The name of Peter Navarro is becoming known among Indians for the wrong reasons. He seems to be harbouring excessive hostility toward India. Perhaps he believes that by ranting against India, he will please his master, Donald Trump. However, his baseless accusations have been fact-checked, exposing his ignorance regarding the India–Russia oil trade. In the process, he has ended up hurting his own credibility while attempting to undermine Prime Minister Modi.
He also tried to show off by throwing Sanskrit words like Maharaja and Brahmin, but once again made a fool of himself and received brutal chastisement from netizens. His rant against Brahmins revealed either a deliberate bias against the intelligent class of society, known in Sanskrit as Brahmanas, or, at best, a sloppy choice of words. But it’s hard to call it a slip because we have seen similar rants before. What comes to mind is the instance when the Twitter’s ex-CEO Jack Dorsey, who was forced to resign, proudly held a placard saying “Smash Brahminical Patriarchy.” Such displays only expose a pathetic level of intellectual bankruptcy.
The real question is, do they even know what Brahmin or Brahmaṇa means in the first place? Clearly, they don’t. Brahmins are not a caste, as is widely misunderstood by many Indians today and by people across the world. According to the Bhagavad Gita, brahmins are defined by qualities, not by birth.
“Peacefulness, self-control, austerity, purity, tolerance, honesty, knowledge, wisdom and religiousness – these are the natural qualities by which the brāhmaṇas work.” (Bg 18.42)
So, Mr. Navarro should first self-check and see whether he possesses even one of these qualities before accusing Brahmins of profiteering from US-India trade. A genuine Brahmin’s business is not to profiteer from any enterprise but to distribute knowledge of the Absolute Truth, athato brahma jigyasa, to the masses.
Navarro has made a few other anti-India statements but the point is, making such clearly biased statements, Navarro has likely embarrassed Mr. Trump himself, who went overboard with the claim that India was sponsoring the Russia-Ukraine war. Now, in damage control mode, Trump has underplayed his earlier rants and stated that he and Mr. Modi will always remain friends.
As a matter of fact, I would be happy if Trump and Modi remain friends, because both are fighting against rotten, century-old establishments. Together they could achieve something better for the world, especially considering that the alternative is hopelessly corrupt and incapable of doing any real good. I must clarify, however, that by mentioning Modi and Trump together here, I am not equating their personal characteristics, since both of them have their own strengths and are very different in many ways.
PM Modi is a distinctly mature and seasoned leader, and is unlikely to react to unreasonable rants, least of all from Peter Navarro. What is obvious, however, is that Navarro has embarrassed not only the President of the United States but also the nation itself with his recent anti-India and anti-Brahmin remarks. Whether he ultimately proves to be Trump’s liability is something for the coming days to reveal.
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