In the United States, partisan politics has reached a possibly unprecedented low point where partisan politics is concerned. Unconcerned about the fact that he is no longer in a reality television show but showing himself in real life, Donald Trump has made vicious verbal abuse of opponents real and perceived into a modern art form. He even used his hold on what ought to be named the Trump Republican Party to sabotage a bipartisan agreement on passing laws that would have significantly lessened illegal land border crossings from Mexico to the US. As a consequence, for a while the flood continued, to the glee of Trump, who has made the choking off of immigration into the US impossible. Those unfortunate enough to cross the border under a Trump Presidency would be treated the way cattle are in countries that do not care about the SPCA. They would be lucky to straggle back into Mexico or wherever with their families intact.
In several instances, children and spouses would get separated from each other, never knowing afterwards whether their loved ones were even dead or alive. Of course, migration from Europe would be welcome. Trump is transparent in his view that those of European origin are the only kind needing to be taken seriously, as the others in his view come from countries described by Trump himself in language best avoided in civilised company. In other words, from citizens of countries in Asia, South America and Africa. Democracies need to learn from each other, and not copy errors of the others but avoid making the same mistakes. In politics, an action that is welcome should be welcomed, just as A.B. Vajpayee welcomed the liberation of Bangladesh. Rolling back severely punitive laws passed without discussion because of an Opposition walkout from participation in the proceedings was a welcome move by the NDA government, and merits not triumphalism but praise. It is incorrect that the laws covering digital functioning or the broadcast industry were rolled back as a consequence of Opposition pressure. Several supporters of the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi felt they should be rolled back, and it is to be appreciated, not depreciated, that the Union Government did so.
Decisions made by political parties should be informed by conscience, not by other considerations. In the US, voting behaviour motivated by peripherals such as colour in place of conscience generate results that are unfortunate for them as well. Whipping up passions and prejudice in a bid to ensure overwhelming reason has been a common feature of the speeches made by a section of the political establishment in the US, and politicians in India should draw the correct lesson from such vitriol, which is that such inflammatory rhetoric has no place in democratic dialogue. A way of showing that reason has prevailed would be for Opposition parties to support Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for an immediate end to hostilities in Ukraine.
If only President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had listened to PM Modi in 2022 and stopped the war to declare an armistice with Russia, his country would not have suffered the devastating losses in lives and property that have taken place since PM Modi told President Vladimir Putin that this was not an era of war, that it was time for peace. The Russian leader did not contradict that statement, but President Zelenskyy refused to accept it and pressed on with an offensive that has been doomed from the start. Now he has sought to annex a few bits of territory from the vast land spaces of the Russian Federation. How President Joe Biden can believe that his protégé President Zelenskyy can prevail over Putin flies in the face of common sense. Kamala Harris needs to move away from the Biden legacy of fighting Russia to the last Ukrainian, a strategy that is visibly leading to an all-out conflict between NATO and Russia. Otherwise, she will lose the votes of millions in the US who are tired of funding an endless, hopeless war by Ukraine against Russia. Please, President Zelenskyy, for the sake of the suffering people of Ukraine, listen to PM Modi and end the war now through an immediate armistice with Russia.