How the Left and Congress Misread Operation Sindoor

Criticism of the government over its handling of the military conflict is completely at odds with the public sentiment

- Barkha Dutt

Not so long ago, Yogendra Yadav, otherwise a fierce critic of the Narendra Modi government, told me that among the things those opposing the BJP got wrong was how to respond on issues of national security. The three "most precious resources we have for politics," he said, ".we have gifted these away to BJP—nationalism, religion, including Hindu religion, and cultural heritage and tradition."

The responses to Operation Sindoor (and I don't mean Yadav personally) from large swathes of the Left, liberal Left, progressives (call it what you will) show this basic lesson has still not been learnt. And worse, there is complete denialism about this deracination. If anything, there is a show of supercilious moral superiority to anyone who points this out. The Indian Left is, unfortunately, utterly out of touch with wider public sentiment. It remains squeamish about expressing unqualified appreciation for the armed forces. It is disparaging of war, even in times of war. And it is unable to understand the idea that the country is larger than the government. This remains a key reason that the Right wing is able to make electoral mincemeat of them.

Intellectualizing what comes to most Indians intuitively, a simple emotional surge for the flag, anthem and military, confines this section of the Left only to echo chambers. I was astonished to see the level of disconnect between those still trapped in textbook ideas and how most of the country thinks and feels.