The Blind Following the Blind

Now that dust has settled over the emotional election scenario, let us look at it a little more objectively making use of the wisdom of the great psychologist Sigmund Freud. He was living in an era when Nazi leadership was trying to win the support of the masses. His observations on ‘mass psychology’ can help our understanding of the present situation. He argues that ‘mass ethic’ can rise to any height or fall to any depth. In other words, masses can be drawn to make any sacrifice for a noble goal on the one hand, or be led to any irrational cruelty for one fad or the other. His evaluation was that the intellectual capacity of a mob fell far below that of the individual. In his understanding, ‘mass intelligence’ declines during war, revolution, or nationalistic fervour. Therefore, what begins as liberation can end up as oppression, as it happened under Hitler (Judis 38-39). 

With the above observations in mind, John Judis, an American journalist, looks at Trump, who was able to strike “the mystic chords of American nationalism” for the dominant whites (Judis 64). Enthusiasts at his rallies responded to his calls like school children… all emotion and no reflection (Judis 68). Here Freud’s remark comes eminently true: there are times when a society stands “in need of an illusion”. They are happy to deceive themselves, and also to help the leader to deceive himself (Judis 69). The leader’s pretension is as blind as the followers’ eagerness to stay blind. If, then, intelligent Germans of Nazi times and 70 million Americans of our own times could consent to follow a leader blindly, it is no wonder that large numbers of our simple countrymen fall for Modiji’s Mann ki Baat. 

Once the upwardly mobile educated youth in India, belonging to the dominant community, ‘convinced themselves’ that Modiji was the best guardian of their interests—no matter how one-sided—there was no shifting of loyalties. Illiterate crowds who hardly understand anything about ideologies or national priorities could be more easily deceived.  No wonder, then, that at the height of the Second Wave of the Covid, Modiji scored 65% support in a survey. Daniel Kahneman, a Nobel winning psychologist says, “If you like the President’s politics, you probably like his voice and his appearance as well”. This is known as the ‘halo effect’ (Kahneman 82). The ‘halo effect’ is working havoc in India today obscuring vision, obstructing judgements…leading to a situation in which “blind people are leading the blind”.

Surrender to Unreason in the Age of Reason

Anup Sinha says that Unreason has been let lose in an Age of Reason, with irrational things like cow-urine-benefits and Kumbha Mela healing-power occupying the central stage. Such priorities were defended by none other than major decision-makers. Otherwise, asks Priyanka, who would seek to handle Covid crisis with thaali-banging and lamps-lighting, to which poet Nirala had referred when bodies floated down the Ganga during the Spanish flu? G. R.  Gopinath wonders how Modiji harmonizes his space-programmes with conch shell calls and gong clashing. Richard Feyman clarifies such oddities with his Cargo Cult Science explanation. He says, some enjoy mimicking science with “mystic symbolism and mythic metaphors”. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan admits, “There is much in our past that is degrading and deficient…” which needs to be corrected. 

But today, it seems, there are some who want to take the nation back to those very deficiencies with redoubled enthusiasm in the name of “Promotion of Indigenous Culture”.  Even a wakeup call from Coronavirus did not serve its purpose. At the height of his non-performance during the Covid crisis, Baba Ramdev called allopathy a “stupid science”. While there were protests, there were also admiring supporters. He has reasons to be proud. His writings on Yoga along with those of Yogi Adityanath have been prescribed for Philosophy in Meerut University. Similar recognition has come to the author of the book “Governance in ancient India from Rig Veda to 650 AD”, Anup Chandra Pandey, being appointed the new Election Commissioner. 

Glorifying the Hindu past, historical or mythical, is an effort which will be well rewarded. However, this can look dismal to international observers. Aldous Huxley had noticed the trend in pre-independence period already. Writing in 1944, he lamented, “In the course of the last thirty or forty years a huge ‘pseudo-historical’ literature has sprung up in India, the melancholy product of a subject people’s inferiority complex. Industrious and intelligent men have wasted their time and their abilities in trying to prove that the ancient Hindus were superior to every other people in every activity of life”. While we do not deny the possibility of scientific intuitions or penetrative social insights even in the most ancient writings, to argue that internet existed in the time of Ramayana or plastic surgery in puranic age must be described as “contrived patriotism”. 

Objectivity Rejected, there Is No Difference between Right and Wrong, True and False

The tragedy is that there are consequences. If objectivity ceases to be a value, what is fake, mythical, unscientific, superstitious, or deliberately deceptive are all equally valid and acceptable. That is what is happening. One lakh of Covid tests at Haridwar have been found fake. No one is disturbed. A temple to Corona-mata comes up spontaneously in Shukalpur village in Pratapgargh District, UP,  with people’s money. No one is surprised. The accounts of Ayodhya land purchase reveal: Rs. 2 crores for purchase, Rs.18.5 crores for sales to the Temple Trust. No public anxiety as to whom the balance is gone. Of course, everyone knows that the entire temple story is built on legends and myths, today’s structure in reality standing on the ruins of a third century BC Buddhist temple.  Myths upon myths. Thus, one turns life into a “tale told by an idiot”, as Shakespeare says, “signifying nothing”…so consistency, no coherence, no significance!

Once the need for objectivity is laid aside, one’s judgements are warped, targets get twisted, purposefulness of any project fades away. The 600 cow-shelters that Anup Chandra Pandey had built with great fervour in 2018 under the direction of Yogiji spending Rs. 613 crores, we are told, fell defunct within a few months of his leaving office. No grief over the loss of money, nor over the cruelty to animals. After all, everyone knew that this cow-fervour was only a cover, that Hindutva movement itself was merely a mask for the Big Leader’s cronies to add more to their wealth. Of the $81.72 billion that came to India in 2020-2021 in the form of investment, the biggest chunk has gone to Reliance and Jio. That too in Covid times! Adani is moving onto oil. It pays to be close to the Great Disburser of favours. Justice Mishra who praised Modi before retirement is made Chairman of Human Rights Commission. It is not performance that is rewarded, but flattering.

