The Violent Claim Victory
Piyush Goyal, the Minister of Commerce, exclaimed recently, "Gone are the days when the meek would inherit the land." Apparently, he is observing a world where the violent take over the land. Putin grabs Crimea and Donbas, Netanyahu, Gaza; Xi threatens to take over Taiwan.

Trump wants to annex Panama and Greenland, and appropriate Canada. Is it for that reason that he changed the name of the Department of Defence to the Department of War? If he has aggressive designs on others, how can he justify his pretensions to a Nobel Prize, claiming more than 40 times that he stopped an Indo-Pakistan nuclear war and many other skirmishes?

Beatitudes Distorted
Yes, we can see that the Beatitudes are being rewritten in our own days:

Happy are the violent, they shall take over the land.
Happy are the aggressive and the over-assertive; they shall be held in high esteem.
Happy are the proud and the boastful, people will bow to them.
Happy are the greedy and the deceitful, they shall accumulate immense wealth.
Happy are the power-seekers and oppressors, they shall rule entire nations.
Happy are you when you flatter the powerful, bribe the bribable, exploit the weak, and get your way forward, you will be held up as heroes…for a while!

For a Brief While
"For a while." That is the issue - for a "brief" while. We know that Hitler and Stalin, like Nero and Caligula, Attila the Hun and Genghis Khan, the Mongol, dazzled the world with their performance, won mob admiration for a while, but left ruins behind. "Mussolini is always right," cried journalist Leo Longanesi. He led his nation to disaster.

Modi magic may work for a while. Antonio Gramsci says that Fascism kept everyone "happy by means of moralising sermons, emotional stimuli, messianic myths of an awaited golden era." The charm they exude makes crowds accept ridiculous fallacies as absolute truth. Personal magnetism is a great help. But for how long?

"Tears in Our Eyes"
Welcoming Modi to Manipur, Gangte (Kuki-Zo group) Students' Union said they were happy with the Modi visit; "But we cannot dance with tears in our eyes." What was impressive in Imphal and Churachandpur was not the enthusiasm for Modi's belated visit, but the superior quality of security arrangements. He condescended to visit Manipur two and a half years after the tragedy of 2023, which killed hundreds of innocent people and displaced over 60,000. He had been to 39 countries and more in the meantime!

Insensitivity merely invites insensitivity, arrogance solicits arrogance. Peter Navarro, Trump's senior counsellor for trade, accuses India of arrogance, forgetting who started bullying the world with erratic tariffs. Threats invite threats, boasts call for boasts. Sindoor boasts have thrown Pakistan into the arms of the Americans, stirred the Saudis to promise assistance, in addition to what Malaysia and Turkey have done. Islamic sensitivity has been touched.

Dignified Personal Exchanges Invite a Similar Response
Long before Trumpian triumphalism, Francis Fukuyama, American political economist, taught that 'Trust' alone creates a climate for successful economic relationships, which is generated by reliability and predictability, combined, of course, with dignified personal exchanges. Here is what the American Supremo failed to do. His dialogue began with threats. Even his Western allies responded to his threat with threats, and ridicule with ridicule. China, too, followed suit. India, entirely in keeping with her character, kept silent for a while; the Prime Minister made a trip to Russia, visited Tianjin, and showed that India has other options.

American experts warned Trump against alienating India, so much so that he changed his tone from that of a bully to one of a victim. India is killing us with tariffs, he lamented. Gradually, India-US exchanges became more amicable after weeks of invectives. Trump referred to America's 'special ties' with India, as well as his own personal friendship with Modi. Modi coolly remarked that India and America were "natural partners." A respectful tone wins respect. In the meantime, of course, Indo-US military exercises had not stopped during the entire dispute. And, possibly, as a silent bribe, India offers to buy maritime patrol planes from America. A multi-billion-dollar deal!

Moreover, if India has a trade surplus with America, America has a service surplus of USD 44 billion with India. Additionally, India has been making significant arms purchases from America since 2007. Zelensky believes that India is supporting the Ukraine war with a substantial transfer of funds for Russian oil. India is subsidising China's military build-up against itself at the Tibetan border, with a 100 billion dollar trade deficit with China. This merely proves that 'trade compulsions' are 'real compulsions' related to sheer survival. They cannot be totally ignored. Manmohan Singh encouraged Chinese trade with the fervent hope that friendly commercial relationships would also foster friendly neighbourhood relationships.

Xi's words at his recent victory parade can be interpreted as a military threat or a gentle offer of peace: "Today mankind is faced with the choice of peace or war, dialogue or confrontation, win-win or zero-sum." He had assured India a few days earlier: India and China are partners, not rivals. A respectful approach elicits a respectful response.

Moderation Alone Can Suggest Solutions
"A respectful approach!" This message is essential in a world that is going chaotic. Youth anger in Bangladesh had unseated Hasina; now in Nepal, it has just brought down Oli; a while earlier, in Sri Lanka, it had thrown the Rajapaksa government out; in Indonesia young people are up in arms against elite exploitation, in the Philippines against misuse of funds; Koch Rajbanshis in Dhubri, Assam, came out in protest against police brutality.

Rosa Parks says, "It is better to protest than to accept injustice." However, keep to moderation! Think of consequences. Prime Minister Ishiba of Japan and Prime Minister Paetongtam Shinawatra of Thailand are asked to step down. The protests everywhere are against the corruption of the elite, the silencing of independent voices, and the exploitation of the weak.

