Clinton came and saw, but he did not have to conquer. The slavish Indian state and media establishment had in fact prostrated itself like the proverbial red carpet for Mr. Clinton to tread on. On the other hand, there is this other India which belongs to and comprises its toiling millions and all its self-respecting citizens and genuine patriots, which no Clinton can ever conquer. Braving police lathis and water canons and the contemptuous arrogance of the US securitymen and their Indian counterpart, this other India spoke out loudly against all that it considered unbecoming of and inimical and insulting to India's legacy and interests.
Clinton and his entourage have left. But more guests will keep coming periodically to monitor the fate of Clinton's mission. The first such visitor will be Mr. Free, chief of US investigation agency FBI. Indian rulers have not bothered to inform Indian citizens or even Indian Parliament as to why FBI is being allowed to set up shop in Delhi. Obviously, FBI is not coming here to measure the growth of the sapling planted by Clinton at Gandhi's Rajghat. It will be FBI today and CIA tomorrow. Probably to keep an eye on ISI! The country has already got some taste of US security service. Chief Minister and Governor of Rajasthan and several Indian dignitaries were subjected to humiliating experiences and one senior correspondent of India Today was harassed and grilled because he was recorded by Clinton's securitymen in Agra to have uttered Osama Bin Laden's name! More should now perhaps be expected from the proposed nexus between FBI and CBI!
Souvenirs of Clinton Yatra gifts are however not limited to the security front. Even as the nation was being held hostage to the government-sponsored euphoria and frenzy of Clinton's visit, Union Petroleum Minister Ram Naik announced drastic hikes in the prices of Kerosene and LPG. It is a sign of the changing times that hikes in prices are referred to as mere cuts in subsidies! And now Murasoli Maran has freed more than 700 import items from any kind of quantitative restriction. Yashwant Sinha's budget had already announced liberal reductions in Customs Duty.
If anybody was foolish enough to expect either large dollops of American technology, investment or liberalisation of American economy for Indian exports or labour or even promise of a permanent berth for India in an enlarged UN Security Council, Clinton had little time for such naive feelings of his Indian fans. He of course got a loud applause from BJP and Congress MPs for condescendingly granting India the right to determine its own future. Clinton was literally being mobbed like some pop cultural icon as MPs vied among themselves to get a lifetime opportunity to shake hands with Clinton. An RK Laxman cartoon said it all: an overwhelmed Clinton-charmed MP refusing to wash his hands to preserve that glorious touch!
Obviously, genuine patriots will have to wage a vigorous battle not only against the Clintons but also all their Indian fans to preserve India's national dignity and independence.