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 will fully on the world. This is true even of the most powerful nations in history. If it were not, 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 Iranian nation to heel through violence and that is not going to happen.

We are not a powerful nation and so must cut our coat according to our cloth. This is merely accepting 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 in present reality.

And so, no, I have no problem with accepting that we are not strong and therefore lack capacity, and are 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 we display is reserved for........

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