“It does not matter how strong your opinions are. If you don’t use your power for positive change, you are indeed part of the problem,” said Coretta Scott King. Ethics, ethos, moralities and old value systems are being dumped into the dustbin of history today. It is the age of ‘transactional relationships’, whether from individual to individual or nations to nations, or even between members of social institutions and business communities. Relationship is dictated by the sole principle, “What is there in it for me?”
US President Donald Trump’s recent invitation to Pakistan’s Field Marshal Asim Munir for lunch was laced with the give-and-take principle. The entire world knows that the Army Chief is the de facto ruler of Pakistan. Therefore, if the USA wanted a favour from Pakistan, it had to come from the army chief. Of course, in return, Pakistan would get money and military weapons for its army. Pakistan has already been sanctioned $40 billion over a period of 10 years at the rate of $4 billion every year. In return, Pakistan decided to pay back by recommending Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. Pakistan also made a cryptocurrency deal with Trump’s son. It was done when Pakistan and India were busy fighting.
Trump’s invitation to Pakistan’s Army chief for lunch was laced with the give-and-take principle. It’s well known that the Army chief is the de facto ruler of Pakistan. So, if the US wanted a favour from Pakistan, it had to come from the army chief. In return, Pakistan would get money and military weapons
It indicated that most probably, favours from Pakistan were at a higher pedestal than Indo-US friendship behind Trump’s lunch diplomacy. It is from this angle that one should look at the invitation. The cost of lunch invitation, it seems, was to silence Pakistan on likely US action on Iran’s nuclear enrichment sites. It was a big price to pay in the Muslim world.
To put it in a more realistic manner, transactional relationships have no emotional attachments; they are more of ‘give and take’ deals. They do define only understanding from issue to issue. There are no permanent relations; there are only permanent interests. Even blood relations are tottering due to the pressures of materialistic needs. Joint family systems have already given way to ‘nuclear families’.
Transactional relationships have no emotional attachments; they are more of give-and-take deals. They define understanding from issue to issue. There are no permanent relations; there are only permanent interests. Even blood relations are tottering due to the pressures of materialistic needs today
Even among ‘nuclear families’, the relationship is transactional. If the owner of ‘Raymond Group’ gets thrown out of his house by his son, don’t be surprised and shocked. It only meant that the ‘old man’ had no further ‘utility’ for his son. So, the old morality that ‘sons’ were ‘Budhape ki Laathi’ (old age support) no longer holds good. Therefore, the social lesson is: Maintain your transactional utility for your blood relations; do not uproot yourself by your emotional folly to give to your children everything you have.
Most Indians cried hoarse when Asim Munir was invited by the US Army for Army Day celebrations on June 14, 2025. Don’t forget, he was the practical ruler of Pakistan, and the USA has something to extract from him. Why do you think Pakistan, despite all complaints of terrorist factories against it, was sanctioned a loan of $40 billion by the IMF over a period of 10 years? They say that the USA was eyeing the mineral wealth of Balochistan, which Pakistan was contemplating to give it to China. Alternatively, the USA might be entertaining him to smoke screen Operation Rising Lion, Israel’s attack on Iran‘s nuclear sites and Air defence system.
Pakistan, a Baby of the West
I often hear why the West and the USA always supported Pakistan and ignored all its dirty tricks. Somehow, we ignore the fact that Pakistan was created to serve the West’s strategic interests. It is a nation which will do anything for money, whether it is China or the USA. Conversely, as far as India is concerned, it has been a thorn in the flesh of the Western world, right from the days of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, as Prime Minister.
There is no point in indulging in the ‘righteousness’ of the past. It is dead and gone. Bertrand Russel’s student once asked him if he would die for his principles. Russel said, “No.” The stunned student asked again, “Why, Sir”? Russel replied, “For all you know, I might be wrong”
We chose to be non-aligned to exercise our ‘strategic autonomy’. Our deal with the Soviet Union in 1971 was transactional, and it continues to be so with Russia today, because our national interests were best served by being on its right side. In the bargain, India gets much cheaper petroleum and oil from Russia. Also, our weapon systems, like S-400, are of Russian origin. We developed, most dreaded BrahMos missile with the support and collaboration of Russia.
If the USA seeks a strategic partnership with India today, it is to checkmate China. In the same manner, India looks towards the USA to counter China. It is a transactional relationship. But the USA does not see India as a permanent ally, notwithstanding the hyperbolic sentiments of the two largest democracies. In fact, the US history of the past 80 years reveals that it only supports dictatorial regimes in the world, whether it was Pakistan or Bangladesh. China supports Pakistan because it serves its purpose of checkmating India.
It is the same thing in the business world, too. It is a world of ‘Give and Take’. Elon Musk left Donald Trump because he realised that Trump’s Tariff Bill would harm his business. Elon Musk was the biggest supporter of Donald Trump, and he had liberally supported him with finances during his election campaign. Business houses, world over, deal with each other, keeping in mind mutual benefits. Relationships, they say, ought to be ‘business-like’. There is nothing emotional.
Today, if the US seeks a strategic partnership with India, it is to checkmate China. Likewise, India looks towards the US to counter China. It is a transactional relationship. But the US does not see India as a permanent ally, notwithstanding the hyperbolic sentiments of the two largest democracies
Righteousness, a Thing of the Past
It is a world transforming every minute. There is no point in indulging in the ‘righteousness’ of the past. It is dead and gone. Face the reality of today. While on ‘righteousness’, I am reminded of British thinker and philosopher Bertrand Russel. You see, once, one of his students asked him if he would die for the ‘principles’ he held so dear to his heart. Russel immediately responded, “No.” The student was stunned and he asked Russel again, “Why, Sir”? Russel replied, “For all you know, I might be wrong.”
Therefore, a permanent relationship could also mean that one could be wrong. In a changing world, keeping up with the times is the utmost necessity. A permanent relationship is like still water, which begins to stink over a period of time, while flowing water stays fresh and clean. This is why they say that intimacy also breeds contempt.
The message of the transactional age is: Preserve your utility and live happily. In short, a tinge of selfishness is desirable because selflessness no longer pays. I will sum it up by quoting Alan Watts, “The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.”
-An ex-NDA and Wellington Staff College graduate, Col Rajinder Singh is a renowned author and security analyst. He has authored four books, two individually and two in collaboration. His best-selling books are Kashmir – A Different Perspective and The ULFA Insurgency. The views expressed are of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
