As the general election bugle is about to be sounded soon, the nation is being captivated by a blitzkrieg of Ram temple mania. A never before seen advertisement campaign to mark the consecration of a grand temple built on the ruins of the Babri Masjid mosque, that was demolished by frenzied rightwing mobs in 1992, now hogs the limelight across print, TV and online media. Not only news channels but channels of all hues and colours have gone full Ram mode. They are recycling anything and everything even remotely connected to Ramayana, the epic tale revered by a section of Indians.
This is being touted as a glorious achievement in the crown of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, often referred to as “Vishwaguru” (world leader) by his obsequious supporters that seem abound due to their vociferous presence in conspicuous media spaces. Kudos to the event management skills of this democratically elected prime minister of India!
We live in a digital era where such outlandish event management is all it takes to self-proclaim oneself as a “Vishwaguru” whether you consider the current instances or in those the past during the G-20 summit in 2023 and the 75th Independence day eve to name a few. It behooves us to look back at our history and reflect on a few actual Vishwagurus and how they might have reacted to ongoing world events at this critical time in a volatile era that is transforming rapidly.
Going back about 3000 years, the first individual in recorded human history that would genuinely qualify as a Vishwaguru would be Siddhartha Gautama, later affectionately christened as “Buddha”. He preached a message of equality and love in a world around him that was full of segregation and discrimination. No wonder his teachings were embraced in every country east of India and a religion in his name i.e. Buddhism took root. Our contemporary Vishwaguru would pale in comparison when it comes to humility and practice of love and brotherhood of Siddhartha’s scale.
While it might be unrealistic to expect such qualities from any contemporary world leader, let’s look at another historical figure from India who had to deal with vagaries of politics and statecraft, akin to present day, more than 2300 years. King Ashoka stood tall among not only his peers but in world history on several fronts. His emphasis on public health by building area hospitals, planting shaded trees along highways and even veterinary hospitals for wounded horses and elephants is unparalleled in the history of world kings. Compare that with the Nero-esque apathy displayed by our prime minister to the indescribable plight of our very own daily-wage laborers (dehumanigingly labelled “migrant” workers), when they had to walk hundreds of kilometres to their homes due to the sudden lockdown imposed by the shock-and-awe specialist in the early days of COVID-19 pandemic. The world should be glad that there was no other international leader that took a leaf out of Vishwaguru’s book in that regard.
Fast-forward about two thousand years in to the 1500s, Emperor Akbar is another Indian leader that achieved world fame for his deeds. To focus on just one pertinent aspect, he took secularism, an ideal implemented already by the likes of Ashoka, to new heights by pro-actively encouraging tolerance of all faiths in a world that was already ravaged by religious wars. From India, he set a bright example for other kings and rulers across the world to follow and emulate. Our current dispensation can certainly learn a lesson or two on tolerance rather than literally bulldozing everyone else that does not fit the unabashed rightwing bill.
Coming to the modern Indian nation state, our first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, attained Vishwaguru status in the 1950s and ’60s by spearheading the non-aligned movement in a world that was reeling under unprecedented devastation heaped by nuclear warfare, holocaust, world war II and the Korean war. He collaborated with other world leaders from Egypt, Yugoslavia, Ghana and Indonesia in setting up a group that staunchly opposed expansionist wars.
Although most revisionist individuals have discredited Nehru for his non-aligned stance in the aftermath of India’s embrace of so-called economic liberalisation in the 1990s, it is indisputable that such a stand was the most humanitarian one to take for continuing the legacy of peace propagation from our history dating back to Buddha and Ashoka.
Today, in 2024, as the people of Gaza are getting pummelled in a genocidal onslaught, we would love to have a Vishwaguru that would speak up against the global west on behalf of the global south that has thrown its weight in favour of Gaza. But alas, the interests of our sartorial leader lie in Lakshadweep vacations and his followers bask in the glory of picking up petty skirmishes with an island nation smaller than some of our smallest states.
Also read: Will the International Court Enforce ‘Provisional Measures’ to Stop the War in Gaza?
While South Africa continued in the legacy of the inimitable civil rights leader Nelson Mandela by bringing aggressor Israel to the the International Court of Justice for perpetrating unspeakable horrors against hapless Palestinians, our Vishwaguru’s cabinet members and also leaders from opposition states (for example, Telangana chief minister Revanth Reddy) were busy courting global corporations and jostling to curry their favour at the World Economic Forum meet in Davos. As today’s non-aligned movement attended by 120 countries just passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza from the meeting in Kampala, Uganada, this issue doesn’t figure anywhere in the priority list of a leader that propounds himself as a Vishwaguru, an irony beyond belief. While China is donning the mantle of peace by taking a leadership role in advocating for resolving conflict between powers such as Saudi Arabia and Iran, India is unable to use its clout in a similar manner owing to the current dispensation’s worldview.
When our Buddha’s message of peace is much needed and more pertinent today than ever, the country’s leader is mired neck deep in a temple consecration that does nothing to assuage the grieving world around us and yet his entourage has the wherewithal to call him a Vishwaguru. A testimony to the times that we live in. One can only hope that the people can see through this paradox when they are presented with an opportunity in this year’s hustings.
G. Naveen is a Telugu physician by profession and rationalist by passion. His articles are devoted towards voicing the concerns of downtrodden and marginalised communities.