Make India Great Again – Editorial

Editorial

Donald Trump, the 45^th and 47^th President of the United States of America (the USA), has issued a series of orders after taking oath. It was being said that Trump had already prepared 100 Executive orders before taking oath and will immediately sign them and implement them after the oath.

In fact, within 6 hours of his oath-taking ceremony, Trump changed 78 orders of former President Joe Biden and issued new orders. One of these orders is the USA’s withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO). He had taken the same decision during his previous tenure; however, when the Biden came to power, he reversed Trump’s decision. Now, Trump has again withdrawn the USA’s membership from WHO. This shows the two streams of opinion of the two Parties in the same country. Whether the move benefits the USA or harms it, will have to be studied.

Besides this, some other orders given by Trump show their impact not only on the USA, but also on the world. These decisions are concurrent with Trump’s overall personality. He had already declared that he would take such decisions. He will remain the President of the USA for the next 4 years. During this period, he will work according to the slogan of ‘Make America Great Again’. Only time will tell how successful he will be in this task; but the current situation is such that he will have to face various international and social challenges. On the one hand, his policies may be beneficial for some groups in the USA, while on the other, he may have to face reactions at the social and global level.

Although the USA is a world super-power, it is currently facing an economic crisis. And, this is not widely discussed at the global level, China has posed a big challenge for the USA. Trump’s focus is precisely to meet this challenge; because he is a businessman himself. After being born in a poor family, his family became rich due to his father’s achievements. Trump expanded his business greatly, and today, he has also become the President for the second time. Trump is looking at the USA from a commercial perspective. Accordingly, he has proposed to annex Greenland and he will stop only after completing it.

That appears to be his intense will. They are also going to take control of the Panama Canal and are trying to merge Canada with the USA. Presently, there appears to be opposition to all such aspects. Therefore, it may not be possible to guess the extent of his success as of now; however, Trump’s purpose is evident from his functioning.

Problem of Illegal Immigrants

After Trump ordered the expulsion of illegal immigrants from the USA, there were reactions within the USA and from the rest of the world. This decision will have a major impact on the USA and other countries. It will create many challenges on the economic, social, international and legal fronts. As a result of this policy, some people will benefit, while others will be harmed.

Many illegal immigrants work in agriculture, construction, home decoration and other low-wage sectors in the USA. If these immigrants are expelled from the country, there may be a major shortage of labour in these industries. This may increase inflation in these sectors. Many local businesses and industries depend on illegal immigrant workers. If they are deported, some small businesses may close or they may face a challenge finding additional workers, which may lead to economic instability.

Although illegal immigrants are employed, they do contribute to some extent in paying taxes, increasing production and supporting the country’s economy. The absence of these workers can have a long-term impact on the economy. There are a significant number of Indians among these illegal migrants.

Therefore, Trump’s order is also going to affect India and the Indians. Trump says that the citizens of USA are not getting jobs because of foreigners and that too those residing illegally. This, however, is a global problem. Such a dispute is seen in various States in India too. The same situation exists in the USA. It remains to be seen how much benefit or harm Trump’s announcement will cause.

Friendship between India and the USA

A day before his oath-taking ceremony, Trump announced that he will not allow World War 3 to take place. It is because of Trump’s warning that the Hamas-Israel war has halted, and Trump has said that he will also stop the Ukraine-Russia war.

Trump is a hardcore businessman, not a politician. Being outspoken and honest, he knows that war does not lead to development but leads to wastage of money; hence, he is looking at this with the same perspective. He is not a Gandhian, and being aware of the USA’s interests, he is also acting in a tough manner. He is aware of the USA’s extensive suffering due to the infiltrators from Mexico; hence, he had started getting a wall built on the Mexican border during his previous term. Now, he is going to expel every infiltrator from the country. For this, the help of the army will be taken.

This decision of Trump should be a learning exercise for India. India is full of Bangladeshi and Rohingya infiltrators; however, it seems that the Indian administration is very passive in expelling them. Arresting some 5-10 Bangladeshis out of crores and expelling them will serve no purpose. Trump has a very good relationship with Prime Minister Modi. This was evident in Trump’s previous tenure and it is evident now as well. Their friendship will benefit India and the USA.

Taking a cue from this friendship, even India can set the goal of ‘Make India Great Again’.