Let me clear the air – I don’t hate our Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. At one time, I even expected him to change the face of India. I don’t subscribe to abusing him outright. The office commands the dignity – and if I may say, so does the man. He does seem to mean well, and he is definitely hardworking.
However, I react strongly to his bhakts – and I think they are the real problem, more than the man himself. It is sad when your supporters become bad for your publicity, and I think this is the case here as well. Most of them are Hindus with an extreme aversion for Muslims. Why, don’t ask! Do I not understand the share of blame the Muslims have to bear for this hatred?
The incidents of 9/11 changed the world and we are still suffering from its after-effects, but the people who are suffering these the most are the Muslims themselves. Hatred is a vicious cycle – the world started hating Muslims, which led to the radicalisation of more and more Muslims, which is still leading to further violence. When I ask someone (read Hindus) to end this vicious cycle, their reaction is, “Why us? Why don’t the Muslims back off?” There is an unexplained fear among Hindus, a fear which is inexplicable for a majority of the population in any country. This ‘us’ and ‘them’ is a new demarcation in the Indian public life – and again, one may say that the entire Muslim population is being punished, often for the acts of their ‘brothers’.
The issue, however, is of the quintessential bhakt. It is okay to support a person or a cause or a party. But, the purpose of education is to help people align themselves in a particular manner, after being aware of the good and bad, the pros and the cons. The Hindus in India are feeling outraged. In my opinion, the fact that many of these Hindus don’t understand or practise Hinduism is okay, and I don’t think that the religion puts much pressure or expects too much from its followers. How then did this whole section of outraged Hindus come into being in a religion which itself does not propagate outrage or hatred?
Hinduism also gives you the freedom to question and debate – going so far as to give you the freedom to live your whole life as a Hindu without having to spend a single day following any prescribed code of conduct. Then, why do people waste milk on shivlingas when children are hungry at God’s doorstep, or give unending donations to false godmen and pandits? I once learned that a pandit of a famous temple drives a BMW – so much for abstinence and simple living!
Do I like being a Hindu? Yes, why wouldn’t I? I have never been anything else, but I am my own version of a Hindu, not yours. My study of the Bhagwad Gita has affected my life’s decisions. Do I hate Muslims? No, not really. Does that mean I support terrorism? Wait, only a stupid person would ask such a question – but then, aren’t we all surrounded by many such people?
If the BJP wishes to do good work with good intentions, they need to align with us as well – the ‘pseudo-intellectuals’, because our numbers are increasing and our position is strong. We may constitute a small part of elite and privileged India, but we have the backing of logic and numbers. And besides, how far can you go with irrational supporters? The people who support you without questioning and solely on the basis of your religious affiliation are vulnerable and weak.
A person who mixes governance with religion is obviously a person who is letting their emotions cloud their perception of right and wrong – along with a sense of false affiliation to people who claim to believe the same things. This kind of false belonging has existed from times immemorial, even when the Church tried to influence personal lives or curtail the rights of believers. One may argue about the existence of Muslim countries, but India does not have a state religion – and if anybody wants to live in India, they have to abide by the basic tenets and the structure of the Constitution.
The BJP started out with a simple mandate – talk about development, focus on ‘vikaas‘. But the development model of Gujarat was not so easy to copy-paste in a country the size of India. A few unwise policy-making decisions are making people question the credibility of a party and man they were initially mesmerised with. So yes, again, a cry out to the BJP – if there is to be a continued rule, don’t alienate and dismiss educated and dissenting people by branding them as liberals or pseudos. One is aware that politics is a number-game, and maybe, the so-called liberals constitute a small number. But then, there is David and there is Goliath, and the rest is in the Bible. An example closer home in Hinduism would be that of the five Pandavas and the 100 Kauravas.
So, a person may ask, what’s your problem with Modi? Who else would you want in his position? The fact that governance can be effective only with a strong opposition is something people have stopped understanding and appreciating. Would you want another Xi Jinping – unopposed and in perpetuity? A leader can be good, but they can’t be perfect, because it has been many years since we stopped believing that a monarch is an image of God – and certainly not in a democracy.
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Featured image used for representative purposes only.