Shivshankar Menon- India's true adversary

Thirty years ago, I had very different beliefs on a variety of issues currently in the news. Why? I had faith that Professors and public intellectuals with high level credentials would make alethic judgments supported by unquestionable facts and reasoned arguments. Moreover, in accordance with the Condorcet Jury theorem, I took an international consensus on an India related issue to be evidence that the facts backed up one particular narrative- that of the Left-Liberals.

What changed? The answer, I am sorry to say, was the easy availability of internet resources which meant I could easily and costlessly check the veracity of truth claims. Suddenly, I discovered that 'things everybody knew to be true' weren't true at all. There was an echo chamber for lies- a feedback loop such that eminent international figures repeated partisan myths for a virtue signalling purpose.

Most Indians, however, weren't aware that this echo chamber existed. Thus, in accordance with the actual Condorcet Jury theorem, they voted according to their own observations and their verdict confirmed that the Left Liberals had been telling stupid lies.

In the short run, it is tempting to say- 'so what if we are telling lies? It is in a good cause.' The problem is that scarce resources are diverted into creating and insulating 'echo chambers' of an elite type. Vulnerable young people- like Rahul Baba- can get misled. They may start believing the nonsense spouted by their own sycophants. This means the sycophants have to double down on their earlier errors, this time in earnest.

Is this what has happened to India's former Foreign Secretary- Shivshankar Menon?

According to the Hindustan Times-

Former National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon on Friday spoke out strongly against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the nullification of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.

Why does Menon want non Muslims fleeing persecution in Islamic Republics to remain stateless? Is he Assamese? Does he fear that 14 million Bengali Hindus from Bangladesh will suddenly turn up on his doorstep? Or, is it rather the case that he has an animus against non-Muslim refugees from neighboring countries? Perhaps a non Muslim from an Islamic Republic made fun of his bald pate and so he is a vehement critic of any statutory measure which will ease their suffering.

 It is obvious that an illegal Muslim economic migrant can't be accorded citizenship under existing Indian law. However, there is a presumption of the opposite type with respect to a non-Muslim from the same country because the relevant History is known to all. An asymmetry exists in the way non-Muslims are treated in some Islamic countries. No doubt, some Non-Muslims are secure and prosperous there- but they don't seek asylum. It is the non-Muslims who live in unsafe areas who are targeted by fanatics and who are obliged to flee.

As for Article 370, why is Menon so attached to it? What we have seen is that, from the legal point of view, it provided no protection whatsoever to the people of the region. It could be used to do anything the Center pleased.

It may be that Menon spends a lot of time hanging out with foreign diplomats and officials. He is afraid of what they might say or secretly think. This keeps him awake at night. But, he is a veteran diplomat. He should be able to change those foreigners' minds if they harbor erroneous notions with respect to India's policies.

What is more probable is that Menon hopes for a reward from the Opposition parties. But will they be able to return to power at the Center before this old coot turns utterly senile?

Speaking at an event in the Capital, Menon said that what India’s recent actions had achieved were international isolation even among traditional allies which can “lead to no good end”.

What 'isolation' has occurred? Where are the trade or other sanctions? Mere virtue signaling on this issue can have no effect. It should be met with rudeness and contumely. What bad end does Menon contemplate? Is it that people will recoil from him at diplomatic events? But why should the Indian people care about the delicate sensibilities of a retired sycophant of the dynasty?

Perhaps Menon wants to turn into the new Mani Shankar Aiyar. He hopes to go on Pakistani TV to demand Imran Khan topple Modi or to say that Islamic terrorism in France is justified because of French anti-hijab laws. However, Menon will need to drink very much more if he hopes to rival his former superior in the Indian Foreign Service. Still, it is nice to know that at the age of 70, Menon still has laudable ambitions.

“There has been no meaningful international support for this series of actions, apart from a few committed members of the diaspora and a ragtag bunch of Euro MPs from the extreme right,” said the former diplomat and foreign secretary who served as NSA during former PM Manmohan Singh’s tenure.

India needs no 'international support'. It is not a basket case.  The fact of the matter is that there have been zero negative repercussions so far. Whatever foreign criticism has been made is merely an echoing of what some Opposition leaders and their sycophants have said. It is merely virtue signaling.

“The list of critical voices from abroad is really long. From President Macron to Chancellor Merkel to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to visitors like the King of Norway who’d normally be polite,” he said.

