The seeds of faking history; injecting germs of communal hatred; infusing bacteria of social mistrust, stealthily planting question marks on liberal, scientific and secular thought and confronting the idea of India’s all pervading rich diversity are not of recent origin. The right-wing thinkers and their frontal organisations have been active propagating and fuelling such regressive social mind-sets. Earlier, these forces were irritants, though harmful but not causing grievous damage to the nation and the people well entrenched in composite cultural life-style. Today, the seeds have germinated. Earlier, such sprouted roots did not have political patronage. Today, their Commander is butchering science and liberals to steer India to an era of fake history, frightening present and futureless Bharat.
Earlier, such elements had no space in public intellectual discourses and social reformist groups. Today, they claim freedom to rewrite history under the guise of patriotism and legroom to propagate outdated traditions and mythology as scientific nationalism. Earlier, the mass media would pounce on such fundamentalist and irrational army as mongoose stands up to a cobra. Now, quite a sizeable section of print and electronic media sings the hate songs of the right-wing brigade and ensures that all events during the current political regime are bombarded with admiration as positive development. This could range from demonetisation to the so-termed statue of Unity or from the Rafale aircraft deal to ‘surgical’ strikes. Instead of working to expose corruption and lawlessness of those in power, a major section of the media is more engaged in keeping vigilance over the political and social forces standing in opposition to the ruling elite. So, if the government slaps the flag of ‘urban naxals’ on dissenting public intellectuals and activists, this media will unfurl the flag and read them as anti-national and stage public trial for sedition. This same media will focus on the past delinquencies of the opposition and ignore the present loot of those in power.
Repainting of any mansion initially starts with the application of primer, which is a basic coverage before the coat of fresh paint. The undercoat to the mansion ‘Bharat’ is almost complete in the last five years. The odour is seen in organised lynching and trolling on social media. The preparatory coating has raised a wall of suspicion between majority communities versus the others. Ideological and political differences are expected in any democratic society. They have always been there and will continue to exist. They will reach a crescendo during elections and electioneering. However, at no time in India’s post-independent political history these differences have seeped into the psyche of people corrupting inter-community, inter-religious, inter-faith and inter-caste relations.
At no point, hate campaigns have received political sponsorship and intolerance has drawn political patronage. Today, a nationalist Indian is expected to hate neighbours and minorities. A true patriot has to express displeasure over food and dress lifestyles of people. Music, musicians, art, performance artists, painters, writers and film makers should also clear the ‘hindutva’ test. When the current Commander of Bharat says that past was golden India and it was a period of milk and honey, where there was medicine for cancer and missiles to fight the enemy; espousing the cause of modern Science would be treason. Keeping people under fear is fun for NaMo’s BJP. The fear of Hindus turning into minority, the fear of Indian Muslims as potential terrorists, the fear that Muslims multiply as honeybees, the fear of the self-coined love jihad, the fear of other minorities as being of questionable patriotism, the fear that Indian Christians loyalties are to Rome, the fear that missionaries priority is religious conversions, the fear of losing Hindu culture, the fear that liberals and social activists are anti-nationals and that intellectuals and men of science are pseudo Indians.
Any thinker, NGO, group and political outfit opposed to BJP is projected as corrupt, anti-Hindu and anti-national. The propaganda machinery of the BJP along with the frontal organisations would cross any limit to assassinate the contribution and character of any political and social leader opposed to them. They will pelt stones to paint Pandit Nehru, the builder of modern India as a destroyer of Bharat. They will ridicule Rahul Gandhi as son of Italian mother. Mahatma Gandhi becomes an icon of Swachh Bharat during peace time. During election time, the Mahatma is hounded as Muslim lover and Hindu hater. Anyone questioning Rafale commercial aspects will be crowned as Pakistani agent. They are all out to make the majority Hindu community perverse for political gains.
As India marches to 2019 for a fresh people’s mandate, the ‘Acche Din’ and ‘Skill India’ initiatives are giving place to ‘Statue India’ politics, ‘Renaming India’ socionomics and ‘Lynch India’ culturenomics. The rhetoric Narendra Modi dishes out at election meetings does not augur with the exalted office of the Prime Minister of a secular democratic Republic. The madness and schizophrenia matches well with a Bandit King.
India’s Commander post-2019 will decide whether the country will go deep into the abyss of a futureless past or strengthen the roots to enable India’s demographic dividend to grow in the world of a promising future without the baggage of the past. Past is the catalyst to understand and appreciate the story of civilization and culture. It is a raw material for historians and performing arts. It is best when stored in archives or adoring the walls of art galleries. It should not be the economic and social agenda of a progressive nation.
(The writer is an educationist & political commentator)
