You could call it coincidence but the business disruption of the month, when little known Noida-based Ringing Bells launched a smartphone for as little as Rs 251, too was wrapped in full nationalistic fervour. The back of the handset shown to the media had the Tricolour painted on it.
The phone, said the pre-launch publicity material handed out by the company, was in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision to "empower India to the last person, transforming India's growth story." Its launch day advertisement mentioned the government's flagship schemes: Make in India, Digital India and Skill India. The subtext was that the handset would promote all three.
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Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar was supposed to launch the phone but could not make it to the function; in his place, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Murli Manohar Joshi did the honours. The spin was hard to miss.
Mohit Goel may fulfill his promise of delivering 2.5 million phones in the next couple of months, which will pitchfork him into greatness, but disbelief on him is running high at the moment.
Rivals have upped the ante. Their charges include theft of intellectual property. Reviews have been less than flattering. BJP MP Kirit Somaiya has called it a Ponzi scheme. The taxman has paid a visit to the Ringing Bells office at Noida. Intrepid journalists have even found the nondescript grocery store where Mr Goel worked till recently, though I cannot understand why that should weigh against him.
So far as the low price is concerned, Mr Goel has said it will be possible because of economies of large-scale production, duty benefits (from producing in India) and online marketing. Some money will be paid by the apps that will come preloaded on the phone. In fact, even at this price, Mr Goel has said his company will make a profit of Rs 31 on each handset.
All this sounds simplistic. Anyway, the verdict will be known soon. But one thing Mr Goel can be sure of: the nationalist pitch was not necessary. People booked the phone in large numbers only because they found the price irresistible. The Indian customer looks for value for money, national pride can wait.
In fact, people doubt any businessman who takes this route to brand building. Over-the-top invocation of nationalist sentiments is seen as an attempt to camouflage inherent shortcomings in the product.
The only exception seems to be Baba Ramdev, the unabashed hater of multinationals who has touched some dormant Indian nerve of consumers and built a successful business around it. But there is a difference: the bearded ascetic has associated his products with herbal care and Ayurveda, attributes that go well with consumers. Had he produced run of the mill stuff and forced it down the throat of people as an all-Indian venture, I am doubtful if he would have met with such success.
I also need to mention that there are many who view him with suspicion: all his misdemeanors have been forgotten in these charged-up times, they feel.
Scepticism on ultra-nationalists also exists because one businessman who wore his Indian pride on his sleeves has landed in a spot of bother in recent years. Subrata Roy of Sahara has spent well over a year in New Delhi's Tihar Prison.
Vijay Mallya, who is in the docks for causing serious heartburn to some Indian banks, too had flamed national pride a few years back when he purchased the sword of Tipu Sultan at a private auction in London and brought it to India.
That's not to say it doesn't help: Indian business has used nationalism, the flip side of which is mistrust of the foreigner, whenever the narrative suited it. The earliest example of this goes to the days of the Swadeshi movement before Independence. When foreign made cloth was boycotted, it was the Indian textile barons who made money.
But that was a different time. The Swadeshi lobby that came into existence after liberalisation too played on nationalism in order to get protection from the government but its efforts met with limited success. The lobby is still around and does manage a concession now and then from the government but it has no popular support.
Wisely, Ringing Bells' website, which has clearly been updated after the launch, steers clear of all nationalistic talk and is more businesslike and matter-of-fact now.