Parochial sentiments are inimical to the national project. But such is the perversity of Indian politics that pandering to narrow — regional — sentiments for the sake of winning an election is no longer considered a taboo. Take, for instance, the prime minister’s utterance on the valour of the Bihar Regiment in the context of the tragic loss of the lives of 20 Indian soldiers in the recent confrontation with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley. Narendra Modi made it a point to stoke regional pride by saying that the country and ‘every Bihari’ are proud of the sacrifices made by the troopers of the Bihar Regiment. Perhaps the prime minister is unaware that the Indian army is a truly national institution. Unlike the politician, India’s army takes great pride in honouring and upholding the principle of integration. Even though a particular regiment may have a regional label, citizens from all across the land are welcome to serve it. Of the 20 martyrs who laid down their lives for the motherland, 13 were from the 16 Bihar Regiment; five of those martyred in the attack were from Bihar, four from Punjab, two each from Bengal and Jharkhand. The rest of the brave jawans hailed from Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. In life and also in death, India’s jawans have thus held aloft the spirit of unity that has kept the republic together. The army and the phenomenal work it does of keeping the borders safe symbolize the capability of a diverse democracy to function harmoniously. Such a fine blend of faith, ethnicity and belief is rare in the world. Is the prime minister suggesting that the nation is less proud of the fallen men who hailed from states other than Bihar? Such insensitivity at a time of mourning does not behove the highest political office of India.

Yet, it must be admitted that Mr Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party have had no compunction in politicizing tragedies. In this context, Galwan has its precedent in Pulwama. The exploitation of provincial emotions can weaken the glue that holds India together. It is shocking that the BJP, supposedly a patriotic outfit, has readily indulged in such a transgression. It is time Mr Modi learns a lesson from the army’s unblemished record of keeping India together, literally and metaphorically.