Stupidistan

Express Tribune

2 days ago

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This piece seeks to expose a key contradiction between form and substance — between aspiration, machinations, desperation, incompetence, and incoherence — evident among our eastern neighbours, and is not polemical. Recent events have thrown these elements and contradictions into sharp relief, necessitating a deep dive into their mindset and increasingly radicalised diaspora.
We also see how a sense of entitlement has created cognitive dissonance, where the causal link between actions and consequences is denied or ignored, feeding into a sense of ambush and victimhood.
First, let me spell out a few caveats. I do not relish any nation's humiliation or misery, even if self-inflicted. My choice of title reflects my frustration with the pack of contradictions today's India has become, rather than being motivated by calumny. Two, you do not need to remind me of my nationality.
Today, we talk about India, yet I can be just as critical of my own homeland. Third, the proof of the pudding is in my theoretical framework. As an ardent follower of Karl Popper, I can say that what dismays me in India is elemental, not prejudicial.
Every culture can have utopian visions and theories about historical destiny. Those specific patterns worry me universally because they justify present suffering for supposed future benefits — often resulting in cruelty. Let's begin.
India today calls itself a civilisational state. This is pure gibberish outside Toynbee or Huntington's political spin on such terms. Look at the term's etymological journey: Civitas (Latin): city-state, citizenship; Civilitas (Latin): civility, refinement, courtesy; Civiliser (French): to civilise, to refine; Civilisation (French, 18th century): the process of becoming civilised. Huntington's assertion that religion may have something to do with it is just an opportunistic projection.
This Indian assertion was defined more succinctly by MS Golwalkar as "race pride". But here is the catch: race as a common denominator cannot exclude Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, local Muslims, or Christians. Here, Huntington provides a useful device by othering them culturally.
I have written a lot about Huntington. It is tragic to see the devastating power of suggestion — where, by picking the right moment and concealing prejudice in academic garb, a clever opportunist can cause far-reaching damage. One is surprised to see how many depressed identities accepted Huntington's caricature of them at face value, took it as a licence to misbehave, and ran with it.
On January 1, 2020, Netflix launched a series called Messiah. Much of the series is filmed in Israel, showing the Jewish state's affinity for the project. In one scene, the protagonist, a CIA official, finds a young barista reading Huntington's book and tells him, "The only thing you need to remember is that he was right." No beating about the bush.
In India's case, you must appreciate the sociology of this mindset: over a millennium of being ruled by foreigners in your own land. Then, today's lot learned to live in a world where hate and prejudice were the unquestioned operating system for two decades following 9/11.
So, Francis Fukuyama's isothymia (the desire to be recognised as equal to others) became megalothymia (a strong, often excessive, desire to be recognised as superior or better than others).
But even before 9/11, significant changes had begun. In 1989, Kashmir erupted, formalising the image of the enemy: Muslims supported by Pakistan, in turn supported by China. Then came the demolition of the Babri Mosque. A recent American Hindu convert was getting primed for an interesting twist at that time.
When Huntington gave his lecture and published his essay, David Frawley ran with it. He had converted to Hinduism in 1991 and called himself Pandit Vamadeva Shastri. Within a few short years, he was churning out books priming Indian and Hindu minds for the post-9/11 cruelty. Consider the titles: Arise Arjuna: Hinduism and the Modern World (1995), Awaken Bharata: A Call for India's Rebirth (1998), and my favourite, Hinduism and the Clash of Civilizations (2001, erm). He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2015 by the Modi government.
So when 9/11 happened, India was ready to be part of the Islamophobic grand architecture. While Pakistan and many others went through hell to prove they were not the West's enemy, India gained privileges — through blackmail on matters like the 2002 parliament attack, the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline, and the Mumbai attack — while Pakistan was framed as the evil one himself.
India grew rapidly. The Indian diaspora, already known for its competence, benefited from tailwinds. While the earlier waves of Indian immigrants had to integrate fully, the new wave had no such compulsion. They brought their third-world view with them, became Modi bhakts after the 2002 Gujarat pogrom, and worked very hard to help him become PM.
He could not have ruled a country as diverse as India without being a rockstar in their eyes. They wanted blood sports. He gave them that. Until now, of course — when that bubble has collapsed. Now, even if he resumes the war, he has no redemption. They will move on to the next strongman — or a brief secular interregnum.
The recent war is quite similar to Kargil. When a Pakistani premier, whose approval had skyrocketed due to nuclear tests, announced that the country was withdrawing from Kargil, his popularity fell immediately, and his government within three months. India's toxic mix is far more potent. If Modi survives this, he will truly be a miracle worker.
Even so, India's friends-and-family network remains strong. Justin Trudeau, who offended India, is gone. So is Joe Biden and his running mate. From the shadows, this lot manufactures crises and consent. At the peak of the Trump tariff wars, the US president had to step back when treasuries faced turbulence.
Before suspending tariffs on most countries, his first act was to hand over Tahawwur Rana to India and increase tariffs on China — which pleased New Delhi. After the recent South Asian war, his announcement of a ceasefire did not go down well with the lot. The bond market is again facing shocks, and a mini-coup has erupted within the billionaire flank of Trumpworld. Elon Musk had quit, citing disagreements regarding One Big Beautiful Bill. His earlier defence of H1B visa beneficiaries — particularly Indians — was already a dead giveaway.
This speaks to the power this lot has. When he moved to downsize the CIA, a concern was voiced that he was channelling forces with scores to settle with the Five Eyes intelligence community. If you find pieces in publications like The Atlantic arguing that Trump's proposed Golden Dome missile shield — meant solely for North America — should also cover Quad countries (a notion kept alive by Indian enthusiasm), know that this lot is at work.
Mind you, this gratuitous use of power for such small wins — and this take-no-prisoners approach — does not go unnoticed. But sadly, it is the weak and vulnerable among the diaspora who pay the price of this extravagance.