“The Ultimate Goal” by Vikram Sood

Vikram Sood, former chief of RAW (Research and Analysis Wing- India’s external intelligence agency) explores the power of purposeful narratives – and how the self-proclaimed powerful countries have used it to create and sustain their own powers in the intricate game of political statecraft. “A narrative may not necessarily be based on truth, but it does need to be plausible, have a meaning and create a desired perception”

This book talks about something that any thinking individual would be aware of – The author here gives us the concrete evidence of the same with fact based data. Sood draws the curtain from the western concept of ‘nationalism’, which is limited to suit its own ends. In his own words “Nationalism in other countries has never been an accepted ideology in the West”; “ Retention of influence and privilege has been the endeavor of the Big Powers through periodic exhibition of power and a constant narrative”.

It throws light on how the so-called world leaders aggressively dominate and influence world opinion through well timed and well researched narratives.

The book is divided into 12 chapters with each of the chapters dealing with a country’s role in creating its own narrative- including a chapter on the role of Hollywood as a narrative factory for the West- esp the US and the corporates role in creating worldwide narrative based purely on capitalist profit, and one chapter on India. It also explores the role of worldwide Intelligence agencies such as CIA and the KGB in subtle propaganda of the narrative that is desired by each country.

The nexus between the governments, intelligence agencies and the media has contributed to the spread of propaganda for the powerful nations – helping them stay more powerful. The book also briefly peeps into the lacunae that Indian media has in the international market. “ India has nothing beyond its borders. Very few Indian publications have any presence in important locations in the neighbourhood and much less in other important capitals in the world. They mostly rely on Western news agencies for coverage of events, which means that in many cases, we end up believing the Western interpretation of events beyond our borders.”

While the world citizens hanker for peace, especially in areas of strife and violence – this book opens the readers’ eyes to the profitability of war for countries who are the major weapon makers. “ Wars are profitable, esp for a country that exports the largest amount of weaponry and equipment in the world. Wars are essential for the consumption, replacement and improvement of weapons and weapon systems; otherwise the industry would become moribund. All weapons come with a use-by date, but they must be used periodically for profits to roll in. Wars fought by other powers and not on one’s own territory are doubly profitable, not only for the manufacturers of the weapons but for ancillary industries that provide the logistics as well….as long as the world must deal with the military- industrial-intelligence- technology complex working in tandem in the US, this hidden narrative will not change. There will be wars to make more wars.”  The book attempts to give a fact based,  account of the way the world leaders use all resources in their power to create and tell their stories to the world – not as they are but as they want it to be known. “…Grand statements about liberty, democracy and freedom are essential for an overarching all time narrative. Profit in national interest in the bottom line.”

In the chapter on “Empires, Immigration, Nationalism and Islam”, the author explores the Anglo-American partnership to own the oil market as well as uphold the ‘White man supremacy’. “Richard Falk, professor of International Relations at Princeton University, once said that Western foreign policy as propagated through the media was a self righteous, one-way moral screen, reflecting positive images of Western values and its innocence portrayed as threatened, which then validated a campaign for unrestricted violence….. Nationalism is evil and dangerous if it is neither American nor British because, by its very nature, this would at some stage or the other conflict with Western interests.” While there is an attempt to be objective, one cannot miss the tilt towards the right wing ideology. Surprisingly, it does not feel out of place.

The chapters on China and Russia deeply delve into the struggle for power of these two countries vis-à-vis the West. Sood brings to light the superficial war of ideologies of democracy vis-à-vis communism; capitalism vis-à-vis socialism where the jargon is used as a means to the  real end which lies in real power over the resources of the world. Putin’s role in the rise of Trump makes an interesting read in this part of the book. The power hungry Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s claim to glory in his attempt to become the next ‘Mao’ or the premature hubris of China on the world stage is something the world has to worry about.

Given the fact that the author is an Indian, the chapter on India really leaves one wanting for more. The Indian corporate scene is conspicuous by its absence. As the author himself says in the introduction “I have relied extensively on the Western sources, as global narratives in the past 150 years have emerged mostly from there…… References to India are from within the nation, because that’s where the genuine Indian narrative lies; especially the young, who constitute the majority and to whom the future belongs. It is important to understand them and project their points of view if India is to build its own narrative. It is to them that this book attempts to explain how the real world works, without being judgmental”

A book whose ideas and thoughts definitely go beyond the data and information given within its pages. Vikram Sood gently pushes the readers to separate the grain from the chaff and use a discerning mind while trying to make sense of the world.