Be picky about your desi-abroad pride

National pride is a splendid thing - even when it's really disguised ethnic pride that's been made politically acceptable. Indians possess a remarkable talent for discovering Indian greatness abroad. An American wins a Spelling Bee, and civilisation's debt to Sanskrit is established. A British PM has Indian ancestry, and the empire apparently strikes back.

Consider Vivek Ramaswamy, Republican candidate for Ohio governor. His latest contribution to American democracy is an advertisement featuring the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent, Amy Acton, calling her daughter a liar and questioning her mental health. The awkward detail omitted is why mother and daughter became estranged: Acton suffered childhood abuse, and her stepfather was charged with raping her when she was 12.

Even Republicans have recoiled. Ramaswamy, displaying the sensitivity of a bulldozer, plans to spend $4m promoting the ad. Trump, of course, approves. So, is Ramaswamy's ancestry enough for us to junk toxic behaviour and celebrate him? Certainly not. The right thing to do is be a selective Brown supremacist. Celebrate your x degrees of separation from, say, Ashoke Sen, the latest recipient of one of physics' most prestigious prizes. But ignore, say, yet another Indian shoplifter caught at a Brit supermarket. Diaspora-pride is natural. But it needn't be stupid.