Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman hit out at those defending US President Donald Trump’s trade advisor Peter Navarro’s remark, branding them “friends of imperialists” and urging Indians to reject such language.
Navarro had claimed that “Brahmins” were profiting from India’s imports of Russian oil during the Ukraine conflict. Several in India suggested that Trump’s trade adviser may have been referring to the American phrase “Boston Brahmins”, which describes wealthy old-money elites.
“Exactly the same divide and rule principle that the British used, which the imperialists used here. And today, you have the friends of the imperialists telling us, ‘you know the expression Boston Brahmins is this and not that’. Who damn cares? I’m sorry. Who damn cares? I want Indians to think for ourselves,” Sitharaman said in an interview to CNBC TV18.
Sitharaman urged Indians not to defend such language and called on them to reject the use of such terms.
“I want those Indians who are now defending that language to get up and say, ‘We are free from you all now for over 75-80 years. We’ll mind our business, we’ll take care of ourselves. Refrain from using these words,’” she added.
Who was Nirmala Sitharaman pointing at in connection with Navarro’s comments?
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was seemingly pointing to a group of Indian politicians who clarified the term ‘Boston Brahmins’ after Peter Navarro’s remark that “Brahmins are profiting from Russian oil in India” surfaced.
TMC leader Sagarika Ghose had responded to Navarro’s remark.
“Boston Brahmin was once a widely used term in the US to refer to the American New England wealthy elite. ‘Brahmin’ is still a term used in the English-speaking world to denote social or economic “elites” ( in this case, the rich). The illiteracy on X is astonishing,” she said in a post on X.
TMC leader Saket Gokhale had also clarified the meaning of the word “Brahmin.”
“Classic case of ignorance (and I don’t mean Navarro). Peter Navarro is from Cambridge, MA. In New England (esp Boston & around where he’s from), the term “Brahmin” is used for someone that’s extremely rich. BJP “ecosystem” spokespersons should start reading some real books,” he said in a post on X.