My grandfather used to say, "A weak person's wealth is the most endangered thing." (कमज़ोर का धन खतरा ए जान) Venezuela has oil but it didn't have the strength to protect it. The international referee, the UNO, is a toothless tiger that has neither the strength nor the desire to act. So, each one on their own. Defend yourself lest a bully humiliates you.
I have seen some people - however small in number - feeling happy that a dictator has been vanquished. There was a similar jubilation in some quarters after the fall of Saddam Hussein. If we go by the Western narrative there are many dictatorships in the world, with Russia topping the list. But they had no qualms in dealing with Zia ul Haq or Parvez Musharraf. There is an Urdu couplet:
उस के क़त्ल पे मैं भी चुप था मेरा नम्बर अब आया
मेरे क़त्ल पे आप भी चुप है अगला नम्बर आपका है
Loosely translated, it means, " When he was getting killed, I kept silent; now, you, watching silently as I am being killed, could be the next."
So, who knows who will be the next target?
Here, in India, a former Chief Minister, Prithviraj Chavan, hit a new low when he discussed the possibility of the USA kidnapping our PM as it did in Venezuela.
However, the way the USA has treated Venezuela, or, in the past, Iraq, it's worth considering how to protect the sovereignty of a nation when the UNO has become a caricature.
To start with, let me share a famous quote of Henry Kissinger, the former Secretary of State of the US:
"To be an enemy of America is dangerous, but to be a friend is fatal."
So, let us examine the cases of the friends first. When Tony Blair was the British PM, a section of the British media used to sarcastically call him "a poodle of George Bush" for blindly obeying Bush on every issue, particularly parroting his rhetoric that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction.
Europe is completely dependent on NATO, led by the US. And let’s be honest: NATO IS the U.S. Europe has outsourced its sovereignty — and is now powerless and helpless. Just see how helpless they are about Ukraine, as Trump is charting a separate path, not consistent with its initial stand, after pushing Ukraine into a disastrous war with Russia.
Japan is another example of a friend country which is only theoretically sovereign, or has encumbered sovereignty. It was demilitarised after WW II, with a protection assurance though a treaty and reconstruction assurance under the Marshall Plan. The country with the most U.S. military bases on earth is not “protected” — it is occupied by a treaty.
Russia survived relentless U.S. attacks because it invested in defence — not narratives, not alliances, not “values". Its economy was too small when compared with the US, but it's defence capabilities were a complete maych. Similarly, China has fortified itself by strengthening both it's economy and its defence.
So. I would rephrase Kissinger's quotation:
If you are not a friend (not necessarily an enemy) of the USA, strengthen yourself. If you are a friend, you are in a hopeless situation.
Now, the critical question: what should India do? In my view, there are two points
1. Build our own defence system and our own military power which is not heavily dependent on the supplies or technology from the neo-imperialists. Do not outsource security to white supremacist power blocs. I think India has realised the importance of indigenous defence capability.
2. Do not confuse partnership with submission. All the defence offers from the US have hidden traps. Besides, we have observed that what it supplied to India at a cost, was given to Pakistan as aid.
Sovereignty is defended — not gifted. You have to defend your sovereignty yourself.
