This is a three year old article but a good read and still relevant. I therefore would like to respond to it.

I agree with the overall sentiments expressed in the article on nationalistic sentiments. I do not however characterize that nationalistic sentiment is based on shame. It is rather a personification of the past “evil” that stokes anger and resentment in the masses and therefore evokes collective nationalistic passions. Unfortunately for India, the country is surrounded by other countries with implicit or explicit authoritarianism, which further foments nationalistic jingoism within it.

I cannot think of a place in the world where migrations and invasions have not taken place. But nationalistic sentiments are now not just an issue that is localized in India. It is in vogue all over the world. It is like socialism and communism of the past from George Orwell’s “Animal Farm” is being replaced by nationalism. I believe that the real cause of its ascendancy across the world lies in increasing imbalances in economic status within and across state borders. These are deep and entrenched issues that do not offer easy solutions.

The real resistance to this rising phenomenon needs to come from those who are willing to overcome mistrust fomented by nationalistic sentiments. They need to reach out to others with similar thinking and belief but with different ethnicity and social status within their own state borders. They also need to reach out across borders to create a broader universal front. Many national governments across the world unfortunately are now unwilling to take on the cause and this effort therefore would need to be at grass root level. I know this is easier said than done. Did I hear someone sing “Imagine all the people…”?