Did the King of Norway start urinating on people's feet so as to register his displeasure? Did he hold his dick in his hand as he made rude gestures at the President of India? Perhaps. But who cares about Norway? As for Macron, he remains India's staunch friend while Merkel is on her way out. India never signed up to the UN convention on Refugees so its 'High Commissioner's' opinions have no importance whatsoever.

Referring to the recent instance of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar skipping a meeting with the foreign affairs committee in the US due to the presence of Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal who has been critical of CAA and Article 370, Menon said, “We seem to know that we are isolated. Rather than attending this meeting and rebutting her charges, we chose to duck this.”

Shivshankar never ducks a meeting where he knows his name will be blackened. I invited him to the Conference I convened for the specific purpose of condemning his violation of our Human Right not to have to look at his big bald head. He showed up disguised as the neighbor's cat and sat in my lap, so- instead of scolding him- I stroked him and fed him tasty tidbits.

Why did Jaishankar not disguise himself as a cat in a similar fashion? The answer is that he wanted to communicate a simple message- the US Congress could go fuck itself. If it wants to intervene in India's internal affairs, India will shit on its face.

He also added that Jayapal’s resolution which was critical of India now had 29 co-sponsors that included Republicans and “the only Indian origin lawmaker who attended the Howdy Modi conference”.

So what? It is up to the Indian diaspora to punish those pusillanimous virtue signalers by switching financial support to their rivals.

The former NSA also raised an issue with the slogan during Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump’s joint event in the US- “Abki Baar Trump Sarkar”.

Why did Shivshankar do anything so stupid? It is a fact that some Indian Americans had raised this slogan and that Trump had indeed been elected. Modi was not telling Americans how to vote. Why is Shivshankar pretending otherwise?

“We have actually broken the bipartisan consensus that used to exist for the last 25 years in the US. NDA or UPA doesn’t matter on improving India- US relations,” he said adding, “All the significant democratic Presidential candidates have spoken out on these issues.”

Shivshanar was part of the Indian Foreign Policy Establishment which pressured the US and Europe to impose a visa ban on Modi. This was an own goal. India was showing it could not prosecute an Indian for a supposed crime on Indian soil. It had to rely on foreign powers to take a highly prejudicial action under color of law.

People like Shivshankar are working behind the scenes to influence Western politicians to condemn India. This is blatantly anti-national. Furthermore, it is backfiring. Rahul Baba is getting more and more stridently anti-national. This will make Congress even more unelectable- at least at the Center.

Striking a note of caution, Menon said that India was violating Article 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights with the newly passed CAA.

WTF?  Article 21 is about the right to peaceful assembly

How has this been violated?

“This prevention of discrimination is for all persons present on the territory, not just citizens...that’s exactly what the CAA does.

Rubbish! Menon himself has been present on American territory. This does not give him the right to American citizenship. C.A.A says there is a fast track to citizenship for non-Muslims from certain Islamic countries where there has been massive ethnic cleansing and religious persecution. This is not discriminatory because it reflects a historical fact. Muslims are not persecuted on the grounds of religion in Islamic countries. They do not claim that they wish to settle in India because they would be forced to convert if they went back.

We seem to be in violation of our international commitments,” he said adding,

No we don't. The opposition is pretending that Indian Muslims will be deported. But they are lying.

“You must consider the political and other consequences of being perceived as violators of International law.”

If Menon & other darbari intellectuals tell lies which cause foreign countries to perceive India as an evil nation, the Government of India should punish Menon & his cronies. They are violating Indian law and seeking to subvert the working of International law by telling stupid lies. However, the fact is, Menon & co are senile hacks. Nobody pays them any attention. No doubt, some virtue signalling occurs- but it is a nuisance simply.

“What we have achieved in the recent past, is to hyphenate our image with Pakistan in a fundamental way, as religiously driven and intolerant states. We have gifted our adversaries, platforms from which to attack us,” he said.

But this 'hyphenation' occurred long ago when Menon was still in short pants! De-hyphenation occurred when India punished Pakistan with an air-strike. It stopped worrying about the UN and the 'international community' and took unilateral action in Kashmir. Imran Khan was made to look a fool. Now it is Congress and the Left-Liberals who are digging their own graves by doubling down on their anti-national rhetoric.

India's adversaries are people like Shivshankar Menon who, purely in the hope of a reward from a future Congress Government, are busy telling stupid lies about India's domestic and foreign policy. Instead of spending so much time polishing his big bald head, Shivshankar should reflect on the lessons of recent Indian diplomatic history. Then he should get drunk, like Mani Shankar Aiyar, and go around challenging all and sundry to fisticuffs.