A useful Iranian regime

What was the purpose of keeping those like Antara in India at all?

India had never been to war with the United States, so she was not a Prisoner of War.

The agenda that AAP was meant to pursue, the Prussian fraudulent lease using Sheffield, was a complicated political maneuver. It meant Sheffield lobbyists in DC would get primacy, say, if the Fordo facility in Iran was destroyed. 

As had been pointed out to Antara, "The destruction of Fordo would be read as a Prussian assertion, not an Israeli one, based on the kind of Israel-related discussions that Ajit had with Close Female Relative in Mumbai, in the final months of his life. It would empower the Alamo Girl within the Pentagon, it would put Moqtada al-Sadr away from the spotlight".

The above argument was borne out by the news coverage, which showed videos of Iraqis celebrating as Iranian missiles hit various parts of Tel Aviv. As and when Donald Trump cleared retaliation, both Iran and Iraq would thereby be hit and defeated. Those who could have provided or already had provided information on the Alamo Girl's role in the Iraqi insurgency would retreat, the Iraqi Civil War would be forgotten, along with the US Marines who fought it.

That was how Indian women worked, a magical way in which they managed to avoid any scrutiny of their activities.

ii. If Antara's status was not that of a POW, then it might be that of a volunteer corps but given she was always alone, it seemed like a one-woman volunteer corps. 

For it was fairly obvious that the spouse's regard for western music, including western classical music, or for European New Wave cinema, was not a regard for western countries or their culture. Such music, such movies from the West were spoon-fed in Kolkata's schools and colleges, to familiarise Kolkatans with western culture and to allow them to dissemble when they went abroad.

It was also a challenge. Kolkata was familiar with every aspect of western culture. Was the West familiar with how Kolkata felt, what was its agenda?

iii. As a one-woman volunteer corps, Antara was not formally attached to any western institution, whether cultural (Antara didn't even know their names, except a few museums), or military (which had been indifferent to Antara when she had been isolated at home or school) or political (given Antara was always at loggerheads both with the White House in DC and 10 Downing Street).

Volunteer corps members like Antara were often traded between countries, whereby the Indian Govt might have been approached, "We have a PR campaign to run, could we borrow Antara, an Indian resident, since you obviously didn't need her?"

The Indian Govt would immediately refuse, since it implied consultancy work and an income for Antara. Wouldn't AAP object, what was the purpose of Aadhaar if not to punish Antara with few clothes to wear and starvation?

Volunteer corps were often pushed back into areas whose causes they were cheering. It seemed to be the only recourse left, if fed up with Antara, the authorities asked the West to take her back.

June 20, 2025.