There’s unanimity in India that New Delhi must not bow to the bullying by President Donald Trump, who threatens to trigger a 50 per cent tariff on us unless we concede to his demands. The United States’s insurmountable might, indeed, inspires Trump to redesign the world order, to perpetuate his country’s hegemony at the expense of weaker nations. As we reel under Trump’s shocks, it’s just the moment to mull how the Centre, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeks to grow its power by pushing and shoving states and social groups, presaging a future as bleak and frightening as Trump’s plan does.

Several American presidents had contemplated purchasing Greenland from Denmark, but none ever spoke, as Trump has, of forcibly annexing it. The Bharatiya Janata Party had always believed the annulling of Article 370 would better integrate Jammu and Kashmir with India. But Modi’s Centre not only torpedoed Article 370, it also carved out Ladakh from J&K, demoted its status from a state to a union territory, and turned the Lieutenant Governor there into a veritable viceroy.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has failed to persuade the Centre to restore statehood to J&K despite playing the “good boy” — in much the same way Modi’s currying favour with Trump didn’t get tariff concessions for India. And now, 25 books have been banned in J&K on grounds that these promote secessionism, echoing, in a way, Trump’s justification that the annexation of Greenland is vital for America’s security. Bad faith’s favourite whitewash is always national security.