Benvenuta to India, Primo Ministro Meloni

Signora Georgia Meloni, Prime Minister of Italy, arrives in a country where several of the beliefs and practices of her country that were extant around two millennia ago are still flourishing. Whether it be the gods and goddesses of the Roman or indeed the Hellenistic pantheon, they are each present in India to this day, albeit with a different name. Since that time, such beliefs and the rituals and practices associated with them have slowly faded from the everyday life of the beautiful treasure house of historical marvels that is Italy. In Georgia Meloni, the Italian voters and legislators have chosen a daughter of Italy who is proud of the ancient heritage of her land and unapologetic about its unique features. In that sense, she has a kinship with those in India who similarly celebrate the tapestry of the history of the wonder that was—and remains—India in a way that perhaps cannot be said of some other ancient civilisations, whether it be the great civilisations of Asia or of Africa and South America. In the latter, the history and traditions previous to the arrival of settlers from Europe were methodically sought to be eliminated, although the seeds of the glories of ancient traditions endure, and are in countries such as Brazil and Mexico sprouting again into fragrant boughs and flowers. Although in some countries, such as Peru in the present time, efforts have been made to once again relegate to the netherworld of politics and governance those respectful of the pre-colonial traditions of their territories, public anger at such disrespect for the past is rising. In Peru, although there was a coup against a President simply because he was an Andean Indian and proud rather than ashamed of that backed his ouster are becoming a trifle ashamed of the full-throated backing they are giving the new President of Peru, an individual who came to power on the basis of fealty to a past where only those entirely or substantially of a particular ethnicity had the right to rule.
In the case of Georgia Meloni, it is certain that in her mind and heart, there will be an understanding and an appreciation of ancient cultures, for Italy, the country that she now leads, ranks among the handful that have the most ancient of recorded civilisations worldwide. Every citizen of the world is entitled to revel in the successes of Gaius Julius Caesar, just as they are the exploits of Lord Ram and Alexander the Great. Primo Ministro Meloni comes to a land where the lineage of her country is respected far, far more than mundane measurements such as GDP in dollar terms. Wealth after all, has a spiritual, a historical, a cultural, dimension, not simply the material form. It is true that there was a time, for instance in 2015 when innocent fishermen paid the ultimate price for being mistaken as pirates by an Italian craft, when Signora Meloni was less than fulsome about the stand taken by India, that military personnel belonging to NATO needed to be held to the same standards as personnel in other armed forces. The matter was resolved to the satisfaction of all sides by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is going to host the Prime Minister of Italy for her first visit to India, hopefully the first of many. India has a surfeit of historical sites, and given the resonance the history of Italy through the millennia has in Georgia Meloni, there will probably be more occasions when this country is visited by her, just as it is each year by hundreds of thousands of citizens of her country.
The leaders of France, Germany and Italy join with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the UK in being potential buckles linking India to Europe in what ought to be a seamless and win-win interaction. This requires a process of give and take, including on the other side, where the signing of FTAs are concerned. In the 1980s, Europe took a wrong turn when it made living and working in that continent almost impossibly difficult for talented software and other engineers, or technicians and doctors from India. Geography rather than common sense drove policies towards immigration in Europe, with the consequence that countries within the continent were denied the talent pool found in India, while at the same time finding themselves overwhelmed with immigration from other locations that did not have similar strengths of adjustment and utility. As for defence, India needs to be a partner in the development and manufacture of advanced platforms, not simply a market. The 21st century is not the 19th or even the 20th. There is need for a new paradigm for ties between Europe and Asia, between India and Italy, and Prime Ministers Modi and Meloni need to succeed in creating such a structure
MDN