In his poem "Dui Bigha Jomi", poet Rabindranath presented a most realistic equation between a zamindar and his subjects of his time. Upen, a subject has only two bighas of land and the rest was sold to pay his debt. But because his plot of land is adjacent to the zamindar's garden, the latter desires to purchase Upen's plot. When Upen pleads to spare him the transaction of land, the last resort to fall back upon, the high and mighty becomes gracious enough to tell Upen that the garden of the zamindar will be equal in length and breadth if the two bighas are included. So, the lord of the land simply declares that Upen must surrender the land. When Upen begs mercy saying that the land of seven generations is more like his mother than a plot of land and even a worthless person like him could not sell that mother-like piece of land. The zamindar forfeits the land by bringing a false charge of indebtedness against Upen. After one and a half months, Upen gets out for destinations unknown to lead a life of vagabond.
There is a twist at the end of the poem when Upen returns after years and two ripe mangoes fall from the tree. He considers it a gift from the land that was once his. But just then the gardener arrives to scold him for picking the mangoes without permission. The zamindar comes and accuses Upen of theft in the guise of a monk. The last couplet serves as a sarcastic parting kick the poet has designed for Upen to recite as a soliloquy that the king has now turned into an honest guy and he himself is certainly a thief today.
In a modern version of the Dui Bigha Jomi, Venezuela and Greenland serve as the right counterparts with the only difference that those, unlike Upen's land, are located in two continents. Donald Trump of America has already captured Venezuela and taken its President Nicolas Maduro and his wife hostage on the ruse of the Latin American president's involvement in contraband drug smuggling. Independent sources view this as a false charge against Maduro. His implication echoes the made-up charge of indebtedness against Upen. Even if Maduro was at fault, what about his wife? It is a clear case of a foreign state-sponsored kidnapping of the Venezuelan first lady. Now self-proclaimed peace broker Trump has set his eyes on Greenland for annexation. The government of Denmark, a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), has been angered by Trump's repeated claim that the US needs the autonomous and the largest of the country's constituent parts for security reasons.
If applied the archaic logic that has prompted Trump to invade a sovereign country like Venezuela, there is little chance the Danes can defend their territory against America. In April, 1951, the US and Denmark signed a treaty called the "Greenland Defense Agreement" under which the Americans can keep their military base in the world's largest island, 50 times larger than Denmark proper. The treaty even allows Americans to establish new military bases if NATO deems it necessary. Also the American military can freely use and move between their defence areas but cannot infringe upon Danish sovereignty in Greenland. What is more is that the agreement stays in force as long as the NATO treaty does. As a dominant member of the NATO, the US is bound to defend foreign aggression. Now, if America turns to be the aggressor, how will other members of the NATO respond?
Trump has threatened Cuba, Mexico and Colombia and mulling over the possibility of attacking Iran again. Here is a bully who, if not restrained by the Congress and the Senate, may have actually started the World War III. For the so-called peace-broker who claimed he deserved the Nobel Peace Prize this would be the ultimate anti-climax. He has convoluted the international rules, laws and norms. Had Venezuela been a heavyweight nation, Trump would have already started a war. He reminds the world of Adolf Hitler.
Venezuela has done nothing wrong to be at the receiving end. If powerful states now start capturing smaller countries for oil and mineral resources, this world, already in turmoil, will face calamitous disruptions. Can the world afford such disruptions? The Americans voted Trump to power for the second time knowing full well how capricious the man is. His craziness is boundless and an impeachment alone can stop this man from doing more harm to the world. Both the Congress and the Senate have a huge responsibility in restraining the crazy president.
© 2026 - All Rights with The Financial Express
