Politic: The Hollow Symbolism of Modi’s Election Campaign
Life isn’t static. It offers infinite experiences, meandering through an enigmatic maze of joys and sorrows, swinging between the sublime and the ridiculous, residing in grueling circumstances as well as blissful abodes. Politics steals colours and shades from life, presenting varying templates and images, both exciting and disheartening. The difference is, unlike personal experiences, the impact of political decisions go far beyond, hurting, or alleviating the pain of millions of people.
Two sets of images caught the national attention over the past few days. That strikingly beautiful visual of Prime Minister Narendra Modi sitting in a boat in the Ganga wove such a serene impression of politics that is usually mired in the ruthless power mechanics.
The camera in Modi’s hands demonstrated the Prime Minister’s eagerness to capture the realities of this great nation. The Howrah Bridge standing majestically in the backdrop was witnessing the sober aspects of the election campaign vitiated by undesirable institutional and individual interventions.
This video, seen along with Modi’s humble gesture of buying jhalmudhi from a local market, rekindled our desire to see a people’s prime minister who doesn’t occasionally indulge in such gimmicks to fulfill the demands of symbolism in politics.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Photo: PTI
The final images in this set of visual campaigns came from Varanasi where the prime minister, wrapped in a colouful attire, flashed trishul and damru, before the waiting cameras. This must have delighted the andh-bhakts (blind loyalists) who would love to visualise their leader as an incarnation of Lord Shiva.
This was the rainbow spectacle of a leader who deploys every trick in his armoury to impress the gullible masses at election time. Though the simplicity of buying a local snack for Rs 10 and the pretensions of divinity was a complete pictorial orchestra, an additional feature was introduced this time to reach out to the football crazy youth of Bengal. Modi indeed looked younger and fitter in that jazzy tracksuit.
The other set of visuals presented by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi involved ground realities from Andaman & Nicobar and Ladakh. Realities Modi’s cameras choose to ignore. Gandhi showed the nation what he described as destruction of ecology in the Nicobar island “being surreptitiously executed by the Government to help Gautam Adani”. He said trees were being cut in thousands of acres of rainforest over 160 square kilometer. The woods alone were worth lakhs of crore, he said. Insisting that there was no consultation with the local people, he said this was the “biggest theft” of national resources in India.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi interacts with locals during his visit to Campbell Bay village, Great Nicobar Island, in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Photo: PTI
Another video showed a group of activists from Ladakh telling Gandhi what they faced was a naked police state that crushed dissent using brute force. Young boys and girls argued that they only wanted to protect their culture, land and identity but the decisions were taken by bureaucrats without involving the local population. One of the complaints involved giving land to Adani for a solar project. Rahul was seen telling them that the Modi government’s policies were intended to help the corporate.
The contrasting images would have woven a disturbing narrative about an irresponsible prime minister in normal circumstances. The hollow symbolism of buying a poor man’s stuff (Jhalmudhi) can’t erase the stain of handing over national assets to a crony capitalist. Posing with trishul and damru on the decorated temple premise can’t nurse the wounds of a population whose aspirations are crushed under the boot of a cruel administration. Fancy attires and tactical photoshoots do not attract the respect that gods deserve; commitment to truth and justice does.
Flawed ideology
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is struggling to extract legitimacy from the intelligentsia because the world has a definite negative perception about its ideology. Dattatreya Hosabole, who is number two in the RSS hierarchy, was grilled on critical questions concerning Hindu Rashtra and insecurities among minorities during his recent tour of the US.
Hosabole firmly contested the perception that the RSS was a Hindu supremacist organisation and insisted that their emphasis on Hindu identity was civilisational, not religious. He also argued that communal tensions existed in India because of political interests, not religious conflict. He said a “comprehensive dialogue” was being held with other communities to evolve a better understanding of its philosophy and agenda.
There is an urgent need to hold a “comprehensive dialogue” between RSS cadres, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers and their supporters to convince them that the civilisational identity is not based on religion, apart from tutoring the top BJP leaders whose toxic rant against minorities is invariably religious, not cultural.
