POLITICS
In this brief note – filled with pain and anguish, the author has reflected on our collective degeneration.
Uttam a theater activist and Contributing Writer at The New Leam.
Your (Rahul Gandhi’s) father was termed ‘Mr Clean’ by his courtiers , but his life ended as ‘Bhrashtachari No.1.
– Narendra ModiHave we kept our nuclear bomb for Diwali?
– Narendra Modi
What do you do, if your Prime Minister loses the grace of the position he holds, and the language he speaks becomes terribly toxic, vulgar and indecent? No, you can’t do much. Because you are living in a society that seems to have fallen in love with an authoritarian personality, and some sort of ‘magic’ leads many to believe that all that Mr. Narendra Modi does or speaks enhances the glory of the ‘nation’-its masculinity, its aggression, its intoxication with power. Furthermore, you experience the systematic fall of all institutions.
Yes, the Election Commission finds nothing wrong and objectionable in Mr. Modi’s speeches. And we are led to believe that it is not wrong to spread the messages that tend to stigmatize the minority community; it is not unethical to speak of the nuclear bomb in the election rally; and there is absolutely no problem if he attacks his opponent by referring to his father’s corruption, and by trivializing his assassination. Likewise, the likes of Arun Jaitley (yes, apparently sophisticated, metropolitan, English-speaking) are there to write in their blogs , and defend everything that the ‘master’ does. It is like what only an ‘educated’ person can do – transforming vices into virtues! And in a society where the fancy television anchors have lost even the critical minimum needed to become a journalist, you can only find the celebration of narcissism. Don’t bother about decency in public life. Instead, enjoy the moment: a Bollywood hero entertaining you by asking Mr.Modi about the methodology of eating mangoes!
Yet, despite this collective degeneration, if you somehow refuse to give up, you begin to feel ashamed. Yes, it is a matter of shame that India – known for its rich civilizational heritage, and an illuminating text like The Discovery of India written by our first Prime Minister – is now led by a man who, despite his dramaturgical performance (including the much-advertised moment with Barrack Obama), often reveals his true self – loud gestures, ugly words and crude obsession with power.
Possibly, Mr. Modi cannot be seen in isolation. Is it that we too have begun to find ourselves in him? I believe that we ought to ask this question. Is it that in our everyday life we have become loud, vulgar and aggressive? Is it that we have become noisy? Is it that education, for us, is more about the ‘skill’ of becoming clever and smarter rather than wiser?
We love loud music, vulgar soap operas; we love stardom – Bollywood magic or IPL spectacles. We hate the ideals of softness, kindness and deep thinking. We have redefined the meaning of being a ‘hero’–he is the one filled with hyper-masculine aggression, toxic words , violent body gestures. Gandhi, we think, is the embodiment of weakness; Hitler, we are ready to believe, is the savior! Nationalism is not about working for the people of India-their material/cultural/spiritual growth; instead, nationalism is essentially about war- a doctrine of finishing the ‘enemy’. Kashmir is a site of war memorial; and the surgical strike is like a video game. Peace is a bad word; violence is the manifestation of smartness. Secularism is futile; minorities ought to be taught a lesson. Hinduism is not about Ramakrishna or Ramana Maharshi; instead, it is an act of social engineering–a strategy to loathe the Muslims!
Possibly, Mr. Modi is a cumulative manifestation of our aggression and degeneration. Possibly, he emerges in a society that has lost its wisdom.
Should we think about it? Or is it that the magician has completely hypnotized us, and we have lost the courage to say that the Emperor is naked?
