears to be his usual foot-in-the-mouth statements. The fact is, he was only voicing what the policy makers of America always believed in – no Asian country , be it Iraq or Iran or India, had any right to existence if they posed a threat to American economic interests. Bush was always the voice of the selfish, self-centred uncle sam who honestly believes in making the world safe for America at any cost. He is undiplomatically frank about it. Years back, Woodrew Wilson delicately rationalized Americas entry into the first world war with that ‘makng the world safe for democracy” bit, when actually what he meant was making the world safe for America. That is the great American dream, whatever else idealists might eulogise.


Ok. What if Indians are eating nutritious food and, as a result, the world is ravaged by inflation? What should India do? Starve her people so that American inflation can be capped? Condolleeza Rice’s anxiety about India putting a cap on exports to feed her increasingly affluent population, thereby causing supply shortage in the first world has, one must assume, made her president paranoid. His earlier paranoia led him to create havoc in Afghanistan and Iraq. He still harbours paranoia about Iran. Now it is India that haunts his nightmares. Guess it is China’s devil may care attitude arising from military and economic strengths that prompts him to keep silent about the eating habits of the Chinese people!

Ominous statements that cannot be ignored or taken lightly. Since independence, India has managed to retain her identity in her foreign and domestic policies. Her Non alignment policy, closed economy, nuclear programme, her pro-active role in Bangla Desh liberation and the successful run of democracy for six decades have made the world sit up and look at her as a force to be reckoned with. But the US did not feel threatened by her because poverty and famine were her companions in the post independence period. Now that India has achieved self sufficiency in food, and is well on the way to becoming a super power who can call the shots on many issues, uncle sam is getting jittery.

In the context of such menacing statements, it becomes very important that India strengthens herself politically, economically and militarily. This is a warning to all political parties to keep aside their individual agendas and behave responsibly in a statesmen like manner. The statement of the president of America cannot be dismissed as a gauche turn of phrase.