Keep an eye on this bomb

The BJP may be pleased about the reasons for the joyous reception. In any case it is hard to say in this instance what the government could do to moderate such feeling even if it wanted to. Inevitably, post-test declarations are designed to give this much-touted "jingoism" a shot in the arm. The party could not in fairness be expected to be clinical about this, for what party would fail to milk this national jubilation? In fact the PrimeMinister has shown himself remarkably sensitive to suggestions of political cynicism.

His party is another matter. It would have been wise for the BJP to eschew grandiose celebrations of "glory" day, but Vajpayee’s move to scotch the outlandish idea of a "Shaktipeeth" and muscular triumphalism is very welcome. Yet the engineered hysteria apart, the strength of this nationalistic outpouring gives pause.

National pride is good, up to a point. But there have been signs for quite some time that in India it is getting out of hand. As pride in India’s demonstrated scientific ability it is a good thing. So it is as support for the government’s ability to stand up to sanctimonious and hypocritical world censure. As the gloating of a country for showing the world who’s who, it is unhealthy. The difference may seem semantic but it is not. It is making India a paranoid nation which reads international relations in terms of "They are out to fix us" rather than "They are looking out for themselves and we had betterlook out for ourselves". It distorts policy to the point that India would rather compromise its self-interest in the name of sovereignty than pursue policies advantageous to itself. If governments do pursue sensible policies, they have to be defensive and shamefaced about them.

The reasons for the national outpouring after the tests are hardly difficult to fathom. Indians are deeply aggrieved that this ancient civilisation does not get its due from the world, never mind that India has a lot of living up to do to its own past. Combined with the frustration at the economic and social failures of half a century — failures of our own making, one might note — it makes for a near-paranoid sense of persecution.

If the matter was confined to the nuclear issue, that would be alright. India really does have legitimate cause for complaint here, especially in America’s discriminating view of India’s and Pakistan’s nuclear programme all these years.

Bill Clinton does after all express regret now for America’sfailure to take Indian and Pakistani security concerns seriously enough. Those who are so minded could read into this regret at America’s wanton neglect of Indian security concerns while long turning a blind eye to Pakistan’s foreign-aided nuclear programme. Kofi Annan’s intervention can only further subdue all the phoney self-righteousness aimed at India.

Trouble is, aggressive nationalism cannot be compartmentalised. It comes to the fore all the time and in all sorts of ugly ways. Its manifestations have been growing more strident, led ably by the BJP and its parivar. It was apparent as much in the outcry for an apology from Queen Elizabeth when she visited as it is in the public sentiment about all India’s dealings abroad. Primarily they find aggressive expression in the media, but then the media does reflect the mood of the chattering classes. The sight was startling of a young woman grinning from ear to ear on television and declaring she looked "forward to many more such tests in thefuture".

And so it is that just as the phrase "rogue state" is routinely prefixed to some countries’ regimes, India’s fate is to be called a "prickly" country. A newspaper as measured as the Financial Times noted in a sympathetic editorial last week that it was futile to expect a country of India’s size and "prickliness" to be cowed down by the threat of sanctions. Its advocacy is to be welcomed but the description is no compliment. India, of course, is in mood to pay heed to these external criticisms in its current mood of self-assurance. More is the pity.

This is no theoretical debate. The government is to be unstintingly complimented for the way it has handled the tests and their fallout so far but the delirium it has generated will make its job more difficult. On the nuclear question itself, signing the CTBT even after hard bargaining and safeguarding Indian concerns will not be looked upon with favour. Selling the bomb as a simple explosion of national pride is one thing, explaining thenuances of eventually signing the CTBT is another.

And that is only half the story. It goes without saying that smartness henceforth will consist in an aggressive opening of the economy to soften the self-righteousness of those who would punish India. The BJP’s already apparent strategy is sufficient acknowledgment. Yet this task is made more difficult now than in the past.

Even discounting the manic voices which say sanctions would be good for promoting self-reliance, public opinion cannot be made to swing from extreme nationalism on the bomb to enlightened liberalism on the economy. And these voices cannot be discounted. Ever divided on liberalisation, the BJP can look forward to trouble from the Swadeshi Jagran Manch and sundry other triumphalists.

It could be that the government would find the nerve to tell this bunch to stay quiet if it does not want its government to lead the country into economic hot waters and itself to electoral defeat. Meanwhile, much as it goes against the grain, it hadbetter recognise that the nationalism it so assiduously cultivates is a mixed good at best.