Let us De-colonialise Our Minds

We must shed colonial hangovers, reconnect with our rich civilizational heritage. Neo-colonal systems, ecosystems and arrangements are past their use-by date It's time to assert, opines Maj, Gen Atanu Pattanaik (R)

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OPERATION Sindoor laid bare many truths, be it about Pak-sponsored terrorism and nuclear sabre rattling or be it the debunking of the false narrative that terror has no religion or that terror outfits in Pakistan were somehow separate from the Pakistani state or the Pakistan Army.

But most appalling was the constant chorus by the intelligentsia and sections of the media who profusely worried about what the international community (read the US led West) thought about us. In this hour of crisis, they pointed out, that none of the western leaders or western media stood with India at this hour of crisis. So it was somehow the fault of the present government and its allegedly hyper-muscular diplomatic drum-beating that diminished our otherwise spectacular success in a four-day blitzkrieg showcasing precision, intensity, ferocity and appetite for escalation.

Why are we obsessed with what the west thinks about us? Why is there a constant need for validation? How could we allow a shadowy short-seller US firm Hindenburg Research to overwhelm public sentiments in India when it published a report on the Adani Group in January 2023 alleging that the Adani group is engaging in stock manipulation, improperly usage of tax havens etc. leading to cancellation of its IPO and wiping out $100 billion in market capitalisation? That a Supreme Court led investigation found little merit in the accusations and the fact that Hindenburg mysteriously shut down in January this year, having done its part in damaging India’s economic juggernaut doesn’t still impress the Indian intelligentsia.