Indian Opinion

Mukesh Devrari  India must learn from Donald Trump. He is a true patriot who talks straight. His straight talking uncovers the western sophistication and ideology. West has only one ideology. It is the national interest. Over the last few decades, this national interest turned into white men’s interest. The US treated itself as a large entity representing the interests of Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Japan and South Korea were late entrants in the club. Trump has simply declared the US will abide by the rule-based world order if the existing rules fulfil US interest. If the rules established by the US a few decades back are not compatible with contemporary US national interest, then it has no interest in abiding by those rules. Earlier US regimes were no different, but they were more sophisticated and resorted to manipulative tactics after taking its allies into confidence. On a trade dispute with China, the US has declared that if trade balance was not corre...

Mukesh Devrari  Western powers exploited third world countries by occupying them. British Empire was an economic project, not a racial one. It ensured that the UK becomes the richest nation on earth. Slowly all nation-states demanded independence. To maintain their economic supremacy western powers needed unbridled access to markets in third world countries. Without this access, the west cannot keep its economic supremacy intact.  Western powers created a propaganda structure. They invented the economic order.  They created a set of rules and declared them universally applicable and essential for the progress of all nations on earth. West encouraged third world countries to adopt liberal market policies. It preached by practising it. Free market doctrine claimed that western nations are open to all kinds of investment from around the globe. They claimed that there is no discrimination in the west. Whether a company interested in doing business in the ...

Photo - Nirmal Poddar Mukesh Devrari  The democratization of the internet means everyone who has an online presence should get the chance to make his or her voice heard equally. It must happen at both levels - at the level of individual and at the level of the nation-state.  Internet is a complex phenomenon. Its social, political and economic impacts have not been studied yet. It inserts pressure at many points at a single point of time. It is difficult to capture its working with all its complexities. DEMOCRATIZATION OF INTERNET AT REGIONAL LEVEL In an ideal situation everyone should have the right to use the internet to connect with other members of society for free. It is a positive right. It can only be ensured by providing access to all. But to provide access to all cannot be a standalone exercise. It is attached to other determinants of economic development. Currently, only well off sections have access to the internet. It has increased the social, po...