Modi’s “New India” joins the list, razing the country’s hard-earned global reputation as a responsible power which largely played by the rules. Khalistan may be long dead, but the Indian security establishment continues to be dominated by officials whose professional careers were defined by that violent insurgency. Used to bullying and targeting critics inside India, the ruling establishment wanted to project strength and power by eliminating prominent Khalistan supporters abroad. The recent contretemps are evidence of overconfidence in the country’s top hierarchy, which flows from a euphoria of power. As daylight starts appearing between rhetoric and reality, their delusion has only revealed India’s vulnerabilities and weaknesses under Modi.
