What is the significance of Biden’s victory for Dhaka and Delhi? What is the loss of Bangladesh if the personal chemistry of Modi-Trump is disrupted in this new equation? These questions are now being raised again and again.
Philosophy says that even twin people are not naturally one. This difference in the character of the person is normal. So Biden from Trump is not just a Republican to a Democrat, there is a sky-high difference between the two people. So after winning, Biden said, I will work for all Americans. Even for those who did not vote for me. This attitude has never been heard from Trump’s mouth.
However, it does not seem that this change will radically change US policy for Bangladesh, even for India. Because in the Indo-Pacific region, Bangladesh is also important to America as a Democrat leader. The reason is China. Again, Bangladeshi or Indian people may feel a little bit comfortable in immigration. Even if Trump leaves, Trumpism will remain. Biden must not rush. Even though he has spoken out in the past about the rapid demise of the current trend, now that he is president, he does not seem to be complicating India’s internal affairs with his public opinion. Biden will do what Sheikh Hasina has done in this regard. On the contrary, the autopsy will be the reason why the voters did not accept the sentiment that America did for the Americans. That being said, Corona’s mismanagement, health care, unemployment, post-truth or the new narrative of fake news creating the post-truth era সম্ভবত everything has probably boomeranged.
But Biden is not very strong. Passing bills in the Senate and Congress will not be an easy task. In this situation, Bangladesh and India have the potential to take diplomatic opportunities.
The distance from Dhaka to Washington is about 13,000 kilometers. However, it can be said that the US bilateral relations with Bangladesh will not change much in this leadership. Biden needs Bangladesh just as much as Trump did to deal with China for Indo-Pacific war strategy. America has helped Bangladesh for health, education, and even coronary antidote. Will America’s position change in this regard? On the contrary, even if it doesn’t change very quickly, Dhaka can put pressure on the United States to bring back new American immigrants. In any case, Dhaka hopes that Biden will not be as radical as Trump even if he cannot bring about a radical change in Trump’s policy.
Even though it is such a far away country, I saw great interest everywhere, including in Kolkata and Delhi, as to why US President Trump is losing. In fact, not today, but many years ago, the two countries have a deep relationship. The Sepoy Rebellion of 1857, which historians call the First Independence Movement, also had an impact on the American Civil War of 181. News of the Sepoy Rebellion was regularly reported in American and London newspapers at the time, which had a profound effect on American civil society at the time. The subject of India has been repeatedly mentioned in various works of the great personality Abraham Lincoln. Rajmohan Gandhi wrote a remarkable research book on the subject, A Tale of Two Revolutions in India – 1838 and the American Civil. Rajmohan Gandhi researched the newspapers of that time and showed that five Indian personalities were influential in the American Civil War at that time. They are Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay, Ayan Octavian Hume, Syed Ahmed Khan, Vidyasagar, and Jyotiba Phule.
Today, after so many years of Trump’s defeat, the question is, what will be the change in America’s relations with India? As I wrote earlier, whether Trump wins or Biden wins, the situation in the whole world today requires two countries. If in 1857 India could have had such an impact on America from so far away, is it very difficult to understand how much interdependence there can be today in this age of globalization and modern technology?
However, the climate created by the American vote this time is a rare and unprecedented event. The president is not conceding defeat in the vote, going to court, but this is not the first time in America. The results of the 2000 election between George W. Bush and Al Gore were also debated. The matter was taken to the Supreme Court. There was still a demand for recount of votes. But the US election process was such that the court could not announce the decision to recount the votes. Even in 1967, 11 years after the Civil War, there was a controversy over the counting of votes. In the 18th election, there were allegations of corruption. Service lawyers were also called. In 1960, Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy also had a final disagreement over the outcome of the vote.
It should be noted here, however, that in America there is a custom that after a defeat the president will declare himself defeated. So he is leaving the White House and the Oval Office. It is a lot like announcing the victory of grandfather Bhishma’s Pandavarai in the battle of Kurukshetra. But the president is not acknowledging the rate, and the president is being ousted from the White House on the orders of the Supreme Court, a scene the world has never seen.
Another big problem in America is that the constitution of that country was made in 18. But the Election Commission was formed on 16 October 1984. The name was given to the Federal Election Commission. Counting of votes is not the job of this Election Commission. This independent reform is to see and investigate the financial fraud of the vote. Counting and management of votes is under the states. The Secretary of State is generally responsible for voting. But how the votes will be counted in a state, for how long and when they will be published all under the federal state. Every state has an elected governor, there is a Rajya Sabha. There are a total of about five lakh officers in the states who count the votes in their respective states.
There are absentee votes for postal votes or absentee voters. These are really very strange rules. 135 crore people in India is really unthinkable. The US population is now 33 million. 15 crore of them have the right to vote. Previous experience has shown that 25 to 30 percent of people are reluctant to vote.
The rules do not end here. President Trump cannot go directly to the Supreme Court if he wants to. Again he cannot apply directly to himself. Someone will apply on his behalf and that too first in the lower court. So the process is long. Meanwhile, the date of counting of votes is different in each state. The day of the announcement of the vote is different.
There has also been a lot of comparative discussion about Thomas Jefferson and our BR Ambedkar. The Virginia Declaration of Human Rights of 18 and the U.S. Constitution of 18 provided for the theory of separation of powers of law, administration, and justice. It is added to Article 50 of the Indian Constitution. But the big question is why Jefferson didn’t think about the Election Commission in such a big United States of America. Law expert Bruce Ackerman himself admits that it is a good thing that the United States has separated governance, law and justice in its constitution by beheading Montesquieu and James Madison, but India has risen above him to form an election commission, which the United States has not. The United States felt that the formation of a centralized election commission could be a challenge to governance or the rule of law in the future. In India, Ambedkar was in favor of forming an independent, centralized election commission, and Nehru agreed. Today in America, there are demands from various quarters to amend the constitution. Another thing is that in America the vice president is not elected. The president nominates his party’s candidate.
From where I started talking today, Trump will win and Biden, India-America relations will not change much. Modi went on to show a little more personal love by saying ‘ab ki bar Trump government’, which was diplomatically inappropriate. It is not diplomatic etiquette to sniff out the votes of any other sovereign state. However, understanding the wind, Modi changed his tactics. At his behest, Vijay Chauthaivala, head of the BJP Foreign Cell, instructed the Indians through the Overseas BJP in the US that the BJP has no party affiliation. They will spread it freely as they wish. But that’s right, even if Trump leaves, this time the 50 states of the United States and Washington will all disintegrate. Where did that melting pot go? Even if Trump leaves, there will be Trumpism. Will Biden be able to bring about a radical change in the narrative of the far-right, strong nationalist American nationalism, the black-and-white polarization, Pakistan-China, North Korea’s attitude toward terrorism, the immigration problem, and the fight against Mexico? No, H-1 will not change the visa policy, but will sing the opposite with Article 370. For now, the fear of American balkanization is growing.
Author: Kaler Kantho’s special correspondent in New Delhi
