BADRI RAINA | Caravan Daily
Any “true nationalist” would know
Who enslaved the sanaatan Indian mind—
It was that wily Macaulay
And his obliging subsequent kind.
For two distorted centuries now
His corrupted progeny
Browbeat all things indigenous
With elitist Western hegemony.
“True nationalists” seek endorsement
From people here at home;
They do not fawn on agencies
In England, America, Rome.
Which is why when our destitute farmers,
Our Dalits, youth, or Patidars,
Those Muslims and disloyal retailers
Proclaim our economic failures
We do not stand on false prestige,
But our nationalism we renew
Through certificates from Moody’s,
From the World Bank and from Pew.
But we take care to neutralize
Our foreign complicity
With nationalist obeisance
To Rani Padminii,
Whom no Moody’s, Pew or World Bank
Has pronounced a mythical entity.
You do not win unless you know
How to eat the cake and have it too.
