As the saying goes ‘The whole world is run on bluff’, it often becomes hard to differentiate between a moral stand and a bluff overplayed by a ruling regime. Wars and tragedies stemming from the womb of major conflicts often serve as a yardstick to measure the moral depth of a nation. Tall claims of morality usually diminish in the realm of international relations especially when it comes to the interests of a particular nation.
The Russia-Ukraine war, Gaza tragedy and unrest in Afghanistan have thoroughly unmasked the so-called champions of humanity, liberal values and secularism. Though, the West is known for its double speak on various international issues, now, India has also started following the footsteps of her strategic allies blatantly. Ukraine is a darling of the West primarily because of the Russian factor. Moral and material support rendered to Ukraine by the Western quarters must not be taken into account to assess the moral uprightness against aggression or invasion.
Scales of morality abruptly change on the inhuman Israeli atrocities in Gaza merely because the aggressor Israel happens to be the blue-eyed ally of most of the Western governments. Interestingly rather ironically, all the pretending supporters of Ukraine predominantly NATO members are extraordinarily hesitant in offering the membership of the alliance to Kiev. Foundations of the so-called principled stand are too weak to sustain the likely Russian reaction. Western support for Ukraine short of NATO membership simply means that none of the countries would dare to stand on the battlefield with Ukraine in case of physical attacks by Russian forces. It is hard to deny that such carefully calculated and hesitant support actually damaged more than benefitted Ukraine.
Gaza war has drawn clear lines separating the supporters of the genocidal Israeli regime from those who are challenging the inhuman atrocities against Palestinians. Western liberal quarters usually seen as extra vocal on the issues of human rights and religious extremism are meaningfully tight-lipped on the planned genocide in Gaza. India, under the watch of PM Narinder Modi, is setting the new standards of diplomatic hypocrisy. It was expected by the Western quarters that India would stand side-by-side in condemnation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Expectations were high because India happened to be an active member of QUAD and officially declared a strategic ally of the USA. Against Western expectations, India avoided open condemnation of the Russian invasion and mildly urged both countries for restoration of peace without escalating the war. When the US and its EU allies were imposing sanctions on Russia, it was India which enhanced the trade, especially oil imports with Moscow. This Indian move actually helped Russia in mitigating the final pressure built by the Western rivals. India opted to abstain from voting on the resolution against the Russian invasion at UNO. Such open deviations of a strategic ally like India are continuously irking the US and other NATO members.
India seems least pushed about her declining strategic credibility. Drifting from a declared principled stance means nothing for the Modi regime in pursuit of national interests. After securing a third term in the PM house with a bruised election victory, Modi met Putin during the annual India-Russia summit earlier in July. Obviously, this meeting is aimed at solidifying the bilateral ties but its irking effect on the USA is also understandable.
Over a period of time, India has thrown away the idea of non-alignment initially conceived by Nehru. Blatant support of India to Israeli war crimes against Palestinians is another reflection of the moral decline of the Modi regime. Reportedly, India supplied a huge quantity of ammunition to Israel during the ongoing Gaza war which is nothing short of facilitating the genocide. Besides diplomatic support, Indian media adopted a pro-Israel biased line and portrayed the victim Palestinians as terrorists. While bulldozing the mosques in the homeland, Modi as a flagbearer of Hindutva, managed to inaugurate a Hindu temple on Middle Eastern soil.
The shrewd manifestation of Indian diplomacy in ME might be remembered as a success story but its hypocritical side would always be a stigma for the so-called largest democracy. The nature of recent ties of India with the unelected regime of the Afghan Taliban is another story of diplomatic hypocrisy. For long, India has been treating the Afghan Taliban as a terrorist group. The closure of the Indian embassy after the swift takeover of the Taliban in Kabul was actually the logical outcome of decades-long mistrust. Things have entirely changed on this account as well.
Growing warmth in Indian ties with an unelected regime revolving around gaining space in the backyard of Pakistan. It looks dubious, when an extremist Hindutva cult is known for anti-Muslim violent policies, all of a sudden jumps in Afghanistan for the welfare of none other than the Afghan Muslims. India has taken the lead on her allies in running the whole world on the bluff!
