Thread by @amishra77

Rapid Taliban takeover of Afghanistan offers many lessons for India.

Although the situation is still fluid, yet the fact that Taliban has, at least for the foreseeable future, taken control and has at the same time amassed a group of global apologists does offer lessons. 1/10

First, oversized value that some place in India to every word spoken by Western press and Think Tanks must now be consigned to the dustbin.

The old regime and its acolytes behave as if our very existence depends on what some obscure non-entity writes about us in a rag sheet.2/10

An intern in a one-bathroom outfit somewhere in Scandinavia would rate our democracy and we go apocalyptic with self pity.

A hitman would asses our COVID response while his own country is going through fourth wave with almost a million dead and we wallow in endless shame. 3/10

As the Afghanistan defeat and Western apologists springing overnight have shown, the good characters certificates from such actors mean exactly the same as a poor rating by them - which is zilch or of zero value.

We have to do what we think is right for India. Period. 4/10

Normally, governments lag Think Tanks and intellectual world in taking forward looking policy positions.
In India, curiously, it is the reverse. The intelligentsia is lagging - the government does not bother while the 'influencers' live for Western certificates. Move on. 5/10

Second, now established that if entire liberal core- press, intelligentsia, actors, StandUp Comics, etc unitedly bat for a party then it is almost certain that party would be disastrous for the country/world.

In India they bat for Congress. For Trudeau in Canada. And so on..6/10

Third, Since 1979 - when terrorism started in India - first in Punjab in 1980s and in 1990s in Kashmir and then other parts of India - the United States was either directly or indirectly present in Pakistan and the region.

After 40 years, USA, it seems will be now gone. 7/10

Presence of USA in Pak has acted as a shield for it when push came to shove after a major terror attack against India. After Parliament attacks in 2001 and one can argue even after 26/11.

PM Modi broke that shackle with surgical and air strikes. But now USA itself is gone. 8/10

So, in 40 years, potentially (as fluid situation so evolving) this will be first time Pakistan maybe without USA shield of either direct presence (1979-1989; 2001-2021) or indirect cover (1990-2001).

Opens up many possibilities & Pakistan would have to tread very carefully. 9/10

Finally, abject surrender of West - fleeing at midnight, leaving local staff to their almost certain death - holds a stark lesson.

All the moralizing about Western values is humbug. In the end, it is only about self interest. Especially relevant for Hindus. 10/10