Justice and jungle raj in the age of AI

No sane person can object to Trump's efforts to stop killings and end the Ukrainian conflict and bring back peace. But for peace to be durable, it must be fair, it must be even handed and both sides should feel winners.

- SURENDRA KUMAR

In the 1970s hit Hindi film, Safar, featuring Rajesh Khanna, Firoz Khan and Sharmila Tagore, there was an endearing song conveying a time-tested sage advice: Jo tumko ho pasand wohi baat kahenge/Tum din ko agar raat kaho, raat kahenge...This simple, practical strategy works not only in love affair and marital life but is equally effective in politics, business and international affairs. One politician had mounted a sharp criticism against Prime Minister Modi and exited from government. Subsequently, he underwent a change of heart, expressed remorse for his earlier utterances, rejoined the government and reincarnated himself as a strong admirer of the PM. His detractors called him an opportunist but in the eyes of his supporters, he was a practical pragmatist par excellence.

This phenomenon isn't confined to India alone; such pragmatists exist elsewhere as well. Some years back, an American politician compared Donald Trump to Hitler; he is now his Vice President; he rebuked the Ukrainian President in front of the cameras in the Oval Office. And "little Marco", who openly accused Russia of invading Ukraine, and during the Biden administration, favoured support to Ukraine as long as it takes, now as the Secretary of State, ensured that the US voted against the UN Resolution that condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Three years ago, when India refused to condemn Russia, the US and European leaders were competing with each other in telling India that she was on the wrong side of history. They scorned at our inability to call a spade a spade and condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine.