By Sandip Ghose
In hindsight, it turns out India was a role model on all fronts, from its management of the economy to vaccination and containing casualties.
Agency
George Soros has been grabbing more headlines and airtime in India over the last few days than he has probably done in the rest of the world all these years despite his billions. And the global news channel—BBC—has itself become a newsmaker with its two-part documentary on Narendra Modi. While the Opposition and critics of Modi were quick to latch on to these as indictments of Modi and his regime, the government reacted sharply. Some felt the Centre’s response was over-the-top, Ireinforcing its image of intolerance of criticism. It said the BBC was a habitual offender trying to impose its Leftist agenda on former British colonies. India’s Foreign Minister S Jaishankar described George Soros as an “old, rich, opinionated and dangerous” man.
There is no doubt that the official statements were well-considered and calibrated. Jaishankar later said in an interview that the timing of the documentary was not accidental. He called it “politics by other means”. He further stated that “sometimes, politics of India didn’t even originate in its borders but came from outside”, adding, “I don’t know if the election season has started in India, Delhi or not, but, for sure it has started in London, New York.”
Many felt a sense of déjà vu hearing these statements, which echoed the frequent reference to the ubiquitous “foreign hand” repeatedly invoked by Indira Gandhi in the Seventies. They may not be entirely off the mark. But it does not mean that the apprehensions of the Modi administration are imaginary and Indira Gandhi’s fears were unfounded. The denouement of her political career tends to support the conspiracy theories propounded by her.
Declassified documents from the United States and other governments that have since come to light have established that India was a major playground of foreign intelligence agencies during the Cold War era. There is enough evidence to indicate that apart from journalists, even politicians were in the pay of the CIA and KGB. It is suspected that there were moles in Indira Gandhi’s council of ministers as well. However, the game was covert then. But now Soros’ statement has brought it out in the open. Besides, he has not made any secret of the funds he has committed to various individuals, institutions, media outlets and NGOs to usher in a regime change in India. Soros’ attempt to link the meltdown in the Adani Group of companies with Narendra Modi’s fortunes arouses suspicion about his role in the scourge of the Indian stock market. Similarly, the BBC documentary is nothing but a frontal attack on Modi.
Understandably, the narrative of Soros and BBC is music to the ears of Modi’s detractors. But it raises far more fundamental issues, both internal and external. Between the BBC film and Soros’ statement, the latter has more serious implications. At one level, Soros is an individual. However, his links with the current United States administration and the fact that he is one of the largest donors of the US Democratic party are well known. This is bound to fuel speculations about his ability to influence US foreign policy. Consider a hypothetical situation in which an Indian tycoon commits his resources to destabilise the government in a neighbouring country. How would the world, or for that matter, the champions of democracy in India who have discovered a new messiah in Soros, view it? This is far too serious a matter to be left for the media to decide, and the government has done well to take the proverbial bull by its horn or, in this case, the bear by the ears.
The BBC saga has another dimension. Seen as a continuum of critical coverage of India across several Left-leaning global media brands, it appears to be a part of a well-orchestrated and concerted campaign to defame the present dispensation. The pattern can be traced to when India was mischievously maligned for its handling of Covid. In hindsight, it turns out India was a role model on all fronts, from its management of the economy to vaccination and containing casualties. Even during that period, the BBC had led the charge with misleading reports. One can ask why the Indian government should be prickly about what is appearing in the foreign press if the masses are unmoved by such partisan reportage. The answer lies in what it means for our democracy. The government seems to think it is a sinister attempt to supplant the mandate with the designs of a minuscule minority who have traditionally held sway over the country’s affairs.
The Modi government is not in the mood to relent from all indications. Apart from giving back to Soros as good as it got, it rewarded the BBC’s India office with an “Income Tax Survey”, which has reportedly unearthed large discrepancies in its financial returns. Be that as it may, the government’s message is loud and clear: “Don’t mess with us”. So, what has changed between the Seventies and now? The answer is simple: India’s global standing has risen phenomenally. From being a member of the “fragile five” during the pandemic, India had the resilience to come out as “anti-fragile”. With the global economy in the doldrums, the West needs India more than ever before. That was the underlying message of the recent aircraft deal with Boeing and Airbus, which Biden, Macron and Sunak did not miss. At the end of the day, the West is ideologically agnostic and values trade above everything else. Add to that India’s geo-strategic importance in the context of China and Central Asia. The West knows destabilising India politically cannot be in their interest. That is Modi’s trump card both at home and abroad.
(The writer is Journalist)