Moderation, unfortunately, has become outdated, balance is found wanting, and refinement is out of fashion. The arrogance of the BJP-RSS has stirred responses from every corner of India. KT Rama Rao of the KRS puts the recent election defeats to Congress's arrogance. Congress alleges that exploitation of the tribals and Dalits goes on uninterruptedly. Kishore Chamar, a Dalit, was beaten to death at Odisha's Deoghar district, on suspicion of having killed a cow; his companion was injured. Ten Naxalites were shot dead in Gariaband district in Chhattisgarh. Others take their place.

Immigrants Must Gracefully Integrate
In London, a lakh and a half of the 'far right' came out against immigrants. They had strong words against Muslim immigrants, especially those who multiplied ghettoes in the country. Meanwhile, in Australia, the far-right Neo-Nazis have grown vocal against Indian immigrants. They took out a "March for Australia." Anne Aly, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, spoke out in response against racism and ethnocentrism. There are reasons for worry. Indian immigrants in Australia number over a million. They must learn to integrate gracefully.

In earlier years, Indian immigrants worldwide were quick to integrate. With their numbers growing, caste divisions have taken over, Hindutva arrogance has become visible, intellectual debates are no longer about social concerns but Mahabharata models: in Australia, the UK, Ireland, California and elsewhere. A reply was bound to come. Arrogance rouses arrogance. We would invite Indian immigrants everywhere in the world to adapt to their new social realities, to narrow cultural distances with the indigenous people, and build emotional bridges in an effort to integrate with the people of their country of adoption. This is part of our cultural heritage, which has its roots in the Harappan civilisation.

Integrated Culture in Harappa Generated Harmony
Harappan civilisation, according to Devdutt Pattanaik (Ahimsa, HarperCollins, Gurugram, 2024), integrated people from three distinct cultures: the Proto-Dravidians (south), the Munda family of tribes (centre), and the Tibeto-Burmans, including Northeastern tribals. Although occupying a one million square kilometre area, 20 times the size of the Egyptian civilisation and 10 times that of Mesopotamia, they developed an integrated culture and flourished for 700 years (2500-1900 BC), with standardised city layouts, bricks, weights, designs, common burial and pottery styles. We see no sign of the holy cow; people ate beef and pork without any distinction.

Vigorous trade with Sumer ensured a peaceful atmosphere. There is no evidence of weapons of war, no ruins, or other signs of mass destruction, and no indications of conflicts like those in the Mahabharata or Ramayana. Healthy trade exchanges prevented hoarding and raiding, ensured fair redistribution and an egalitarian exercise of economic and political power. Excess wealth would be shared in charity or common celebrations. There were no monumental palaces or mighty temples, providing ample evidence that it was a tribal society. All were equally placed. According to Pattanaik, authority rotated by clan, in the cities and the region as a whole.

While Aryan society was rural and agricultural, Harappan life was urban, and their occupation was intense trade. It is speculated that climate change and deforestation contributed to the decline of the Indus Valley-Harappa civilisation, leading to the migration of its people to the South and East. A shared spiritual spark enlivened the soul of the Harappans.

Refined styles of life together strengthen the bonds that unite an entire society. Respect and mutual concern are reciprocated by respect and concern. That is the core of tribal ethics. It is planted into the heart of Ashoka's moral philosophy as well. Indians usually respect diversity and differences.

Attention to Each Other's Needs Prevents Unpleasantnesses 
Our Founding Fathers sought to foster harmonious relationships between communities. For all their failures, early Congress leaders set a good example of attention to minority needs. They were inspired by the principles of Gandhiji, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, and others. They ardently promoted a spirit of consensus, accommodation, and inclusion. It was not minority-appeasement, but attention to the needs of weaker communities.

Today, we are under another regime. The BJP elite have been creating a climate of hegemonic domination, polarisation, and exclusion; pushing bills through without discussion; and systematic voter manipulation. RSS appeasement has remained central to their strategy, silencing criticism as their core concern. Fewer people may be ready to speak up today, but we want to be in their company. As John Lennon believed, "Being honest may not get you a lot of friends, but it will always get you the right ones."

It Is a Spiritual Spark that Stimulates Relationships in India
Mohammad Hamid Ansari, the former Vice President of India, believes that it was a spiritual spark that ignited the relationship between the majority community in India and the minorities. It has remained an object of admiration for the entire world. In 1949, Nehru explained the centrality of idealism in India's civilisational heritage to an American audience. "The great leader of our country, Mahatma Gandhi, under whose inspiration and sheltering care I grew up, always laid stress on moral values and warned us never to subordinate means to ends..." Though it would not exclude following "enlightened self-interest," it always sought to preserve a rich measure of idealism.

This noble attitude has been captured in our Constitution. The Chief Justice of India, BR Gavai, presents "human dignity as the soul of the Constitution." What weighs is not a set of laws, but an inner spirit that gives life to an entire society.

Deep Sense of Co-belonging
Shashi Tharoor says that the very thought of national integration, bringing together many traditions, used to make Nehru tremble; it was not an easy task. Assertion of separate identities should not mean chaos. Ambedkar used to warn against the "Grammar of Anarchy." Our Constitution imposes the Rule of Law on every citizen alike, giving to everyone a 'deep sense of belonging.' As long as we respect the provisions of the Constitution, we will be able to manage the differences in our society.

It is with this in mind that Ambedkar developed the concept of "constitutional morality," whose emphasis is on a loyalty to a spirit and a set of values, going beyond mere structures and rules. He would insist that it has to be diligently cultivated. There was a 'sense of the sacred' about this warm relationship between the majority and minority communities. When this truth is fully lived out, it has a message for the rest of humanity. Mutual respect links individuals, communities, and nations.

Nothing generates mutual loyalty as a deep sense of co-belonging.