Europe carpets the Greeks but rolls out the red carpet for Narendra Modi. How’s that right?

[BeautifulGame]

Our routine hypocrisies are the most revealing. It is the everyday lies we tell ourselves and others that give the truth away. Which is why the next few days in Europe will be so telling. On Friday, India’s newish prime minister, Narendra Modi, touches down in Paris. There, a treat awaits: President François Hollande will take him on a romantic boat ride along the Seine, after which the two men hope to cut a few big deals. Next on Modi’s itinerary is Angela Merkel. As you might have guessed, the German chancellor isn’t offering any such soft-focus photo-ops to her Indian counterpart. Still, she is giving him star treatment: the two leaders will jointly open Hanover’s enormous trade fair. While all this is going on, the new Syriza-led government of cash-starved Greece will be scrabbling for every last cent to repay the next €450m (£330m) instalment of the country’s loan from the IMF. To get the money together, Athens has been ransacking its health budget and the reserves of its public utilities. Syriza MPs I’ve spoken to are confident they’ll make their IMF deadline; what they can’t promise is having money left over to pay next month’s wages and pensions of Greece’s public servants. Then, at almost the same time Modi will be patrolling the stalls of Hanover, the Greek finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, will be getting roughed up in Brussels. This is an everyday tale of two freshly minted governments getting two very different treatments from the heart of Europe. For Modi, the red carpet. For the Greeks, a carpeting. They get a lecturing from the so-called Socialists of France about prudence, while Varoufakis has been labelled by his German counterpart as “foolishly naive”. And they will certainly not be allowed to deviate from the calamitous austerity imposed upon them. So what, you may say. Modi is offering slow-growth Europe access to a market of over a billion people, while the Greeks come bearing only a huge debt. One is greeted with a hug, the other deserves a punch. QED. Make mine a giant pint of yawn. Advertisement But this isn’t only about finances. To understand what’s wrong with this picture, you have to study the details. Let’s start with Modi, the leader of the Hindu nationalist BJP. The man who was chief minister of the state of Gujarat at the time of a massacre of Muslims that saw between 1,000 and 2,000 men, women and children murdered. The minimum charge against Modi, which he has never satisfactorily answered, is that he both encouraged the pogrom of 2002 then did nothing to stop it. Police officers are said to have told victims: “We have no orders to save you.” Time and power wash away most sins and both have worked in Modi’s favour. Except that within a year of taking power, he is showing the same authoritarianism that marked his regime in Gujarat. His government has attacked Greenpeace, Action Aid, Amnesty International and other international NGOs as being “anti-development”. Vociferous critics and campaign groups are liable to go on a blacklist, and be blocked from receiving any foreign funding – even while their leader goes abroad touting for international investment. And sometimes the tactics are even more blunt. Near the start of this year a Greenpeace activist, Priya Pillai, was asked to Westminster to address MPs on the effect of coal-mining on villagers. She checked in at Delhi airport, cleared security and had her boarding pass. Then, at the last minute, Indian officials told her she could not board the flight. They could not tell her why, apart from that the government of India forbade her to leave the country. Pillai had done nothing wrong – apart from campaign against forest-destroying, community-displacing, environment-wrecking coal mines. That was enough to put her on the new regime’s blacklist. Members of Modi’s party called her “anti-national”. Journalists friendly to the government began hounding her – even while her father lay dying in hospital after an accident. Then, two months later, the Delhi high court ruled she should never have been blocked. By then, of course, the signal had been sent to all other critics of the new rulers of the world’s largest democracy: do not get in our way. Talking to me this weekend, Pillai summed up how she had broken Modi’s law. “My only offence is that I have an opinion that doesn’t coincide with yours. I have a dream of development that is different from yours.” This is a classic example of the Modi operandi. While spouting the poisonous rhetoric of Hindu extremism, he has given big business whatever they want and kicked their opponents out of the way. Ruling Gujarat, he chucked prize public land, soft loans (at 0.1% interest) and favours at major companies. In return, they have funded and supported him all the way to Delhi. You want to see what business support looks like? Forget letters to the Telegraph; two months ago, Modi’s party held a special ceremony for over 100 business leaders – from Lufthansa, AT&T, bankers – who joined the BJP en masse. Meanwhile, supposedly independent organisations involved in everything from historical research to film censorship have been stuffed with acolytes of the Hindu right, however unqualified. Civil-society critics in India now talk of a “shrinking of democratic space”: their freedom of expression remains, but they know the consequences if they use it. Modi is a democratically elected authoritarian, but he is one with whom Merkel and Hollande are happy to do business. Delhi has already signed defence deals with Europe; and more will doubtless be written over the next few days. Athens, on the other hand, is being starved even of liquidity. If things carry on like this then, by the end of this summer, Syriza will either take Greece out of the euro or – however large its democratic mandate – it will be forced to chuck its electoral promises and capitulate. What this humdrum week in the life of Europe shows you then is that its leaders can only handle a very limited democracy. For as long as I can remember, politicians from Jacques Delors to Gordon Brown have promised a “social Europe”, one that manages market forces. That is not the show you’ll get this week. Instead, what will be celebrated is a democracy that kisses up to capital, while locking away its critics. One that uses state power to direct assets and money to the rich. Hollande and Merkel couldn’t make the case for Nigel Farage and Marine Le Pen better if they tried.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/apr/07/sucking-up-authoritarian-india-throttling-greece-eu I know Guardian are left wing like Hindu and love to hate Modi but this article is just :hysterical: So if u are left wing u should be bailed out and if right wing any economic opportunities must be ignored Seriously what the feck ? No wonder Communists are kicked out every where in India lol

