Our indefatigable prime minister, when not travelling abroad, criss-crosses the country cutting ribbons at some inauguration or the other because nobody else can. A few days ago, he laid the foundation stone of an international stadium in Varanasi in the presence of cricket luminaries like Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev. There was a picture of Sachin eagerly genuflecting before the big man.

Even as I pondered on how easy it was for this regime to summon celebrities to pay homage to the Vishwaguru and how they had bartered away their souls to shake hands with brute political power, by a happy stroke of serendipity I chanced upon a quote from the great Senegalese footballer Sadio Mane on his philosophy of life. In his own stirring words:

“I resisted hunger, I worked in the fields, I survived wars, I played football barefoot, I had no education and many more things, but today with what I earn from football I can help my people. I built schools, a hospital, we offer clothes, shoes food to people living in extreme poverty. In addition, I give 70 euros per month to all people in a very poor region of Senegal. I don’t need to flaunt fancy cars, fancy villas, travel, let alone planes. I’d rather have my people get a bit of what life has given me.”

“…my people get a bit of what life has given me.” What a stark contrast from our famous persons who are so consumed in themselves and busy cashing in on their demigod status that they have forgotten that they owe a debt to society. It is sad because celebrities are respected community mentors with a greater influence, particularly among the young, than religious or political leaders. 

Nobody expects them to part with their money. But, like the great West Indian, Michael Holding observed, after the “fun and games”, celebrities have a social responsibility to use their privileged position to make the world a better place. At the end of the day, it is not about the laurels won but what you give back to society. 

Joseph Campbell put it best with his simple but profound assertion: "A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself". The Indian celebrity has generally been reticent, if not downright uncaring of his social responsibilities. I had a theory, now dented by Mane, that the poorer a nation, the more solipsistic and self-seeking are its rich and famous, possibly because of a deep sense of insecurity. Amid conspicuous and widespread deprivation, our celebrities tend to distance themselves from the misery by bolting their ivory tower. 

Our celebrities wield incredible social power. With millions of devotees hanging on to their every word, they are up there with the world’s leading opinion-makers. They can invigorate social justice campaigns with the power of their voices. Regrettably, most of them are self-obsessive.  

Take the case of Tendulkar. The greatest run getter in history, arguably the richest cricketer, the recipient of the highest civilian award – the Bharat Ratna, the idol of the masses, Sachin has exploited his stardom solely for hawking merchandise and for other less honourable purposes. He sought and obtained a Rs 1.5 crore customs duty exemption on the Ferrari presented to him by Michael Schumacher on behalf of the Ferrari company. More controversially, he allegedly tried to play the role of procurer for his hotelier crony who had illegally encroached army cantonment land, but the then Defence Minister, Manohar Parrikar, didn’t play ball.

But Sachin goes missing when it matters. He remained silent when the female wrestlers protesting sexual harassment sought his backing, and he turned his back on his former teammate, Wassim Jaffer, who was unjustly accused of communal bias by right-wing bigots, whereas Anil Kumble showed character by coming out in support of Jaffer. 

Also read: Wasim Jaffer and the Futile Pursuit of Being a 'Good Muslim' in India

To the charge that Sachin is indifferent to the social problems of the country, his apologists claim that he is “apolitical”. How then do they explain his government-tutored response to the tweets of Rihanna and Greta Thunberg in support of our farmers? 

Unabashedly playing toady to this regime, Tendulkar used mighty words, calling on all Indians “to resist any threat to the nation’s sovereignty by external forces.” That’s a bit rich!

Our two other mega superstars, Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan, have also been accused of shutting themselves off in their luxurious cocoons, ignoring the life and death problems of the country and the shrinking democratic space. They finally spoke up some months ago in Kolkata. Amitabh mentioned “the current brand of historical couched in fictionalised jingoism, along with moral policing”, and went on to speak about questions being raised on civil liberties and freedom of expression. Khan talked of cinema as a medium “that brings to the fore humanity’s intense capacity for compassion, unity and brotherhood.” A trifle, pussyfooted and oblique, but as the saying goes, a penny is better than none! 

From experience I know that our women are infinitely smarter than men and made of sterner stuff. The months-long protest earlier this year of our internationally renowned women wrestlers, led by Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik, against continual sexual harassment of women wrestlers by Bharatiya Janata Party MP Brij Bhushan Singh stands out as the most courageous face-off by women anywhere against a repressive, hostile government that used every sordid means to bring them to their knees. 

But despite coercive police brutality, waves of officially sponsored vandalism of their protest site, intimidation, harassment and vicious slander, these indomitable women stood their ground, eventually forcing this regime to initiate legal action against one of its own. By throwing down the gauntlet against a deeply ingrained, rotten culture of patriarchy, they spoke up for all the voiceless girls who cannot protect themselves. Their groundbreaking protest has forged an indelible legacy that will inspire all women.    

At this bleak time when our freedoms are under attack, comparisons are inevitably drawn with the dark days of the Emergency. Of yesteryears’ Bollywood stars, Dev Anand, who would have turned 100 on September 25 this year, was the lone celebrity with the spine and moral compass to publicly express his dissent in the dire period of the Emergency. 

Also read: SRK, I Hear You. And So Does Everyone Else.

Asked to say a few words in appreciation of former Lok Sabha member Sanjay Gandhi – the ogre in that fascist regime – Dev Anand flatly refused, describing his own audacity as “a call to conscience”. In retaliation, his films were banned on TV and All India Radio proscribed any reference to his name. Unfazed, during an election rally of Janata Party leader Jayprakash Narayan, he delivered a scathing attack on Indira Gandhi. The evergreen screen idol was, in truth, a real-life hero!

But any discussion on our celebrity world would be incomplete if it does not include the celebrity nonpareil - our ace politician and multifaceted supreme leader. The consummate purveyor of illusions and dreams, he has become all things to his people – the nation’s fashion model, tear-jerking thespian, religious leader, historian and even war strategist. He has had an overpowering influence on our society, a power that is almost deific in the religious frenzy that he invokes in his Bhakts.

If celebrities are to be ranked by the extent of their influence on society – for good or evil – then our supreme leader stands peerless at the pinnacle, the dominant personality of our time. He has artfully exploited the unthinking credulity of his people and the fragility of our democratic institutions to set himself up as the ultimate arbiter of our country, impacting our society in  indelible ways. The nine-year saga of menacing majoritarianism, hare-brained schemes and pure malevolence has left us a splintered nation full of hatred, cruelty and rage. That’s a terrifying legacy for future generations. 

Mathew John is a former civil servant. The views are personal.

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