By Aakar Patel
I have no problem with the reality that as a nation we cannot always or even mostly get what we want. No nation is truly sovereign in the sense that it can impose itself and its willfully on the world. This is true of even the most powerful nations in history. If it were not true, America would not have fled the field in Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq, and would not now find itself about to face defeat in Iran. America wants to bring the Irani nation to heel through violence and that is not going to happen.
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We are not a powerful nation and so must cut our coat according to our cloth. This is merely accepting the facts as they are and there is no shame in looking into the mirror to observe what is on display. The image that stares back is of a population that is poor, with the greater part of it forced to queue up monthly for free grain. We Indians are many in number, yes, but the power of that detail is unrealised. It lies in future potential, not the present reality.
And so, no, I have no problem with accepting that we are not strong and therefore lacking in capacity, and less sovereign than stronger nations.
I do however have a problem, let us say it is a minor problem, with how this limited sovereignty we possess is deployed. The hard nationalism that we show is reserved for weaker nations and usually our neighbours. Great powers, I mean really great ones and not regional bullies, do not expend energy on blocking IPL teams from picking players from Bangladesh as we do. They do not sulk and refuse to shake hands with opponents on the sporting field. That is what India does, because that is what we can do.
Where the question of real national interests arises, where resistance is difficult and compliance easy we often and perhaps usually fold. Don’t buy Russian oil. Yes sir. Buy Russian oil. Okay sir. No Irani oil. Yes sir. America does not have to tell us what to even say or not say any longer. We know in our heart that speaking the truth on this stupid Iran war will anger Trump and so we look the other way because if we look him in the eye the bully will straighten us out.
It is cruel to put it this directly but we have to try and see ourselves in the mirror even if only occasionally. A 30-day waiver is like a furlough that our convicted godmen seem to always be on. We will submit ourselves to incarceration again in April and we must recognise that.
Does anyone think that China, which is as dependent on external energy sources as India is, could be spoken to in this fashion? Not on your life. Trump would quake at the thought of saying it to the hard and never-giggly, non-hugging Xi.
We have decided that we will not comment on, leave alone condemn, the assassination of a head of state, a cleric whom millions of Indians considered their religious leader. That we will not mourn the mass slaughter of little schoolgirls. We have decided to stare at the floor when unarmed sailors who were our honoured guests hours earlier are blown up in the dark without the declaration of war.
All of this, once again, is to my mind only a minor problem even if I do not agree with any of the things we have done, because I find it understandable that we have chosen to be meek as a nation that is weak.
I do have a serious issue however, with our bluster and bombast. This humbug may be aimed at domestic consumption but the world can observe it. When we tell ourselves that we are the vishwaguru and the ordained head of the G20 and other fantasies, one hopes that we are doing this only in the conviction that Indians are simple-minded and ignorant and believe such drivel. It would be quite scary if we do it because the government actually believes it, but happily we know for a fact that the government and this prime minister do not believe it. We know this because the pusillanimity is on display when it comes to dealing with great powers. Our actions with others speak louder than our words to ourselves.
Being among those Indians who do not buy the fib that is plastered on hoardings and television about our greatness, I find it irritating that we do this. But I also find it problematic and that is why it is a major problem in my opinion. Democratic governments are expected to be honest with their constituents not only for the obvious reasons of ethics and morality but also because it makes the job of government easier.
The Bharatiya Janata Party would not have to put itself through contortions to explain why our submission is not really submission and why receiving a 30-day waiver is actually a diplomatic triumph if it explained what the compulsions were.
And our friends, to the extent we still have friends, around the world including Iran, would know that we have abandoned them not because we agree with what is being done to them, which we do not, but because we lack courage. Lastly it would spare crores of us the cruelty and hurt of self-realisation, as is happening now, when our image of global colossus crumbles at one American poke.
