Congress leaders were griping at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent “naraz fufa” (sulking uncle) jibe. Modi’s jibe meant that, just like in family functions where there will always be an elderly uncle who finds reasons to be upset, some leaders in the Opposition always find excuses to be critical about things. Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram’s comments on the 18th BRICS Summit being held in Delhi betray the “naraz fufa” tendency, if not ignorance about current global geopolitics. Normally, countries take pride in hosting important multilateral events. But for Chidambaram, the BRICS summit is a useless exercise. “We are part of BRICS, we are part of SCO, we are part of G20, and we are part of Quad. What benefits are we getting out of that? I can’t see,” he cribbed indignantly in an interaction with a news agency.

BRICS, with 11 countries as members, another 10 as partners, and dozens more waiting to join, has emerged as the voice of the Global South. In the past two decades, it has grown in size and influence and boasts today of representing 50 per cent of the world’s population, 40 per cent of the global........

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