India is busy patting itself on the back for having overtaken China as the world’s fastest growing major economy. But, for all that, China has – and will continue to have – far greater clout on the international scene than India. The world takes China seriously, and treats it with respect. The world doesn’t take India seriously, and often treats it with disrespect.

A case in point is the recent summary deportation of a number of Indian citizens – students, business travellers, tourists – by US immigration authorities. All the Indians had valid US visas, but no explanation was given by the US authorities as to why they were denied entry into that country.

What has the Indian government done about this shabby treatment of its citizens by a foreign country which, in effect, is cocking a snook at India? Nothing. Except issue a travel advisory telling Indian travellers to the US to carry with them as much documentation as possible to establish their bona fides with US officials who might otherwise send them packing back home, with no reasons given for the expulsion.

According to a TOI report, if you are an Indian going to the US – to study, do business, to visit friends and relations, or just for a holiday – you should have with you your most recent bank statement, proof of sufficient funds for the duration of your stay, your income tax returns for the last couple of years and ‘anything else which you think might be relevant to your case’. The source for the TOI report is the US department of homeland security, customs and border protection.

If Chinese citizens had been treated the way Indians have been by the US authorities, Beijing would have raised an almighty ruckus about it, and flexed its economic and political muscle, both of which are considerable. But more than anything else, China has time and again shown that it will not take lying down any disrespect of it or its citizens.

India, on the other hand, lets the world and its brother walk all over it. The Indian government hasn’t taken the matter up at the highest level with the US. Couldn’t Narendra Modi have called his pal Barak (as he likes to refer to him) and asked him what the heck was going on?

Indian-origin Americans, said to be the most prosperous of any immigrant community in America, including the Chinese community, haven’t raised a stink about the issue.

Why? Because unlike China and the Chinese we lack self-confidence regarding our international stature. It’s as though we were children in a world of grown-ups whose rules we have to obey and whom we mentally refer to as ‘Unclejis’.

And the biggest Uncleji of them all to whom we pay obeisance, is the one called Uncle Sam.