New Post (138) : The malaise of Sub-national jingoism
Jingoism ---is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as "extreme patriotism in the form of aggressive foreign policy". In practice, it refers to the advocating of the use of threats or actual force against other countries in order to safeguard what they perceive as their country's national interests, and colloquially to excessive bias in judging one's own country as superior to others – an extreme type of nationalism.
Jingoism is bad enough.
Sub-national jingoism is worse.
Especially so, if it --- “runs contrary to the stated foreign policy direction of the nation”.
Not only is it moronic. It's a spoiler. It’s dangerous.
As an example:
The covert support & funding by certain arm-chair elements in Indian Tamil Nadu of the erstwhile now defunct LTTE against the Sri Lankan government and its majority people.
A totally misguided covert operation (all with a life of it's own) that had no support in India and it’s majority people. Whatsoever.
That “eventually” caused the assassination of a much loved popular young PM of India…on Indian soil in where else but Tamil Nadu He was then not in power. Visiting the state of Tamil Nadu. Without requisite security. Meeting common people with open arms. When the LTTE cowards acted in collusion with local collaborators of Eelam. Targeting him with a bomb concealed in a garland. …………A national shame and tragedy.
The vast majority of the Indian people have always seen the Sri Lankan people as sub-continental cousins. And vice versa. The relationship between the 2 neighbours, India & Sri Lanka, has survived…..the “myopic” subversive sub-national jingoism of a ---handful of educated yet politically-challenged Indian Tamils.
Similar examples of mis-guided behaviour abound in several countries all around the state of Israel. Preventing an enduring peace from emerging. A casualty of idle meddlers.
Charlie Brown
