India is not your Cat's name!
An open letter to ‘Emperor' George Bush Jr.
[ A team of filmmakers, Films for Peace Team, is screening a series of anti-war, anti-imperialist films at 80 places all over the country. The team has written this Open Letter to Bush. ]
To
George Bush Jr.
Would-be Emperor
(Former Clown Prince)
Currently US President
Dear George ‘WMD' Bush,
It is with both great happiness and grave apprehension that we the people of India await your arrival in our country.
Happiness because in the few hours you will be engaged in shaking hands with our country's leaders your fingers will be - at least for a little while - away from the nuclear doomsday button. Happiness also in the hope that the grease you put on the palms of your political underlings here will make the many triggers all of you control that much more slippery.
There is a lot of apprehension too as your visit could become the latest source of pollution in our ancient land already poisoned over the years by your country's various multinationals- from Union Carbide of Bhopal gas notoriety to Monsanto of GM seeds infamy. Your own crimes against humanity in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo are of course far worse than that of these corporations and if the Ganges were not already as contaminated as it is unfortunately today - we would have happily recommended a long dip in its holy waters.
We know you have friends - or shall we call them loyal subjects - in very high places in our country. Shri Manmohan Singh, misleadingly called ‘Prime Minister of India' when he is really a CEO of your subsidiary company- will be there constantly at your beck and call. But then for this former civil savant turned international servant - whose soul and spine were stolen many moons ago by the IMF, World Bank and other dark forces you represent - it seems to make little difference what master he serves.
You will also find the Congress that rules India even more pliant than the US Congress you control back home. Having buried Gandhi and Nehru in both body and spirit long, long ago this political party that once fought the British Empire has become the Trojan horse of American Imperialism in India today.
There are others too from our country that will welcome you – captains of industry, merchants, bureaucrats and sections of the Indian media- who already think of themselves as junior partners in your vile Empire. Truth is they are as much in awe of the weapons of war you so wantonly wield as they are mesmerized by the petty commercial carrots you dangle before their eyes.
But make no mistake ‘Mr Wannabe President of the World' - India is far more than the name of your pet cat on the lawns of the White House. And though our leaders lovingly wag their tails at you it is not a domesticated dog either.
Instead it is a full-blooded country of over a billion people who have seen through many tyrants of your type several times over in their long history. We packed off the British Raj just over half a century ago and have no intentions of letting its illegitimate American offspring sit on our heads instead.
And we are not alone in our struggle against Imperialism on this globe either. From Vietnam to Venezuela and Iraq to Indonesia we have had and continue to have deep ties with people everywhere from around the world who have stood up in defence of their national dignity, sovereignty and the right to conduct their affairs in whatever manner they see fit. We have long historical memories too of the US establishment's atrocities and massacres around the globe – Hiroshima , Haiti , Greece , Guatemala . Cambodia , Chile - the sacrifices of countless brave citizens will not go in vain.
Your regime's latest attempts to bully or bribe the Indian government to join your machinations against Iran will also go nowhere because the people of this country will forever resist your immoral attempts to capture the assets of weaker nations by force. By tempting the foolish Indian government with a dubious nuclear pact you have attempted to divide and rule the developing world but we can see through your imperial politics and have the means to unravel it too. Mr ‘Emperor' not only do you not have no clothes on you are trying to pull some non-existent textile over our eyes too!
So Mr ‘Emperor' when you soon land in India remember - irrespective of what your weather ‘experts' tell you- the temperature on the ground will be several degrees hotter than anybody can predict. True, this will be partly due to the general rise in global temperatures your regime has so shamelessly contributed to plus the hot air you have such a talent for - but much of the heat will really be due to the burning anger aroused by your presence in our midst.
Believe us we promise a very warm welcome to you and all in your entourage and hope to make your trip as memorable as possible.
It is still not too late to turn your jets back to Washington where Uncle Dick ‘Shotgun' Cheney eagerly awaits your presence on a long and exciting safari somewhere. Happy hunting and watch your back.
Yours very, very warmly
Films for Peace team