Volume 1, No. 8, October 2000

Vajpayee Cringes before US Bosses CMs Grovel before Bill Gates

— Rajesh

The level of servility was nauseating. Vajpayee went with the begging bowl pleading for funds. The Chief Ministers begged Gates to invest in their states, with (raja) Digvijay Singh even begging for a mere $400. Lacking any self-respect what-so-ever, these lackeys competed with each other to prove their loyalty to the foreign bosses. Those most servile, got a few crumbs. Yet, every $ given, was in order to extract an extra $10 from the country.

First, let us take a look at Vajpayee’s much hyped 13-day visit to the US. The bulk of his time was spent in selling our country to the US; promoting the multi-millionaire Indian-Americans who have deserted the country for personal gain; and hob-nobbing with hindu chauvinists. Many of the opposition have criticised the Vajpayee visit as being a wasted endeavor. While it may be true that he spent much time relaxing with his adopted daughter, rather than playing the role of a prime minister, he signed on the dotted line wherever asked by the Americans. His trip only furthered the tie-up of India’s interests to the chariot wheels of the US superpower — politically, economically and even militarily.

There was no limit to his flattery of his US bosses. Currying favour, playing to please the US gangsters, making statements in line with US foreign policy, and offering every aspect of our country to the Americans ... was all part of Vajpayee’s agenda. He said "today, on ever digital map, India and the US are neighbours and partners." He described the growing dependence of India on the US as "natural allies". He claimed "Clinton’s visit to India was historic." And last but not least, for America’s domination and control over our country, he praised the efforts of American legislators "who had been tirelessly crusading for India."

While Vajpayee went on and on groveling before these imperialist tyrants, India was treated with disdain by the American administration, and even given a slap in the face to get him to cringe further. The US media gave scant attention to his presence in the country; the much propagated joint session of the Congress which he addressed (where the Indian media said he was applauded 21 times and given a standing ovation) was attended by barely 70 Congressmen (about 20% of the total) with the bulk of the seats being filled with interns and school children; and finally Clinton dropped a bombshell stating that Kashmir was the "core" issue between India and Pakistan, and once again offering his good services for mediation.

While Vajpayee gave in to most of their demands, the US did not accept a single Indian demand. The Americans refused to lift the sanctions imposed in the wake of the Pokhran nuclear tests. India has yet to get the American nod on dropping action against two public sector banks (including the SBI). In addition, in the joint statement issued by Vajpayee and Clinton, India has formally committed that it will abstain from nuclear testing until the CTBT comes into effect, and not oppose the controversial "entry into force" clause in the CTBT. The Joint Statement also reflected American pressure on India to stop the production of fissile materials.....

Vajpayee spent his time hob-nobbing with US top officials. He had meetings with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; the House of International Relations Committee; house minority leader, Richard Gephardt; Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman, Jesse Helms and other members of the committee; chairman of the House International Relations Committee, Benjamin Gilman, and its members; and attended a luncheon hosted for him by the chairman of the Congressional Caucus on India, which is now even larger than the powerful Israeli Caucus.

With this visit the BJP-led government has further tightened the US noose around the neck of our country. Initiated by the Clinton visit, the high-level consultations called for then, have been implemented in full; not just by the Prime Minister and President, who stayed in regular touch, but even by senior cabinet officials of the country.

It appears that the US imperialists are themselves not averse to promoting the Hindutva card, in order to use India as cannon fodder against the threat of Islamic forces.

Vajpayee not only spoke at a VHP organised meet at Staten Island, he made openly hindu chauvinist statements. Addressing a gathering of 7000, including 108 sadhus, he said he was a swayamsevak first and only then the prime minister. Also in a reply to Swami Satyamitrananda, asking whether he would promise to complete the Ram Temple, Vajpayee replied "If I have a two-thirds majority, I would endeavour to build an India of my dreams." Meaning, with a majority, he would build the Ram mandir. What is even worse, this two-faced monster, later sought to distort his earlier statements in order to maintain his ‘liberal’ mask.

Besides this, with full US approval, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad has been bestowed consultative status at the UN, as an NGO. What was even more astounding, the very US Congressmen got a hindu priest to chant vedic slokas before Vajpayee’s speech at the joint session of the Congress.

During Vajpayee’s visit the US and India signed five commercial deals worth $6 billion. These include collaborating in the sphere of power (for which a number of agreements were signed), science and technology (including agricultural bio-technology), environmental issues and health care. In addition the US announced $1 billion in trade financing and loans for India, aimed at promoting American exports to India. No doubt these loans will be tied to the purchase of American goods. Besides these, the two sides have moved forward in collaboration in a number of other areas, like oil pricing, trade and finances, clean energy, HIV-AIDs awareness, civil aviation, Information Technology, double taxation, etc. In fact high-level meetings to get down to specifics on these issues began almost immediately after Vajpayee’s visit. In addition, the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission was to travel to New Delhi in end September "for discussions on telecommunica- tions."

