Sooner or later every anti-imperialist is smeared as a “tankie” and this week was Vijay’s turn. First his views were falsified, then he used the word “modernization” in a tweet! So, in this interview, we take a deep dive into debates about “modernization”. Repudiating liberal and colonizer’s attacks on Indigenous societies (which they falsely claim to do in the name of modernization), we talk about nationalist and anticolonial projects that challenge local oppression and feudalism. Are these “modernization”? We conclude with a discussion of the whole strategy of smearing people as “tankies” and why these articles seem to come out every few months (hint: it’s to drive anti-imperialists out of the western left…)