The real problem is that the RSS leadership is so intellectually deficient that they themselves do not understand India’s civilisation, culture and history. Their bigotry prevents them from analysing the flaws in their philosophy and taking corrective measures. They are mischievously relying on sophistry, illogic and misinterpretations to push their agenda which is inspired by Nazi philosophy.
Has the current RSS leadership ever negated what M.S. Golwalkar wrote: “Race pride at its highest has been manifested in Germany. It has also shown how well-nigh impossible it is for races and cultures having differences going to the root, to be assimilated into one united whole, a good lesson for us in Hindustan to learn and profit by.”
The RSS talks of “Vasudhaiv Kutumbkam” and then harps on holy, motherland and fatherland; with home minister Amit Shah describing Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi infiltrators as deemak (termite). Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanth’s toxic rant against Muslims – ranging from 80-versus-20 to Ali-versus-Bajrangbali jibes and Urdu being the unacceptable language of kathmullas – is civilisational or religious?
What constitutes the core of Indian civilisation – Gandhi-Nehru’s tolerance or Golwalkar-Savarkar’s intolerance? What kind of civilisational understanding makes the RSS-BJP members treat Jawaharlal Nehru as a villain and Benjamin Netanyahu as a hero?
Civilisation is antithetical to barbarism. How beating people for refusing to chant Jai Shri Ram, shouting incendiary slogans outside mosques, vandalising Christmas celebrations and lynching have become civilisational rituals? Are erasing Urdu names, obliterating relics of Mughal rule and distorting history to dilute India’s multi-religious pluralist past a cultural imperative? What kind of dialogue was held with different communities before imposing this ugly and violent majoritarian agenda? Above all, what makes the RSS think they represent the whole Hindu society of India? Have they even conducted a meaningful conversation with Hindus who believe in pluralism, secularism and constitutionalism?
The RSS needs to look within, repair its ideological flaws and articulate a new vision instead of hawking the bad stuff. What’s the bad stuff? Hindutva ideologue V.D. Savarkar rejecting national parity to Muslims and Christians despite the Constitution ensuring equality of all citizens is the bad stuff.
Fear, from custodians
Nothing is more frightening than the realisation that law-breakers are operating under the patronage of the custodians of the law. Sudarshan Fakir’s couplet, “Mera qatil hi mera munsif hai, kya mere haq mein faisla dega (My murderer is my judge, will he give a verdict in my favor?)”, comes to mind.
Trinamul Congress leaders have complained that Union home minister Amit Shah was acting as the BJP’s commander-in-chief in Bengal, desperately trying to evict the Mamata Banerjee government, and hence it is foolish to expect any impartiality from the central agencies.
Initially, the prime minister and the home minister kept a distance instead of getting personally embroiled in the political battle. It is not for nothing now that the TMC leaders are saying they are fighting the collective might of the Union government, central agencies, Election Commission, the judiciary, the media and the BJP. Videos showing Trinamool workers being beaten up in the presence of central forces are circulating on social media platforms. Disturbances in strong rooms have become routine in every state.
TMC MP Mahua Moitra tweeted, “In 2011 we used to take EVMs to strong rooms and leave them for CAPF (Central Armed Police Force) to guard. Today we take EVMs to strong rooms and stay there to guard them from the CAPF”. Such trust deficit between contestants and the referee is unacceptable. Forget Mamata Banerjee and her party workers, is there any apolitical person in Bengal who suspects a tacit understanding between the Election Commission and the Trinamool leaders? No. The needle of suspicion is pointed towards the BJP, with an overwhelming majority in the country believing that Gyanesh Kumar would work to protect Modi-Shah’s interests.
Is it desirable to conduct elections in such an atmosphere? Did political parties doubt the integrity of our paramilitary forces, bureaucrats, judges and the journalists in this manner a decade ago? I hope the prime minister will take the initiative to address this crisis after the result of this round of elections. Let restoration of the sanctity and pride of institutions be the topmost agenda henceforth. If this doesn’t happen, the intention of the Union government will become suspect.
Sanjay K. Jha is a political commentator.
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