Some political parties in many countries believe in having a “permanent campaign”. It’s more evident in India with politicians from many parties, particularly the main Congress and the BJP, continuously engaging into hitting out at each other. This art of having speeches as a politician does on election campaigns seems to be the order of the day for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
No doubt, he is skilful orator but he goes on endlessly flogging his pet theme of how the government has been able to tackle the nation’s problems. At the same time, he provides visionary scenarios of what the country hopes to be in the future. Sloganeering has attained a new high in Indian politics, and BJP has perfected the art.
We heard of Make in India and now we hear of New India. Unfortunately, the Make in India slogan seemed hollow as India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has not fallen, though the government doesn’t want us to believe it. It is come down to a new low in the three years at 5.7 per cent. There could be many reasons for the GDP to slip. The demonetisation and the GST factors have also impacted the economy.
In a bid to win trust and confidence of the people, Modi has tried a new tactic. He has reshuffled his cabinet and brought in persons who have excelled in their respective fields. Doubtlessly, Modi has given the cabinet a sheen of professionalism. It’s also a game plan to strengthen his image and that of his party before the next elections in 2019.
One must consider the theories of William H. Riker as explained by him in his book, “The Theory of Political Coalitions”. Riker used mathematical models. The BJP has gone at length to explain the Gujarat Model, as Modi was its architect when he was Gujarat’s Chief Minister. Investigative reports have shown that the Gujarat Model was flawed. Politics is a game of manipulation, and Modi has mapped out the scenario accordingly to show himself as prime motivator of change. For him, politics is a game.
Modi wants a lock on power. His ambition is to win the next elections and prove himself worthy of occupying the PM’s chair. He is driven by the BJP dream of “Congress-mukt Bharat.” Unfortunately, BJP cannot get rid of Congress of the political map of India. The Congress has mired its turf, and it’s trying to recast itself in a new avatar. There’s a crisis of leadership in the party.
I am forced to draw an analogy between my adopted country, Canada, and my original country, India. I have written before that Modi has similarities to the last Canadian PM Stephen Harper in his governance. As Harper cared less for opinions from his caucus members and loved to hate the media, especially those who wrote against him and the government, even bypassing those in the Conservative media, Modi hates certain media and even those of his party MPs who question him. Modi has a partner-in-crime in Amit Shah.
Under the mantle of these two biggies, the BJP ship sails quite smoothly in the choppy sea of Indian politics. Under them, the democratic faith of the nation is in peril. Our faith in Indian democracy lies in tatters, and if the current trend continues it could be the end of democracy as we know it.
When Indira Gandhi imposed the Emergency, the intellectual and progressive forces in the country decried it as the last nail in the coffin of Indian democracy. Today, it’s a different kind of Emergency wherein the intellectual class is attacked by regressive forces and religious fanatics whose one agenda is to make India in their own vision. In the short list of rationalist thinkers who have been murdered, the latest victim was a journalist. No doubt other journalists have paid with their lives but Gauri Lankesh’s brings back to light the dangers of those opposing the current socio-political atmosphere in the country.
Journalism is the lifeblood of democracy. All types of journalists, whether red, yellow or saffron, or whether leftists, centrists and rightists, must share the media space and debate the issues from all angles. The coming up of new channels representing the government’s views are affront to the culture and role of journalism. In most countries, there are those who are on either side of the fence. In the US, the Fox News and other news websites are flag-bearers for President Trump, while big papers like New York Times and Washington Times hold the government to account and CNN keeps a keen eye on the affairs of the state. In Canada, we have both the Conservative and Liberal papers who fight vigorously to promote their respective views and ideas. But killing the messengers is not the solution. Journalists, like voters, are part of the democratic process.
In the present times, the Modi government is determined to suppress the free flow of information. The government is mortgaged to big money power. It’s right to point out what Thomas Jefferson said about the US, “The end of democracy and the defeat of the American Revolution will occur when government falls into the hands of lending institutions and moneyed incorporations.” The US is ruled by a moneyed man, and India is ruled by proxy by men with deep pockets.
Acche Din for the poor is like a pie-in-the-sky. The government propaganda machine, including the trolling of so-called enemies of the state and liberal, secular-minded people on social media, is in full gear. When you have a former soap opera actress become India’s broadcasting minister, one can summarize what the future media scape can be like. The alarm bells are ringing. In is nice to know that the judiciary is playing its part in these troubling times.
(Eugene Correia is a senior journalist who worked for The Hindu and The Free Press Journal)
