The nationalist in the NRI

In great part, the scale and the type of imagination that is at play in this new official perception towards the diaspora, we suggest, draws from a not unsurprising source: the entwining by the early 2000s of Hindutva and Zionist lobbies in the U.S. Ingrid Therwath, in an insightful article (“Working for India or against Islam? Islamophobia in Indian American Lobbies”), explains how Yankee Hindutva-ism in recent decades has been able to successfully link up with powerful Zionist American lobbies primarily through shared Islamophobic beliefs.

It was reported that at San Jose, Mr. Modi had in the audience several members of the Zionist Organisation of America (ZOA) who were active in supporting The Indo-American Community of the West Coast’s efforts to organise the event. ZOA, moreover, stood out at the event “as the only one with no Indian or Hindu background or direct stake in India’s economic growth story.”

The Hindutva template similarly aims to push the Indian diaspora towards a narrower and intolerant version of nationalism, which, in fact, draws heavily on the Zionist-inspired narrative about loss, the threat of Islam, sacred territory, and the recovery of some presumed cultural greatness. Long-distance chauvinistic nationalism as pseudo-patriotism, in effect, has become the pronounced ideological mission of Mr. Modi’s travels. At Singapore, the gathering was told that “India is not confined to territory. India exists in every Indian in every part of the world, India is in you.” In many ways, this is straight out of the most extreme variant of Zionism, which upholds a Jewish identity as rooted in the idea of displaced citizenship.

In the Hindutva imagination, the NRI as the displaced citizen, in fact, meets the full ideal of being a subject of empire rather than a citizen of a republic.

The concept of citizenship here undergoes a radical transmutation. It no longer connotes a politically engaged citizenry upholding the highest ideals of a democratic republic. Politics as Bollywood- style events reduces citizenship to the instrumental notion of ideas of brain gain and campaign financiers. Citizenship becomes a cultural identity plus a business transaction: the ideal NRI is one who revels in the greatness of India and expects mere “high returns” for their investments in India. The NRIs are expected to be fawning audiences of a monarchy-style politics; they are expected not to speak, but merely listen and cheer (the NRIs protesting Mr. Modi’s visits abroad are seen as minor aberrations). This is in sharp contrast to the citizens at home, who often speak their mind, like in the Bihar elections, evoking writer Günter Grass’ maxim: “the job of a citizen is to keep his mouth open.”

Hence the NRIs are most sought after as they carry no political responsibilities nor do they have to bear the brunt of bad political choices within India. Freed as they are in this manner, they are now expected to provide the radical edge for a new Hindutva imagination about a placeless, apolitical, brain bank, chauvinist-nationalist

By thus trying to get NRIs to follow in the footsteps of the Zionists, the Hindutva brigade is pushing them into dangerous political and cultural territory. The NRIs are contradictory creatures marked by a deep and terrifying alienation; while many miss “home”, they actually shudder at the thought of living in India. The Hindutva forces tap into this condition. Rather than allowing immigration to become part of a million stories about the search for opportunity, embracing multiculturalism, and realising the promise of cosmopolitan citizenship, the pursuit of long-distance chauvinist nationalism will only cause further alienation and breed ghettoised experiences.

Hellsangel wrote:The San Bernardino terrorist was obsessed with Israel just like you, Comrade.

confuzzled dude wrote:

Hellsangel wrote:The San Bernardino terrorist was obsessed with Israel just like you, Comrade.

Calling me a chaddi, lost your marbles?

Hellsangel wrote:The San Bernardino terrorist was obsessed with Israel just like you, Comrade.