Will the US and India become great just by saying it or making statements?
Ramsharanjoshi April12025
The question is a decade old. I was travelling by road from Minneapolis (USA) to Edmonton (Canada) with my family. Mount Rushmore came on the way. Four huge figures were shining on the peak of the mountain. Eyes of hundreds of tourists from India and abroad were fixed on the four statues lined up. They were making proud comments after looking at the figures made of stones. As far as memory serves, tourists used to say: The first figure freed America from the slavery of Britain and a sense of freedom was born in the Americans; the second showed the way of how the government should be and the path of democracy; the third underlined the rights of the common worker; and the last fourth awakened the feeling of freedom from slavery, equality, freedom and government of the people.
Yes, these four figures or statues are George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. These figures are seen as the ‘lighthouses’ of the historical journey of America, which was born as an independent country on July 4, 1776. America has become great because of the indelible contribution of all four in various fields. If any one of these four figures is made extinct, America will be destroyed.
A question naturally arises from the statues built in the beautiful dusky hills of South Dakota, America: How and when do societies, countries and nations become great? Is greatness achieved on the basis of immense capital, inexhaustible state power, infallible arsenal, continuous victory, impenetrable white supremacy, power-terror, frightened public and limitless high technology?
The present America is agitated by both these questions; the second term of Donald Trump’s rule is echoing with the ‘MAGA alaap’. The full meaning of MAGA is ‘make America great again’. This slogan coined by the Trump group has equally dominated both the people and the media. There is hardly any family that is unfamiliar with this alaap. Pro- and anti-MAGA comments can be heard from both black and white people. People also make fun of it.
In reality, there are misconceptions about what is meant by ‘America Great’: one. Will it become great by levying tariffs? Two. Will it become great by maintaining an atmosphere of fear and terror? Three. Will America be made great again by closing down the education department, cutting research and library funding, increasing the wealth of industrialist Elon Musk, taking away the independence of universities, Israel’s massacre in Gaza and coastal beautification for tourists, Iran’s destruction, Americanization of the United Nations and the World Trade Forum, and the continuation of the unipolar power system? Will the world recognize America as great after its permanent domination over Green Land?
The interesting political scenario is that in India, the campaigns to make America ‘Vishwa Guru’ and in the United States, the campaigns to make America ‘great’ are being run vigorously in parallel; one is being led by the Sangh and Narendra Modi; the other is led by Donald Trump; And both the leaders have the unwavering support of corporate capital and media. The tendencies that are emerging in the current Trump-America, have been emerging in India one after the other for the last ten years. Now Indians are getting used to bearing the brunt of these tendencies. But, a big difference is also visible between the two countries.
In America, the public soon came out on the streets against the Trump-generated tendencies. Last Saturday, huge demonstrations took place in all the 50 states of the country, the main roads of cities like New York were filled with protesters. Slogans of resistance against Trump and fascism hit the buildings of Manhattan. But, in India, there is a dearth of such scenes at the national level. The farmers are definitely agitating.
The middle and youth class have been indifferent against the tendencies generated by the Sangh + Modi. The reason is that the Modi + Shah regime made Hindutva its shield and polarized the society with the weapon of Hindutva. On the contrary, the youth in America has come out on the streets and the middle class is also agitated. In fact, people are also confused about the ‘MAGA slogan’. Can Trump’s tariff war make America great? For the time being, the American society is not completely convinced about the success of this war; the stock markets are falling; there is chaos in developed and developing countries.
India is also not an exception to this; the fears of economic emergency are looming. By the way, the American public is also confused about the possible results of the tariff war. In this whirlpool of confusion, people are not in a position to say with confidence that America can become great.
The basic question is that what have been the basic criteria for calling any country great in history? This is a question whose ultimate answer is that the question is not clear yet.If a strong and grand state power is considered the criterion then empires like Maurya, Roman, Ottoman, British, French should be considered great. If continuous victory and valour are the criteria then who will be greater than Alexander of Greece? That is why he has been called ‘Alexander the Great’ in history. This title is also held by the ruler of Rome Julius Caesar and the ruler of Russia Peter. Is any one of the invaders and looters like Genghis Khan, Halaku Khan, Kubla Khan, Ghazni, Mohammad Ghori worthy of being called great?
Which of the Mughal rulers who ruled India from 1526 to 1857 can be called great? In the history of India, only Ashoka and Akbar are considered great, the period of Chandragupta Vikramaditya is definitely remembered as the ‘golden period’.
The question is also whether Hitler and Mussolini should be called great?
Can Germany and Italy of their period be placed in the category of ‘great countries’? It is well known how tragic the end of both the leaders was. Can Saddam Hussein of Iraq and Qaddafi of Libya be great? Can Iran ruled by religious leadership be defined as a ‘great nation’? The same question applies to Ayatollah Khomeini, the architect of Islamic Iran. Israel is getting victory after victory in Gaza. The Muslim countries of West Asia are looking helpless in front of it. Then should Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu be called a ‘great leader’?
