Swadeshi flights of fancy

Keeping Air India 'Indian' is a pointless exercise

No one will deny that India has been a significant beneficiary of globalisation after the licence raj was dismantled. The insecurities of Indian businesses and politicians — notably those of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — saw a brief flowering of a modern “swadeshi” movement in the nineties until the limitations of this outlook became manifest. From the prime minister’s frequent overseas trips to meetings with international investors to gussying up the Ease of Doing Business rankings to attract global investment, the current BJP-led regime has become an enthusiastic votary of foreign investment. This ideological progression makes Mohan Bhagwat’s comments