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At the end of March 2024, a group of angry Indians stormed the streets of the capital, New Delhi. They held in their hands all kinds of banners cursing US President Joe Biden, and their eyes were full of anger.
It turned out that these people were protesting against the US intervention in the domestic political situation in India. And not so long ago, the United States tried to reach a new military agreement with India in order to strengthen the presence of the US military in the Indian Ocean region.
India's sudden swing has made the United States feel uneasy. Some analysts even believe that India's anti-US move will directly affect the interests of the US military in the Indian Ocean region.
However, why does India maintain such a "swaying relationship" with the United States? What is the root cause of India's anti-Americanism?
The United States is courting India
In fact, India is indeed a "hegemonic country" in South Asia.
From the perspective of culture, the whole of South Asia and the Indochina Peninsula region has been influenced by Chinese culture, except for Vietnam, other countries have been more or less influenced by Hindu culture.
From a military point of view, India has maintained its own military bases around the Maldives. At the same time, India has funded a number of armed groups in Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
Internationally, India is also in a unique position. As long as the United States wants to extend its tentacles to the Indian Ocean, then they will definitely have to win over India.
In particular, many people in the current US political arena regard "anti-China" as their primary goal, and India, which borders China, has rapidly increased its position in the US global strategy.
Sure enough, India has not failed to live up to the expectations of the United States. Just last month, Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar suddenly raised concerns about the situation in the South China Sea. He said the Indian government would support the Philippines in defending its "rights and interests" in the South China Sea.
Moreover, Jaishankar also said very excessively: in the future, the Indian government hopes to carry out defense cooperation with the Philippine government. Such rhetoric is tantamount to allowing India to directly extend its black hand of military intervention to the South China Sea.
At the same time, India has also wantonly deployed additional troops in the Sino-Indian border area, making a posture of long-term confrontation with the Chinese army. On the one hand, India's move is in line with the anti-China strategy of the United States, and on the other hand, it is also a tactic of the Modi government to canvass for its own votes.
But what no one expected was that just as the 2024 Indian parliamentary elections were approaching, the United States suddenly made the old mistake and began to interfere in India's internal affairs. This move by the United States immediately provoked the Modi government.
All of a sudden, countless Indians took to the streets, cursing Biden and the U.S. government with cursed words. The Indian government has also responded with unprecedented toughness to the US government's interference in its internal affairs.
India is hardline and anti-American
On March 21, local time, Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of the Delhi region of India, was suddenly arrested and imprisoned by Indian officials on suspicion of money laundering. The news immediately sparked a violent upheaval in Indian society.
Because in addition to being the chief minister of the Delhi region, Kejriwal also has another important identity on his head - the founder of India's important opposition party, the Bharatiya Party.
In recent years, many have pinned their hopes on Kejriwal as the Indian public has become disillusioned with Rahul Gandhi's Congress Party and Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party.
Some foreign media even predicted that Kejriwal's BJP is very likely to pose a substantial threat to the BJP in the 2024 election, which means that Kejriwal already has the ability to challenge Modi's authority.
As a result, the March 21 arrest of Kejriwal was seen by many as a purge of Modi's political opponents. Immediately after the incident, Kejriwal's supporters took to the streets to protest the Modi government's approach.
However, what is unexpected is that the United States, which has always regarded itself as a "beacon of democracy," actually came out at this time to take charge of India's "idle affairs."
The U.S. State Department said after the incident that the Indian government should fully respect dissident groups. At the same time, India's Modi government should also fully guarantee the right of other political forces to stand for election.
You know, in less than a month, India's 2024 parliamentary elections will officially begin. The fact that the United States has come out at this time to accuse the Modi government of undermining the "democratic process" is obviously quite detrimental to Modi and his aides.
To express its outrage, the Indian government summoned US diplomats in India directly and protested. At the same time, a large number of Indians began to take to the streets to protest against US interference in India's internal affairs.
Protesters marched through the streets with banners and slogans cursing US President Joe Biden. I am afraid that the United States would never have imagined that India, in the face of its frequent interference in the internal affairs of other countries, would dare to resist its own interference.
