US President Donald Trump still continues to hyphenate India - Pakistan to the chagrin of his supporters back home in India. He doesn't care about the adulations and accolades he received from his fans in India, especially from supporters of Modi/BJP/RSS. Mr. Trump is no more our Fraand Dolaand (it was purely an one sided love affair as it was never reciprocated with my friend Narendra). Fraand Dolaand has left his supporters stranded in hot water, utterly disappointed.
In this context we would think the sulking Trump fans in India learnt their lesson and would hold on to their horses, but if several recent news reports to be believed, they suggest otherwise. A young, unnamed BJP MP (the finger points to Tejaswi Surya of Karnataka) was reportedly humiliated during a meeting with Donald Trump. The MP allegedly sought a meeting with US President after other individuals, including Milind Deora, an old Indian hand with close business links met with Trump's sons. Failing to secure a meeting through official channels, the MP reportedly arranged a separate meeting via a personal US-based contact. He reportedly traveled to Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate and was introduced as a "close associate of the Indian head of state".
Sources suggest Trump was unimpressed and made his trademark blunt, harsh insulting remarks during the interaction, leaving the MP embarrassed. We say in Odia - "AJA GA GHA DEKHI HUENI KI DEKHEI HUENI", closely translated - "The wound on your ass could neither be seen, nor shown". The humiliated MP reportedly kept the details of the meeting quiet upon returning to India, but the news leaked out nevertheless. He was later reprimanded by the BJP leadership and issued a warning not to venture beyond protocols, for our MP wasn't on the US soil on a personal trip, rather as part of a mission sanctioned by Government of India.
Most of Trump fans in India who are mostly supporters of Prime Minister Modi and BJP were upset when cold shouldered by their Mahaprabhu's Fraand Dolaand due to the later's stance during the recent skirmish between India and Pakistan. Fraand Dolaand not only chose to stay neutral, he proclaimed and took credit for stopping the India - Pakistan war from escalating into a nuclear conflict, he followed it by mollycoddling the Pakistan's Army Chief by inviting the Chief architect of the belligerence directed towards India to lunch with him in the White House.
Many Right wing leaning folks in India saw American Conservatism and Donald Trump as their natural ally. Just because their Mahaprabhu held Trump's hands proclaiming "Ab Ki Baar Trump Sarkar" (next time it's Trump government) taking Trump's reelection in 2020 for granted, they thought that Trump will make America tilt again to India and declare Pakistan as a terrorist state. Nothing close to that happened. A few had even gone to the extent of requesting me to cast my vote in favor of Trump in both 2020 and 2024 US elections. Don't think Trump knew or even cared about his fans back in India.
During the first few months of Trump's Presidency his foreign policy has been whimsical rather than strategic. He has hardly initiated any kind of pro India foreign policy beyond the perfunctory optics and succintly followed America first foreign policy. When Modi was gleeing with joy by exposing his phalanx of 24 teeth holding the hands of the American President in Houston, Trump's body language showed that he was clearly uncomfortable. It needs to be understood that American administration, regardless Republican or Democrat, always follows a deeply self centered foreign policy in a world where there is no permanent friends or enemies. Only permanent interest thrives.
So much about Fraand Dolaand is our Fraand as perceived by members of Mahaprabhu's party. The perception is in ebb, but as this incident indicated we behave more like a jilted, jealous lover who still wants to impress her beau after getting slighted. Apparently the one sided affair hasn't ended yet !
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