The Indian Left is incapable of adjusting to the changing world order. US President Barack Obama’s second visit to India has driven it to a meaningless indulgence in anti-US rhetoric. It is planning to stage a protest against Obama’s visit, oblivious of the fact that a US President will for the first time be chief guest at the Republic Day function in New Delhi. This occasion signifies that India-US relations are poised for a great leap forward, to borrow a phrase from Mao Zedong. Narendra Modi has been Prime Minister of India for just over a year. He was anathema to the US for his alleged involvement in the Gujarat massacre of 2002. But the US mindset has changed leading to great expectations. It is understandable that the Indian Left does not see eye to eye with the Modi Sarkar on many issues. Obama’s foreign policy, especially regarding the Russia-Ukraine standoff and the West Asian imbroglio, does not go down well with the Indian Left but that does not justify showing discourtesy to the US President on such a historic occasion.
The Indian Left appears to have forgotten that Mao was more than enthusiastic about his memorable encounter with US President Richard Nixon in Beijing in 1972. American imperialism and even the US presence in Vietnam did not cast a shadow. Cuba has recently decided to normalize relations with the US. But the Indian Left is stuck in the old groove. What does it expect from stopping India-US collaborations? The Left, smarting under its defeat in West Bengal and Kerala, can hardly offer an alternative. It cannot really justify its opposition to the US presence in Afghanistan as that would be tantamount to shaking hands with the obscurantist Taliban. Russia is no longer a Communist country and is pursuing an irredentist policy towards Ukraine. The Left should be aware that India can hardly implement its ‘Make in India’ policy without US economic partnership.