[sticky wicket]

Next on Modi’s itinerary is Angela Merkel. As you might have guessed, the German chancellor isn’t offering any such soft-focus photo-ops to her Indian counterpart. Still, she is giving him star treatment: the two leaders will jointly open Hanover’s enormous trade fair. While all this is going on, the new Syriza-led government of cash-starved Greece will be scrabbling for every last cent to repay the next €450m (£330m) instalment of the country’s loan from the IMF.

:hysterical: so for the sake of Greece's indiscipline greed over the last decade-when they binged on cheap money they couldn't afford, other European countries should stop doing trade deals with foreign countries and give more money to the wasteful lazy Greeks:hysterical: Guardian Uk has lost it's marbles. but no surprises, even before BJP came to power, Guardian, NYT, Economist, New York Times always had these anti-india type articles/opeds....they have been doing it on regular basis over last 10 years. they don't like it when India launches satellites in space, don't like it when India reaches Mars, don't like it when India gave $10 billion to IMF to help bankrupt nations like Greece, don't like it when India stop taking aid from foreign governments....nowadays these responses have become cliches.

[gattaca]

:hysterical: so for the sake of Greece's indiscipline greed over the last decade-when they binged on cheap money they couldn't afford, other European countries should stop doing trade deals with foreign countries and give more money to the wasteful lazy Greeks:hysterical: Guardian Uk has lost it's marbles. but no surprises, even before BJP came to power, Guardian, NYT, Economist, New York Times always had these anti-india type articles/opeds....they have been doing it on regular basis over last 10 years. they don't like it when India launches satellites in space, don't like it when India reaches Mars, don't like it when India gave $10 billion to IMF to help bankrupt nations like Greece, don't like it when India stop taking aid from foreign governments....nowadays these responses have become cliches.

Part of the reason is we are still not developed country , poverty and we do lot of issues locally.

[vvvslaxman]

This is collection of our ICF talking points against Modi in flowery language except the added piece about greece lol

[G_B_]

no wonder this paper continues to make major losses.... Its not just about Modi mind you , there was a time when they were just left wing. Now they are bordering on extreme left wing.

[vvvslaxman]

no wonder this paper continues to make major losses.... Its not just about Modi mind you , there was a time when they were just left wing. Now they are bordering on extreme left wing.

Thank god we have internet and social media.. Imagine the filth they can spread about India.

[Raghav_12]

I am no lover boy of Modi and this govt but rationale used in this article to condemn businesses with India both ridiculously outrageous and outrageously ridiculous. How about the fact that by doing business with India you support a population which has per capita income of 1500 USD while by doing business with Greece you support a population that has per capita income of 21000..!! I am not saying that France or Germany doing any favor by doing these deals with India, I am just responding in the tone of the article.

[vvvslaxman]

I am no lover boy of Modi and this govt but rationale used in this article to condemn businesses with India both ridiculously outrageous and outrageously ridiculous. How about the fact that by doing business you support a population which has per capita income of 1500 USD while by doing business Greece you support a population that has per capita income of 21000..!! I am not saying that France or Germany doing any favor by doing these deals with India, I am just responding in the tone of the article.

British media doesn't care about who rules India. They will find filth, exaggerate, extrapolate and serve it to the world.

[Raghav_12]

British media doesn't care about who rules India. They will find filth' date=' exaggerate, extrapolate and serve it to the world.[/quote'] Yeah. Not there lot of love was flowing from these outlets when we have Manmohan Singh as our PM.