In this background, how relevant and effective the ‘MAGA slogan’ of the Trump group will prove to be in the future is a question worth considering and also worrisome. The slogans of Vishwa Guru in India and America Mahan in America give birth to modern myths.
Both types of slogans have enough material to keep the citizens of their respective countries entangled in confusion and irrationality because the rulers have not presented any universally accepted definition and criteria of a great nation to the public. They have created a kind of psychological illusion. The public is getting entangled in this web. This illusion serves the glory of the past, heroes and heroines, legends etc. to the public through high-tech. It kidnaps the public consciousness. It adapts it. Is a nation called great by worshipping a person or praising the ruler or does the top leader become great? In the era of extreme and radical right wing, the head of the state and the head of the government are being glorified in various countries including India and America. Billions of rupees and dollars are being spent for this, the media has been heavily adapted.
Does the election victory of Narendra Damodardas Modi and Donald Trump make the nation great? Modi ji has been the Prime Minister for the last decade. Before that, he had been the Chief Minister of Gujarat for 12-13 years. Has Gujarat and India become Vishwa Guru or Mahaan? The Gujarat model of development has long since collapsed.
Similarly, Trump has also adorned the post of President of America from 2016 to 20. Was there any glimpse of America becoming great during his first tenure? There was certainly an attack on the Parliament House at the time of his departure. President Trump is embroiled in many criminal cases. He is in the post of President, so he is safe from punishment. Can America become great, given the background of Trump’s controversial deeds? Will a political historian put Trump in the line of presidents like Lincoln, Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Obama? Despite becoming the President, Trump’s image is that of a ‘builder and a maverick’. The image of a politician is not visible in him. He is seen as a self-absorbed and corporate-supporting ruler.
Prime Minister Modi can also be held to the same test; What kind of ‘Bharat Mahaan’ can be expected from a person who sees himself as a ‘non-biological and divine mission’? If a top leader is great, does the country also become great along with him? Let us assume for a moment that Modi + Trump have become great, then have India and America automatically become Vishwa Guru and great? Are both the leaders synonymous with their respective countries?
In 1975, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was portrayed as a synonym for India; the slogan that came up was: India is Indira- Indira is India. Everyone knows what the results of this slogan were: the public ousted Indira + Congress from power. It would be wrong to conclude that the Modi + Shah duo would be unfamiliar with this historical fact. At one time, during the rule of Republican Party President Richard Nixon and George Bush Jr., attempts were made to create the image of ‘America Mahaan’. But, what were the results? Saddam and Iraq were certainly destroyed, but America could not find and remove even a single chemical weapon from there. America had to face tremendous disgrace. It became a liar nation. Before that Nixon had to resign from his post in the Watergate scandal.
The question can also be asked that which university has given the certificate of ‘Vishwa Guru’ to India in Modi era? Has the United Nations awarded this title to India? From where will America also get the degree of greatness? Will the platform of the United Nations be used for this? Or will Modi + Trump make do with being ‘Apne Miyan Mithu’?
In summary, the measure of a country or nation being great is how is the level of relationship and dialogue between the public and the government? How is the character of the state? How does the state behave with the last person of its society? Are the various institutions of the state dedicated to ‘just welfare of all’ or are they working for ‘welfare of one class’? The experience so far in India clearly shows that the wealth of corporate houses has increased immensely, and 80-81 crore people are living on government dole. India is at pathetic levels in the poverty, human rights and press freedom tables. Cracks have appeared in the basic secular character of India, the nation has been thrown into the war of temple versus mosque and crematorium versus graveyard.
Dead bodies are being dug out from the pages of history. The tragic coincidence is that ‘Islamophobia’ is equally prevalent in Modi’s India and Trump’s America. In both countries, one cannot protest against the genocide in Gaza. If one does, one becomes the target of the monarchy’s wrath. When monarchies start terrorizing their own citizens, how can one expect greatness from the rulers? Can a country be made Vishwa Guru or great with a medieval regressive vision? The ruler may make himself great or make the public accept it as such, but the country will not be called great and neither will the nation become great.
To make the country great, a lively and critical relationship between the public and the rulers is necessary. In the absence of critical dialogue, the dangers of fear, terror, hatred, mutual suspicion, polarization of society, death of democracy and elected dictatorship start increasing. It is an irony that under the leadership of Modi+Trump, both the countries, laden with ambitions of becoming Vishwa Guru and great, are facing a wave of suicidal tendencies. How to overcome this wave depends on the critical and positive resistance of the people.
Send feedback
Side panels
History
Saved
