Amid the global economic crisis created by the isolationist policy of the United States (US)meant to browbeat India and China, Russian President Vladimir Putin has put the things in perspective by cautioning the US. He has taken the US to task for its strong arm tactics against India and China. This must be seen in the backdrop of the US imposing 25 % tariff with an additional penalty on India that amount to a total of 50 % for doing business and trade with Russia. It must be noted that Putin has taken the US head on when he has already met the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Chinses President Xi Jinping during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit. He has stated categorically that the US cannot talk to India and China in the way that is tantamount to imperialism. He has underlined that the colonial era is over and the US cannot use the terms it is imposing on its business partners in the international trade. Putin has said that the US is using economic pressure as a tool to undermine the two Asian powers. He has also acknowledged that he debriefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Alaska Summit with the US President Donald Trump. During his car drive with the Indian Prime Minister. Putin has said that this move is a deliberate move to weaken the leadership of India and China. Underlining the dynamics of these countries he said, “You have countries like India with 1.5 billion people, China, powerful economies, but they also have their own domestic political mechanisms and laws…..When somebody tells you they are going to punish you, you have to think — how can the leadership of those big countries react?” He reflected on the history of India and China by saying that they have had difficult periods in their histories too, like colonialism, tax on their sovereignty during a prolonged period of time. If one of them shows weakness, his political career will be over. So that influences his behaviour. This is a very significant statement that hits at the root of US hegemony to impose a new kind of colonialism meant to create a unipolar world. He has in fact warned that the colonial era is over now and the terms used by the US in doing international business are unacceptable. It is pertinent to mention that he acknowledged that he highly valued the contributions of India and other strategic partners in the facilitation in resolving the Ukrainian conflict. To underline this, he said that he values the efforts and proposals of India and China besides other partners in helping to settle the Ukraine crisis. One thing is clear that the US has succeeded in dividing the global order with its myopic policy meant to target emerging economies out of utter frustration. Is the US plunging the world into another geo-political conflict? Only time will tell. But with president Putin drawing the line and warning the US to desist from its imperialist policies, there is every reason to believe that the world is getting united to pose a challenge to the colonial designs of Washington. In this move it has lost its friends like India and has won more enemies instead. It will be interesting to see now as to how the paradigm shift in global polity will shape the world order keeping in view that India, China and Russia are coming on the same page to counter the US hegemony.