[gs]

British media doesn't care about who rules India. They will find filth' date=' exaggerate, extrapolate and serve it to the world.[/quote'] Time for our media to dish out the same to them, but alas ours is a #adarshliberal brigade.

[Sachin=GOD]

Wow.....incredibly stupid article.

[vvvslaxman]

Time for our media to dish out the same to them' date=' but alas ours is a[b'] #adarshliberal brigade.

In the US they would churn one movie after another about Russia in the 80s and before. They were favorite villains. Hollywood's propaganda machine was too powerful even during world war II. Sadly our bollywood guys go to England run around trees, dance in pubs for movies and come back. Hardly any political movie to expose the filthy side of British, British media.

[Kalia_Test]

What a stupid article - no ounce of logic

[Raghav_12]

In the US they would churn one movie after another about Russia in the 80s and before. They were favorite villains. Hollywood's propaganda machine was too powerful even during world war II. Sadly our bollywood guys go to England run around trees' date=' dance in pubs for movies and come back. Hardly any political movie to expose the filthy side of British, British media.[/quote'] Our Media is crap (and less said about movies is better). Even if they have intentions they just don't have quality to influence world opinion. Unfortunately most of authors and writers of any global repute themselves are product of the systems that ridicule India and this situation is going only to be worse with emergence of jingoistic nationalism and dominance of right wing politics which prioritizes Sanskrit over global languages.

[Malcolm Merlyn]

There are so many lies in the article.Libelous stuff.

[cowboysfan]

even for the guardian this makes no sense trying to equate Greek with Modi,these far left bongs have a axe to grind i guess.

[Detonator]

In the US they would churn one movie after another about Russia in the 80s and before. They were favorite villains. Hollywood's propaganda machine was too powerful even during world war II. Sadly our bollywood guys go to England run around trees' date=' dance in pubs for movies and come back. Hardly any political movie to expose the filthy side of British, British media.[/quote'] Remember Rambo 3. Stallone fights along with those peaceful taliban trained by yanks to fight Soviets.. Sorry for off topic

[vvvslaxman]

Remember Rambo 3. Stallone fights along with those peaceful taliban trained by yanks to fight Soviets.. Sorry for off topic

lol :hysterical:

[Mariyam]

Our Media is crap (and less said about movies is better). Even if they have intentions they just don't have quality to influence world opinion. Unfortunately most of authors and writers of any global repute themselves are product of the systems that ridicule India and this situation is going only to be worse with emergence of jingoistic nationalism and dominance of right wing politics which prioritizes Sanskrit over global languages.

I don't think it has anything to do with the quality ( or lack of) but the reach of our mainstream media outlets. Which non Indian/Non PIO/ not a member of the Indian or Subcontinental diaspora would watch Indian News or read an Indian newspaper anyways? We barely have any time on TV or at max 2 pages reserved for World News. Also I don't get why you and VVVS berate Bollywood/ various Indian film industries in general. They do their job quite well. That is entertain people. Propaganda is not their business. If anything, its the Indian diaspora in countries like the US who IMO in spite of achieving spectacular professional and business success haven't been a strong lobby at all. They should be more organized and file for libel against these news outlets in their home nations.

[vvvslaxman]

Propaganda was one of the reason why movies were created :) When you think propaganda you think of brainwashing. Not like that. You can incorporate themes where you can debunk the stereotypes that were created by Western media . If popular media keep portraying a country in a certain way for years, people will start believing it. All these things have to be nipped in the bud through whatever means, Movies, Media, Social Media. Thankfully we don't waste time setting the record straight through social media. All these guys are pissed off because India is targeting NGOs . NGOs always have an agenda. This is why most of the countries don't welcome them. Be it is china, or israel. You know Ford Foundation supported by Israel and Palestine? Yes.. we have issues. But they are no worse than any other developing country. Look how other countries react on NGOs http://thediplomat.com/2015/02/the-china-russia-ngo-crackdown/ The forces have already misled Chinese economic policy-making, causing huge losses and posing substantial political risks.” Leading NGOs, such as the National Endowment for Democracy and the Ford Foundation, allegedly further U.S. “global hegemony” and commit “gross interference” in China’s internal affairs. It also argues that American NGOs use their relationships with PRC universities, the Academy of Social Sciences, and other research institutions to cultivate careful relationships with Chinese scholars. These individuals “become spokesmen for the United States in China, misleading people regarding socialist economic policy and subverting the Party’s ideological sphere.”