India, June 23 -- Two thought-provoking pieces by Yogendra Yadav ("The Nationalism We Forgot," IE, May 27) and Suhas Palshikar ("Who Stole My Nationalism?" IE, May 31) made for a fascinating debate on the texture and trajectory of Indian nationalism.

Yadav argues that the rich legacy of Indian nationalism from our freedom movement, which was about "belonging without othering" and unity sans uniformity, has been overwhelmed in the last decade by a Nazi version that upholds national interest over individual freedom and identifies the government with the nation. But he also blames the liberal, secular elite for the regression in the pristine nationalist spirit, charging them with a "deracinated cosmopolitism" that ignored the cultural and s...