In a rather longish speech in Munich, Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros, presenting his account of the world scenario -- in the process -- makes pointed references to India too as he has done to a number of other countries. In the speech, he has claimed moral superiority of "open societies" over the "closed" ones and also pleaded that the "open" ones must actually live up to their promises.
I have distinguished between open and closed societies. This leaves out many countries that have gone to great lengths to avoid tying themselves irrevocably to one side or the other. India is an interesting case. It’s a democracy, but its leader Narendra Modi is no democrat. Inciting violence against Muslims was an important factor in his meteoric rise. Modi maintains close relations with both open and closed societies. India is a member of the Quad (which also includes Australia, the US, and Japan), but it buys a lot of Russian oil at a steep discount and makes a lot of money on it. ... Reverting to India, Modi and business tycoon Adani are close allies; their fate is intertwined. Adani Enterprises tried to raise funds in the stock market, but he failed. Adani is accused of stock manipulation and his stock collapsed like a house of cards. Modi is silent on the subject, but he will have to answer questions from foreign investors and in parliament. This will significantly weaken Modi’s stranglehold on India’s federal government and open the door to push for much needed institutional reforms. I may be naïve, but I expect a democratic revival in India. (Excerpted from: < https://www.georgesoros.com/2023/02/16/remarks-delivered-at-the-2023-munich-security-conference/ >.) Here's the response of Smriti Irani: < https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/smriti-irani-slams-george-soros-for-his-revival-of-democracy-remark-101676616259672.html >. Of Jaishankar: < https://www.thehansindia.com/news/national/soros-is-old-rich-opinionated-and-dangerous-jaishankar-783644 >. Of Jairam Ramesh: < https://m.economictimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/nehruvian-legacy-ensures-people-like-soros-cannot-determine-indias-electoral-outcomes-congress/articleshow/98005092.cms >. BJP response to Congress reaction on Soros: < https://zeenews.india.com/india/jairam-ji-is-this-ham-saath-saath-hain-bjp-slams-congress-for-backing-billionaire-george-soros-remarks-on-pm-modi-2574399.html >. What's the essential point made? Only a citizen of a country is entitled to comment on the goings-on in that country!??? Too funny or too dangerous!? Of course, the views of Soros, or whoever, can very legitimately be challenged on merit. Mercifully, Congress leader P Chidambaram opted to strike a different note: I did not agree with most of what George Soros had said in the past and I do not agree with most of what he says now But to label his remarks as an "attempt to topple the democratically elected government in India" is a puerile statement (Ref.: <https://twitter.com/PChidambaram_IN/status/1626777072809959424>.) -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to greenyouth+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/greenyouth/CACEsOZj65%2BRxkR8E7aJbXXQR2J_u1-qjhVMS%2B8Gz%2BTOq5LZTMA%40mail.gmail.com.
