Reflections on the state of International Relations

Mr. Jayanta Ghosh and Mr. Radheshyam Sharma have provided some very deep and disturbing facts on the state of India’s democracy. Looking in from the outside, it is often impossible to sense the deep seated divisions of ethnicity, religion and economic strife that remain as major skeletons in India’s troubled closet of democracy. Both Mr. Ghosh and Mr. Sharma should be commended on their frankness and their reflections make for some good political commentary.

India’s key problems have undoubtedly been masked by the falsity of globalization and unreal expectations and changing value systems have served to ignore the problems of India’s humanity. What is often overlooked is the nature of the world-system today. Despite the media’s portrayal of false freedoms and the image of one big “MacWorld”, the essential instruments of “core-peripheral” relations remain unchanged. Have the temptations of globalization obliterated India’s ability to empathize with its own suffering masses? One is inclined to submit to a growing theoretical construct that describes India’s liberalization as “the IMF’s direct rule”.

We live in morally troubling times - greed, falsity and callousness are the hallmarks of all world governments today. India could certainly review its recent history and salvage the ideals of freedom and justice.

The “state of affairs” is particularly troubling to those that uphold the value systems (non-MTV and CNN based!) seated in spiritual humanism and the supremacy of the almighty. I wouldn’t expect anything less in view of the traditions that were imparted to us at school. Unfortunately, this makes life more difficult as the majority of people we rub shoulders with, are terribly immune to such high standards.

What is true for India (in terms of politics) perhaps applies across the board, to the spectrum of corrupt arrangements that dictate our world order, today. In India’s case, it’s particularly troubling as we see a nation of struggle and endurance; submit so easily to the material temptations of globalization.

Life, nonetheless, goes on ……and the unhealthy state of world politics notwithstanding…… we must continue to lead, win the good fight and do all things well!