Canada has accused India of being behind the killing of a Sikh nationalist with Canadian citizenship. India has responded by suspending visas for Canadians and expelling Canadian diplomats.
As this thread illustrates, there is something of a disconnect in how India sees itself as being seen in the world and how it is actually being seen in the world. It's perception of other people's perception is wrong. Indians believe that everyone thinks India (or Bharat) is really important, when few people think of India at all. (They are likely too busy thinking of the Roman Empire.) I know for my part, I taught AP Comparative Government and we did not teach India. Once we dropped the AP designation, I added India, because I think it's going to be an important country in the next century.
And that's what has me worried. India/Bharat is the most populous country in the world, and it is also one of the most diverse. What we have seen recently is the rise of Hindu nationalism that is redefining who is "really Indian" in a way that also necessitates a more belligerent foreign policy.
The US has been working diligently to build bridges to India/Bharat as a counterweight to China, but even so India has not been eager to completely sever its longstanding ties to Russia.
Indian democracy is mess. It shouldn't work (and sometimes it doesn't). Chaos is the avenue for demagogues and dictators to seize power. Given the sort of arch-nationalism that we are seeing from India/Bharat, I worry that we have a nuclear armed nation that thinks it's more important than it is, and when it's not treated as that important will get increasingly belligerent.
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