Pankaj Mishra screams banalities at Donald Trump, calling him compulsive groper, white supremacist, serial liar and tax dodger. At the same time we hear that the Time magazine has named Trump as a person of the year. As much as Mishra hates Trump and assumes that his supporters are at best misguided fools, the reality is that the man has been democratically elected. When Modi was elected in India we had a similar outpouring of hysteria from Mishra. It was as if the end of the world was nigh. All the indications are that Modi remains a popular leader who is not corrupt and has brought about numerous radical changes for the better. Blaming western capitalism and the democratic model is meaningless unless you can come up with a viable alternative. What does Mishra want? Does he want a communist-style model to take over the world or is there any other utopia he has in mind? If Mishra is really interested in bringing about a better world he should be directing his efforts towards all the countries where there is no democracy or freedom to live as free spirits. It is the lack of freedom and democracy that is driving millions of people from their homes. Even the most welcoming people will come to a point when they will legitimately ask when will the migration of people fleeing civil wars end? To call the legitimate fears of the people racist is the height of arrogance and hugely counterproductive for the minorities.
Nitin Mehta
London
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