It didn’t shock anyone when we heard North Korean troops had been sent to fight for Russia.

Why? Yes, why wasn't it a shock? Ponder for a moment about North Korea, the dictatorship, the total suppression of human rights, their nuclear pile up and their constant threat to the world!

Now, ask yourself again, why weren’t you shocked. Is it because both countries share very similar ideologies about elected leaders? Both are dictatorships, even if camouflaged under the guise of elections? Both have taken away the people’s voice? Both are bullies?

Think deeply, then ask yourself, how would you react if you heard India had sent troops to help Russia? Looking at how we are suddenly leaning towards that country, don’t be shocked if that day isn’t far away.

But looking at what we believe in, would we be doing the right thing?

Isn’t it time that the Constitution, which safeguards our beliefs and the rights of every Indian, also safeguards our foreign policies?

That every government that comes in, should strictly follow the ideologies laid down in our laws, while dealing with other countries? That a democracy supports a democracy, that people’s rights safeguarded by our Constitution, is also safeguarded in the countries we support, and that any country violating the same doesn’t get our support during a war?

It is time that just as rules, regulations and the law apply to every other union minister in our domestic setting, it also applies to our external policies.

This is an absolutely logical argument, because as the old adage goes, ‘a person is known by the friends he keeps,’ and so also a country, but here we go beyond: That the Constitution of our country is binding on our relationships and support given to other nations.

It is very easy to sway a mob. If Delhi starts shouting that the US is bad, before you can say Jack Robinson or the Indian equivalent, the rest of a group in our country will say the same. That is how mob psychology works.

But that isn’t how our Constitution works. The law is definite, and if these checks and balances have guarded our people well, I am sure it will certainly look after our foreign policy too. So, we need to check whether our agreements and exchanges with other nations follow the same set of rules, and from which no government will be allowed to deviate. 

Which begs the last question; are we jumping towards Russia and China, because of revelations that might surface, through US and Canadian investigations into killings we are accused of being involved in? Then let’s face those lawful investigations head on, since they are both democracies doing it fairly, and let’s not sell our souls to the devil like Dr Faustus, for a few scraps of immediate gain..!

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