NARENDRA Modi in 18 months of his prime ministership has convinced all those who are already committed to extend support to him that he has successfully presented and projected India’s national interests during his foreign visits and foreign policy of India is quite safe in his hands. It is forgotten that the developed capitalist countries of the North – Europe, North America, Australia, Japan, et al – are searching for markets for investments in developing capitalist countries of the South in their own interest because it is only through Foreign Direct Investments (FDI), transnational corporations of the North can earn profits as profit earning avenues and opportunities in the monopoly capitalist countries of the North are shrinking. The European Union and its common currency Euro is faced with deep crisis because of non-growing economy in the whole of Europe. It is appropriate to describe the present phase of “foreign-capital” led globalisation under the leadership of American imperialism as the last phase of capitalist imperialism because the headquarters of advanced monopoly capitalism are searching for markets in the capitalist South for solving their deep crisis of accumulation of capital. This salient feature of the specificity of finance capital phase should be kept in mind while analysing the foreign visits of the Indian PM and his tall claims that he is making India an attractive market for foreign investors by opening up Indian market.

It should not be forgotten that monopoly capitalist class of advanced countries are eager and willing to invest in India. The PM without consulting institutions of decision making like cabinet or cabinet committes on November 10, 2015 announced further opening up of the Indian market by raising foreign investments upto 49 percent in defence sector and also for the so-called construction of smart cities and construction sector. Chandrajit Banerjee, director general of the CII stated “for markets and for the industry, these could not have come at a better time.” The government’s official statement is that “the exercise of PM is intended on the one hand to further open the sectors for more foreign investments in the country and also make it easy to invest in India. This announcement of November 10 was followed by Modi’s visit to England for the purpose of extending economic cooperation to the British trade and industry. It deserves to be underlined that Modi has reduced foreign policy of India to achieve single goal of establishing and strengthening “economic and defence cooperation” with Western Capitalist-imperialist countries. This single goal got reflected in the India- UK agreements of November 12, which included a) civil nuclear pact; b) UK assistance to “smart city” projects; c) Indo-UK regular summit level meetings et al. This UK-India agreement amounted to 9.5 billion pounds includes areas which are very lucrative and profitable for British capital investors.

Modi after signing economic and defence collaborations with England bravely observed “….confidently, consistently and ceaselessly working to integrate the Indian economy with the world.” This statement of Modi substantiates the argument that Modi as an agent of Indian monopoly capitalist classes has spent 18 months in the office pushing forward the agenda of global capitalist classes and the only aim of his foreign visits is to “assure the global monopoly capitalist classes that Indian market is open and free for foreign investors.” A point to be noted is that Modi’s visit to England has come at a time when capitalism of that country is facing deep crisis and England is described as a ‘declining economy’, a process which seems to be irreversible and this is the reason that the British are thinking very seriously for a “referendum” on their membership of the European Union because the Euro is facing a deep crisis. It is most surprising that the PM of India does not know that the British are seriously reviewing and reconsidering the very idea of membership of the EU because of its declining utility and at the moment, Modi observed on November 12 that “England is India’s gateway to Europe”.

 If on one hand, Modi observed that because of his successful visit the British and Indian companies are “announcing new collaborations together worth 9 billion pounds”. On the other, the Guardian newspaper reporter asked British PM David Cameron as to “How was he feeling comfortable while receiving Modi?” One cartoon in a British tabloid described Modi as Taliban. Another BBC reporter in the presence of Cameron asked PM Modi as to “why India is increasingly becoming intolerant.” Not only this, Modi on the eve of his visit to Britain also received a strong protest from 200 writers like Salman Rushdie on the deteriorating inter-community relationship in India. Modi’s reply was simply astounding when he stated that “India does not accept intolerance ever, if one or two or three incidents happen….then we don’t become intolerant”. It does not behove Modi to appropriate traditions of Buddha, because Modi and the RSS completely reject the philosophy of composite culture and belief in non-violence. Modi, also on November 13 while addressing the Indian diaspora in London, presented the values of diversity, tolerance, Sufism and Kabir while back at home Modi and his cohorts in RSS have been openly flouting these same principles that he champions abroad. Has Modi forgotten that in a globalised interconnected world, the media keeps on informing the whole world about the happenings in India under Modi. Where his dear RSS is working 24x7 to polarise the Indian society and spread hatred against religious minorities. While Modi was offering lame excuses and false defences when asked about growing intolerance in India, the Sangh Parivar at the same time was indulging in violence against Karnataka government’s official celebrations of Tipu Sultan who had fought against the British colonisers. Not only this, it is for the first time in the 70 years history of free India that a PM, during his foreign visit as a guest of the foreign country for foreign policy negotiations was put in the dock on purely “domestic” issue of “growing culture of intolerance” in the country of the visiting PM. It has never happened in the past that a PM on an official visit abroad had to be cornered and asked to defend his actions while dealing with domestic inter- community problems. The PM has brought us “national shame” when his foreign policy discussions ended up in accusations against his leadership of his own country. The story does not end here, Modi in his style of playing the role of a street actor, addresses Indian diaspora in all countries which he visits and its only purpose is to convey to his domestic social constituency that Modi even abroad has not forgotten his message of Hindutva which has to be spread wherever Hindus are settled.

The agenda of Hinduisation is carried by Modi to foreign lands and he is promoting national-Hindu interests while visiting foreign countries. The larger issue is that Modi’s agenda has been finalised by his supporters like the Sangh Parivar and monopoly capitalist classes especially because the Indian big business had become disillusioned with the UPA-II government’s so called “policy paralysis” and naturally shifted their support to the BJP. It is well substantiated on the basis of available facts that Modi’s campaign during the elections of 2014 was funded by the Indian monopoly capitalists who had seen that Modi as the chief minister of Gujarat for about 12 years was ideologically and politically committed to the idea of capitalist development of India and for achieving this goal, he chose the path of integration with finance-capital. While in Gujarat he had organised the annual trade fairs by inviting international transnational corporations to fund Gujarat’ capitalist development, every monopoly capitalist of India used to enhusiastically attend these summits to seek collaboration and funds from surplus capital countries of the West. This was Modi’s Gujarat model of capitalist development which he had sold to Indian big business while contesting the 16th Lok Sabha elections of 2014 who on the basis of their own experience of Gujarat under Modi, opted for him.

Modi is pursuing his domestic and foreign policies as a committed “representative of ruling monopoly capitalist classes and Modi has not shown any ambiguity in his public acknowledgement of his deep commitment to the goals of capital accumulation of the ruling capitalist classes. It is for the first time in the history of post-independence India that a PM has not felt hesitant or ambivalent in announcing his class affiliation and all his foreign visits from United States to Australia and England have been undertaken to serve the interests of Indian capitalists – this is the essence of class based foreign policy of Modi and England visit is the latest example of his efforts to attract foreign capital for country’s capitalist development.