Having proved his credentials before departure, by the opening of the telecom sector to foreign capital, he sealed his fate as a chief US agent, while addressing a gathering of 400 top American business executives organised by the CII (Confederation of Indian Industries). Displaying outright lackeyism, he called for US business to increase investment in India to $5 billion from next year and raise it to $15 billion annually over the next three years. When total investments (FDI) in India have barely crossed the $3 billion mark in a decade of reforms, what $15 bn foreign investment a year would mean, can well be imagined. All industry and finance in the country would immediately pass into US hands !! In addition, Vajpayee stated that important sectors of the country’s infrastructure — power, insurance, banking, telecom — are being opened up to foreign capital; and that trade barriers are being lowered.

Besides, this increasing cooperation/dependence on US finance capital, some of the specific agreements signed were clearly at the dictates of US interests:

To any neutral observer it would appear that Vajpayee acted more as a US agent rather than the prime minister of India.

In the name of countering terrorism — both national and international — Vajpayee, during this visit, further mortgaged India’s sovereignty to the US.

The scheme is : at the international level India will provide the cannon fodder (in the name of peace-keeping, etc) to further the US’s geo-political interests; in South Asia, the US will back India to promote the joint-interests asserted through Indian hegemony.

So, quite naturally, the US has pledged full support of the G-8 nations to an Indian proposal for a UN convention on terrorism, and agreed with Delhi to take their cooperation against it to higher plane. In this connection, two supreme court justices will travel to India; in end September the second meeting of the joint working group on counter-terrorism will take place at Delhi under the guidance of Michael Sheehan (state department’s coordinator for counter-terrorism), and a high-level Israeli team of counter-terrorism experts are already touring Kashmir and other sensitive areas of the country. Besides, within two months, Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright is to visit India in order to "strengthen ties."

Addressing the joint session of the Congress Vajpayee went so far as to put Asian security firmly on the Indo-US agenda. In furtherance of the Indo-US security collaboration Vajpayee and his accomplices signed two major agreements.

First, India is to be roped into the US plans against the Taliban and Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan. Both sides have agreed to set up an institutional framework to address these concerns. In other words what the US could not fully achieve through Pakistan it now seeks to achieve through India. This will only result in heightening Indo-Pak conflicts and tensions.

Second, there was an Indo-US decision to set up a joint working group on peacekeeping. To further these plans, a top ranking US defence official already visited India in the third week of September. Admiral Dennis Blair, commander of the Pacific Command, held high level talks with Fernandes and the services top brass. There is a surreptitious scheme to send Indian foot-soldier to dangerous trouble spots where Americans dare not go. Quite obviously, the collaboration will be along the following lines: Indian army to do the dirty ground work, which could involve large casualties, with the Americans using their airforce and missiles for mopping up operations.

India is treading a dangerous path by becoming a tool in the Pentagon’s strategy for Asia and worldwide.

Twelve Chief Ministers rescheduled all appointments in order to queue up to meet Bill Gates. Central Minister, Pramod Mahajan, flew back from the US for a mere 30 minutes darshan of Gates. Heads of companies were also in the queue. After all Gates is a busy man on a mere 24-hour visit to India.

It mattered little of what political complection, they were all there—Congress (I) CMs, BJP ‘ swadeshiwallas’, and even the CPI(M) education ministers from Kerala. The Rajashtan CM offered Gates 100 acres of land and Rs. 10 crores gratis to set up an educational institution. The AP CM, Naidu, offered 200 acres to Microsoft. These same vermin will not grant even an inch of land to the homeless, but were willing to grant land worth crores free of cost to a foreigner — that too, the richest man in the world, who could well afford to pay. The ‘Indian’ CEOs were of much the same category, begging for a few crumbs and contracts for the outsourcing of Indian high-tech labour.

It matters little which is the party in power at the centre or the state; they all have a single policy of servility to foreign capital — with the BJP in the lead. The battles amongst them are only for the spoils of office and the crumbs off the imperialist table. For the present, the Indian ruling classes seem more determined to tie their interests with the most powerful amongst them. With the US, over the past two years of the BJP-led government rule, the country has been tied through an intricate web of relations and agreements at hundreds of levels and spheres, into a vice-like grip. Vajpayee’s recent trip to the US and his slavish servility is just one example of the extent to which the ‘leaders’ have sold out. The Chief Ministers queuing up before Bill Gates was another example.

How much longer can the people of India tolerate the blatant sale of our country to these foreign sharks, by a handful of compradors, serving as their agents ?

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