Like human beings, a nation loses its pride gradually, through repeated degrading acts and acceptance of ‘charity’ until it reaches a point where its self-esteem has become something of the past. The sovereignty of that nation is then eroded.

We have a lot of respect for Mother India, its people and the progress it has been making through sheer hard work, a strong leadership and a clear vision. Having said that, I don’t think anyone should be naïve enough to believe that there is a country – any country – that loves another one to the point of putting the interests of the loved country before its own. If the MSM leaders believe that, good luck to them.

So the razzmatazz about the ‘gifts’ India has been giving us in the last couple of years should have raised several flags. Day in and day out, we have been hearing about the generosity of Mother India towards Beta Mauritius. On the other hand, what India has been getting in return has been shrouded in total secrecy. You put the question in a press conference and the prime minister immediately lashes out at you. When the question is reverberated in parliament, windy answers are given to questions which were not asked and nothing about what Mauritius is giving India in exchange for its incredible ‘generosity’.

The purpose of this continuous propaganda, compounded by a rare opacity, is not exactly to make India look good but rather to make our leaders look smart. If they haven’t been able to drive any projects, at least they can brag about being smart enough to get ‘grants’ and ‘gifts’. In the middle of the propaganda about the charity we got and the opacity around what we gave in exchange, our Mauritian psyche took a hard blow.

So when the highly controversial character, Yogi Adityanath, was ‘imposed’ on us as guest of honour on the occasion of the celebration marking the arrival of indentured labourers, most of us swallowed our pride and bit the bullet. You can’t criticise the choice of a country showering gifts on you, surely, can you?  Those who dared express the view that we do not need extremists to come to this country as guests of honour were overpowered by sociocultural organisations crawling out of the woodwork to welcome the greatest gift India has sent us: A politician who cut his political teeth on virulent communal politics and anti-Muslim, anti-Christian rhetoric. One facing criminal cases ranging from rioting, attempted murder, carrying deadly weapons to criminal intimidation.

Yogi Adityanath’s visit has hurt our pride. Besides, it has set a precedent. If Marine Le Pen or Ayman al-Zawahiri were to be invited tomorrow as guests of honour to celebrate our independence day, would we be justified to protest or would we be scared of who might crawl out of the woodwork in their defence? But then again, we are not getting ‘gifts’ from other countries the way we are from India. With every coin that falls in our begging bowl, our dignity and sovereignty as a nation are taking a beating. For the sake of that dignity and sovereignty, the government should make the ‘agreements’ public and stop the propaganda machine. It has gone too far.

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