When the leader of the free world calls your country a ‘hellhole’, it gets you thinking. I admit that I spent a longish while brooding over the insult before sitting down to write this piece. There were so many Indians venting their rage on social media that I thought at first that it was Donald Trump himself who used the ‘hellhole’ word for our ancient land. It came as a relief to see that the ugly diatribe against India and Indians had been authored by someone else.

Having said this, it also needs saying that if Trump had not posted it on social media, nobody would have paid attention to the harangues of a racist, two-bit radio host. Why Trump posted it remains a mystery. What is clear is that his ill-starred war against Iran and his failure to find an exit strategy is taking its toll. He has done as much damage to his own country as he is doing to the world but there are enough columnists, movie stars and world leaders saying this already.

So, let’s get back to the ‘hellhole’ jibe. It cheered me up a little that India and China were put in the same basket because having travelled to China more than once, I can report that it is no hellhole.  It cheered me up also that the author of the diatribe seemed motivated by real anger that the doors of Silicon Valley were closed to white people like him. And open wide for people from India and........

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