The anti-American wave triggered by India's electoral politics has aroused the concern of many people in the United States. Many people even believe that if India's anti-American turmoil continues, the US military power in the Indian Ocean region will be greatly weakened.
Obviously, just a few days ago, India behaved extremely deferentially to the United States, but how could it be that a few days later, India completely changed its face in front of the United States? To understand this, it is necessary to understand India's complicated political situation and Modi's personal governing style.
Uncontrolled India
Although India often makes some pro-US moves in international diplomatic forums, this is not because India is manipulated by the United States, but because they want to extract more benefits from the United States.
India's pro-American strategy is fundamentally different from that of South Korea, Japan, the Philippines and other countries. Although India's comprehensive national strength cannot be compared with that of the United States, India is still an independent country that is fully capable of making decisions on its own internal and foreign affairs.
It is precisely because of this that India does not choose to give everything unreservedly when it is close to the United States. In many cases, India has even used its important position in U.S. geopolitical strategy to blackmail the U.S. government.
You must know that one of the main means by which the United States maintains global hegemony is to maintain the deterrent power of the US military on a global scale. If the United States wants to maintain its military presence around the Indian Ocean, it will inevitably engage in so-called military cooperation with India.
In addition, India itself is one of the initiators of the Non-Aligned Movement, and its political and diplomatic influence among developing countries around the world cannot be underestimated by the United States.
On the other hand, the current Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also a very difficult partner for the United States. Because Modi is a fanatical Hindu, his fanaticism for Hinduism has even grown to the point of reversing black and white, and distinguishing between right and wrong.
At one point, the U.S. government declared Modi persona non grata and barred him from setting foot on U.S. soil because he had connived at religious vendetta against Muslims by Hindus in the region during his leadership position in Gujarat.
But after Modi was successfully elected as India's prime minister, the United States could only pinch its nose and lift the entry ban on Modi. Since then, exchanges between the U.S. government and the Modi government have become more frequent.
Modi's governing style shares many similarities with former US President Donald Trump. For the most part, Modi sees India as a world power that should be governed by Hindus.
Therefore, the Indian government under Modi's leadership is very willing to maintain exchanges with countries like the United States and Russia. But on the other hand, Modi is also absolutely unwilling to do anything to the detriment of India's interests in order to maintain relations with these countries.
For example, after the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the United States once asked India to reduce the amount of oil and natural gas energy imported from Russia. However, the Indian government, having learned of the demands of the United States, decisively rejected them.
Because after negotiations between India and Russia, Russia is willing to export oil to India on a large scale at a price lower than the international average price of oil by $25. This is equivalent to India taking advantage of the opportunity of the Russia-Ukraine war to pick up a leak.
At this time, the United States has stood up and demanded that India suspend energy trade with Russia, which is tantamount to allowing India to give up the benefits it has received. The Modi government said that it could not agree to such conditions.
This time, the United States accused the Modi government of using tough measures to suppress political opponents, which once again touched Modi's bottom line.
There is no doubt that if the United States and India fall out, the influence of the United States in the region around the Indian Ocean will indeed be greatly reduced. On the other hand, to some extent, India itself is a major obstacle to US involvement in the Indian Ocean.
Because the Modi government has always regarded the Indian Ocean periphery as India's own territory. Although they can cooperate with the United States on military issues, they are afraid that they will not sit idly by and watch the United States frequently use military means to interfere in the affairs of the Indian Ocean region.
Therefore, on the core issue of military hegemony, the interests of the Modi government and the Biden government are actually not aligned. This also dooms the so-called cooperative relationship between the United States and India to be short-term.
Cooperation between countries is, in the final analysis, still an exchange of interests.
The current contradictions between the United States and India are only a microcosm of the global situation. It will become more and more difficult for the United States to control the hegemonic system it has built up single-handedly, and friction and even confrontation between various countries and the United States will become more and more frequent.
The anger of the people of all countries will eventually become a prairie fire, swallowing up all the US politicians who are trying to maintain the old order and the hegemonic system......
Bibliography:
1. Strongly opposed to US interference, India warns that "it may set a bad precedent" Beijing Daily
2. India's Foreign Minister said he supports the Philippines in defending its sovereignty, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: The maritime dispute is a matter between the countries concerned, and no third party has the right to intervene in the global network