Shame on You, Mr. Sibal. We Are Proud of India

Kapil Sibal's declaration that he is "ashamed to live in India" is not merely a political statement. It is a revealing glimpse into a mindset that has haunted India's public discourse for decades. A mindset that has never truly trusted the instincts of ordinary Indians. A mindset that claims to speak in the name of democracy but becomes uncomfortable whenever democracy produces outcomes it does not approve of. A mindset that is forever eager to highlight India's failures but strangely reluctant to celebrate India's achievements.
Mr. Sibal's remark is not an isolated incident. It belongs to a long tradition of elite pessimism and civilizational self-doubt that has characterized sections of India's political establishment since independence. Whenever India asserts its cultural identity, they are uncomfortable. Whenever Indians express civilizational pride, they are suspicious. Whenever the electorate rejects their preferred politics, they declare democracy to be under threat. And whenever they lose influence, they begin losing faith in the nation itself. This is not criticism. This is contempt disguised as concern.

Let us ask a simple question. If Kapil Sibal is ashamed of India today, when exactly was he proud of India? Was he proud when India became a global economic power? Was he proud when India emerged as one of the world's most influential voices? Was he proud when millions were lifted out of poverty? Was he proud when India demonstrated technological, military and diplomatic capabilities that few imagined possible a generation ago? Or does pride become impossible whenever the political preferences of the elite are challenged by the democratic choices of ordinary citizens?

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But history presents uncomfortable questions.Where was this language of shame during the Emergency? The Emergency was not a routine political dispute. It was the gravest assault on democracy in independent India. Fundamental rights were suspended. The press was censored. Political opponents were imprisoned. Constitutional institutions were bent to serve authoritarian interests. If there was ever a moment to be ashamed on behalf of India, it was then. But the Congress ecosystem that today claims a monopoly over constitutional morality continues to carry the legacy of that dark chapter.

Where was this outrage when Kashmiri Hindus were driven from their ancestral homeland? Where was this anguish when an ancient community became refugees within its own country? Where was this moral fury when terror, separatism and communal violence repeatedly challenged India's unity? Where was this sense of shame when political violence claimed the lives of countless nationalist workers, including RSS workers in various parts of the country? Apparently, not every victim qualifies for elite sympathy. Not every injustice deserves equal outrage. Not every assault on democratic values receives equal attention.

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That is why statements such as Mr. Sibal's ring hollow for millions of Indians.They see a pattern.A pattern of selective outrage. A pattern of selective morality.A pattern of selective nationalism. The issue is not that Kapil Sibal has represented controversial clients. Every individual is entitled to legal representation. The issue is something else. It is the tendency of certain public figures to occupy the role of perpetual moral judges while remaining silent about historical wrongs committed by their own political ecosystem.

For decades, India was told by a small elite class what it should think, what it should celebrate, what it should remember and what it should forget. National thought was dismissed as backward. Civilizational pride was caricatured as extremism. Expressions of Hindu cultural identity were treated with suspicion. Traditional values were mocked as signs of intellectual inferiority. Meanwhile, the same elite expected endless respect for its own ideological assumptions.

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That freedom exists because India has possessed an attitude for thousands of years. Democracy is the DNA of India. The tragedy of remarks such as Mr. Sibal's is not that they criticize the government. Governments should always be criticized. The tragedy is that they reveal an inability to distinguish between disagreement with a government and faith in a nation. India is larger than any political party. And India is certainly larger than the disappointment of a privileged elite that finds itself increasingly out of step with the sentiments of ordinary citizens.

Mr. Sibal had once remarked that Ram's birth in Ayodhya is merely a matter of faith, reflecting his disconnect from India's civilizational ethos. It is therefore unsurprising that he later expressed shame about living in India. Those uncomfortable with India's cultural resurgence should introspect rather than remain detached from popular sentiment. Mr. Sibal may be ashamed. But millions of Indians are not. They see a nation that has survived every challenge thrown at it. They see a democracy that remains vibrant and argumentative. They see a civilization that continues to inspire confidence. And they refuse to apologize for loving their country.The real divide in India today is not between Left and Right, government and opposition, or one political party and another. It is between those who instinctively see India's strengths and those who endlessly magnify its flaws. Between those who derive confidence from India's civilizational inheritance and those who remain embarrassed by it. Between those who believe India is rising and those who seem determined to convince themselves that it is falling. One thing is already clear. India's future will be shaped not by those ashamed of the nation, but by those who are proud of it.