Replace India's US ambassador with ex-military man for "strategic" relations with Trump: Modi's NRI protege
A top Hindutva ideologue settled in the US has advised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s national security adviser Ajit Doval to replace the present ambassador to the US, Arun Kumar Singh, with a top military personnel in order to deal with president-elect Donald Trump.
Rajiv Malhotra, known to be close to Modi, who two years ago praised him for “glorifying” India’s “priceless heritage”, has said that India should “consider appointing some ex-military person as its ambassador to the USA”, pointing out this would be a “top priority” for Doval insofar as India’s relationship with US is concerned.
Introduced as “Indian–American researcher, author, speaker” by a top right-wing online journal, Malhotra, considered by his votaries as one of the foremost theorists on Indian nationalism, has said in a commentary on the victory of Donald Trump as US president, that that not diplomats but “senior Indian military officials should lead strategic discussions with Trump.”
Also a wealthy NRI businessman, he insists, “India should avoid sending the standard team of Indian diplomats because Americans appreciate clear-cut, no-nonsense dealmakers rather than woolly-headed poets or ideologues. This pragmatism will be even more applicable in dealing with Trump.”
Titled “How India Should Deal with President Trump”, the commentary by Malhotra says, India should set aside what so far been “typical ideological approach” in international relations while “dealing with Trump”, adding, “India should formulate a totally pragmatic approach for dealing with Trump.”
Malhotra’s advice is, India should not “pigeon hole Trump into Left/Right categories”, adding, New Delhi should “understand his top priorities as president, and make concrete deals that are free of lofty ideologies.”
According to Malhotra, “India’s most important diplomatic offensive should be on Baluchistan.” He adds, India should “convince Trump that a game changer would be to free Baluchistan from Pakistan by supporting the Baluchi freedom movement.”
Underlining that this “will involve US military intervention”, Malhotra says, “And it will change the map of the region forever. Afghanistan will get access to the sea via Baluchistan, and the US will no longer have to suck up to Pakistan for supplying its troops. Afghans will love this freedom from the Pakis. So will the other Central Asian ‘stan’ countries that are presently landlocked.”
“A potential new sea access for Russia will also be a negotiating card to deal with Putin”, says Malhotra, adding, “Pakistan will lose its geostrategic positioning, a card it has played very skillfully for too long.”
“For its part, India should offer military help in Afghanistan, but only if USA guarantee’s an independent Baluchistan”, Malhotra thinks, adding, “This will be a win-win deal of a kind that is right up Trump’s alley. Russia may decide to join. A clandestine or indirect role for Israel should also be discussed.”
As part of India’s “diplomatic defensive deal” with the US, the Hindutva theorist thinks, the country’s leadership should “convince Trump to end US governmental support for Christian evangelism in India”, pointing out that Trump “was heavily backed by the evangelicals, and they are experienced in extracting foreign policy assistance from the US government.”
In fact, Malhotra wants Trump to know that “in the long run, a fragmented India would not become a Christian country, but rather a battleground for the return of Mughalstan”, adding, “It would be a worse nightmare for the USA than the entire Middle East is.”
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