Pratap Bhanu Mehta writes: The nationalism that evokes pride, the nation we are

Independence Day discourses, speeches and poetry often switch between the pleasure principle and the reality principle. The pleasure principle celebrates India's grandeur, offering a vicarious sense of pride, achievement, and hope - a mechanism for identifying with a people or cause. Politicians often rely on evoking pride, self-belief, and even a sense of romance to succeed.

However, anger and a sense of injustice can only take one so far in politics. In contrast, the reality principle questions the actual state of the nation.

The Hindi poet Raghuvir Sahay expertly counters the pleasure principle with three standard arguments of the reality principle: authoritarianism, material deprivation, and the maintenance of illusion. He questions who the Adhinayak (leader) is, to whom we sing nationalistic praises. The ordinary, impoverished citizen is conditioned to sing the anthem without true freedom or prosperity, perpetuating the illusion for rulers who believe all is well.

Nissim Ezekiel's poem "The Patriot" satirically mocks superficial nationalism during the Emergency using exaggerated Indian English. He highlights the gap between professed fidelity to tradition and actual conduct, such as the professed non-violence and paeans to Gandhi not preventing violence. The poet also touches upon unrest, the conversion of a student-unrest fellow into a goonda, and the ongoing concerns of the patriot.