From Dunkel to Uncle back to Dunkel again

Once upon a trade deficit, a chap by the name of Arthur Dunkel was a household name in pre-liberalised India. As DG of Gatt - the ominous-sounding acronym of WTO's precursor, General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade - his version of the Ten Commandments would spread the word of the Lord of Free Trade and Global Harmony, along with the idea that tariffs should be lower than ankle-length. Dunkel was the byword for 'neoimperialism' for India's 'shucks, we're socialist' then-hefty Left. So, America pushed proto-WTO. India poo-pooh-pushed it back in the form of rallies and protests.

Fast forward to the Age of Agent Orange in the White House. India's bete noir is no longer Dunkel but Mar-a-Lago Uncle, the impaler of multilateralism and slayer of trade. Today, Uncle is anti-WTO, while India is pro. From protesting Dunkel's draft like it was a colonial hangover, India now swipes right on WTO faster than a q-comm Delhi-very agent. So, here's a suggestion where we can mix nostalgia with pragmatism and call it nostagmatism: bring our massive 80s-style rallies back across India's cities, hailing the foresight and genius of Arthur Dunkel. That way, we become the torch bearer of global capitalism, and also use a Swiss icon to bear the torch, showcasing how it's not neoliberalism that's a spanner in the works of making the world a richer place, but Uncle.