But all are not equally lucky. Chirag Paswan who wanted to be Modiji’s Hanuman is waiting.  But what is really shocking, twenty out of forty-five universities are running without vice chancellors for months, waiting, possibly for approval from the RSS headquarters in Nagpur and the Gujarati team in the Prime Minister’s Office. The greatest fear of all, according to Aakar Patel, is that the Indian economy is going to be firmly placed under a ‘Brahmin-Bania’ hegemony driven forward by the Gujarati business club which, everyone knows, is closely linked up with community, caste, and kin (Crabtree 212). Surrender of the nation to such an Exclusive community would be fatal.

Negative Concepts, Negative Consequences

Rahul who had tweeted that it was not Modiji’s thoughts that let down India but his theatrics, tweeted again:  One Man and his Arrogance, One Virus and its Mutants have made 97% Indians Poorer.  This seems to have come true. According to Azim Premji University, Covid-19 has pushed 230 million into poverty. India’s GDP contracted by 7.3% in the first quarter. Meantime, predictably, Mukesh Ambani saw his assets double in a year to $85 billion. In any case, RBI remains optimistic for the future. It had projected a 12.5% for this year, later reduced to 9.5%. The World Bank has put it a little more objectively at 8.5%. So, Modiji is not shaken. Recently, addressing G7, he spoke against rising authoritarianism, net shutdown, and manipulation of information. It was not clear to whom he was referring. No one would dare to suggest, ‘Physician, heal thyself” lest a case be filed against him under National Security Act. 

But Modiji must evidently be feeling isolated with many of his best friends gone or going: Trump with his proud claim to have the best brains in the world, Netanyahu of Israel with his anti-Muslim thrust in his policies, Macron of France with his controversial statements against Islam, Bolsanaro of Brazil with his neglect of the Pandemic. But he need not worry too much. The hug he distributed before the Covid period still works. Trump is writing his autobiography which he calls the Book of Books, in which the most thrilling section will be about the Howdy Modi and Namaste Trump events. Of course, most exciting chapters in tragedies close with a painful bang. 

But who can say, Trump may return, so may Netanyahu, Macron may remain on, and Bolsanaro regain popularity. Still, Anant Gadgil of the Congress says, RSS may sideline Modi if his popularity plunges. Gadgil claims to be well-informed. Undoubtedly Prime Minister is growing anxious about everything. According to Rahul again:  of truth, questions, and cartoons. He is right to be afraid.  Napoleon said he was more afraid of four hostile newspapers than a thousand bayonets. When truth reveals itself, tales are gone! When objectivity returns, false grandeur fizzles out!
 
A Smooth Transition Is Always Welcome, Democracy Is About Change

Those who refuse to flatter the Leader are not anti-nationals; those who criticize him are not cruel, they are not “literary Naxals”.  Recent judgement of Delhi High Court has made that abundantly clear. A change of leadership is welcome in democracy. That was what Mamata’s suggestion amounted to. A change of thinking is needed from time to time. As Albert Einstein said, “The world we have created is a product of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking”. 

Today every officer, police inspector, party representative feels empowered to do any injustice as long as he is in line with Hindutva ideology: arresting, accusing critics of sedition, declaration of anyone as anti-national, dubbing opponents as pro-Pakistani, alleging people being terrorists, bringing up some Goonda Act against innocents, imposing food restrictions. See what the police are doing in UP, Praful Khoda Patel in Lakshadweep, Ramdev insulting allopathic doctors. See how most mainline media too have opted to stand in defence of this communal bias in their own interest.  

But such a social order leaves dead bones behind. One of Yogi’s Hindu Yuva Vahini leader, Kirtiman Gupta, was held for murdering a trader after robbing him of Rs. 3 lakhs and gold. Money, then, is all that matters.  During the last seven years Money has worked havoc in our society that it never had done in the past. Any amount of Money of the Big Companies is available for the BJP-RSS for elections. They buy up MPs and MLAs as though these belong to a sub-human species. Then they get tax-cut on their profits and price-rise for the public so that they receive back a hundred thousand times what they spent. Adani has increased service-charges in Guwahati Airport ten times after he has taken it over. People have to get ready for fifty years of this type of fleecing. Protests have already begun. Those who “sold” their votes to BJP little realized that they were selling their Birth-rights. In any case, BJP Big Men too have realized that there is a limit to what Money can accomplish, as they saw in Bengal, Tamilnadu and Kerala.

The “Halo Effect” Is Fading

Self-sale to Money is not uncommon where objectivity does not count. But anger against Money can be intense too. Sheldon Whitehouse, a US Senator, could not have been more vehement in his denunciation of Money-manipulators than when he roared thus against the corporates, “You use your money to buy the power to loot your country to get more money to buy more power to loot your country more…”. He felt his country was being misled by the abuse of Money-power along the paths of anger, division, resentment, and scapegoating (Whitehouse xv). He longed for a change in his country; not a violent change, but a dignified transition (Whitehouse xvi). And the change came. Trump had to step aside. There were so many things uncertain till the last moment, with 70 million live supporters.  But ultimately the “halo effect” eroded. Biden took over. The nation breathed with relief.  A change is possible in India too as the “halo effect” is fading. 

References 

Crabtree, James, The Billionaire Raj, HarperCollins Publishers, Noida, 2018
Judis, John B., Columbia Global Reports, New York, 2018
Kahneman, Daniel, Penguin Books, New Delhi, 2012
Whitehouse, Sheldon, Captured, The New Press, New York, 2017