Winning doesn't mean it is right
SO the results are out. The 2019 general elections to constitute the 17th Lok Sabha that took place over a month culminated in this day - May 23rd 2019.
The BJP (forming the NDA along with its allies), won a landslide victory. A party with its narrative steeped in virulent nationalism, focusing on an India which is a far cry from the ideals on which the nation was born.
A country which was aptly described by Shashi Tharoor in his book, The Great Indian Novel as a thali where different items are not mashed up but come together as a meal rather than a porridge which is a mish mash of everything and individuality doesn't stand out - that is the India we know of and we strive to cherish. A country which is vast and resplendent in its diversity but is now under threat of becoming a porridge. A porridge of hatred towards the other, anger towards anyone who doesn't tow the official line that manifests itself in lynchings, right wing trolls threatening rape and murder and at its nadir an accused terrorist getting elected as part of its candidate list. Let that sink in, someone who has been accused of terrorism is now an elected representative in this country.
And now for the first time in decades, a sitting Prime Minister has been reelected with a majority. That means a majority of the country wanted him back as PM. Never mind the fact that there is fear in the minority communities, never mind the fact that particular corporates have seen biased growth, never mind the fact that numbers are being fudged to portray a rosy picture of the economy where there is none, never mind the fact that history books are being rewritten intentionally leaving out information about Muslim rulers, never mind the fact that non partisan posts are being filled with yes men, never mind the fact that a hasty and unwise implementation of demonetisation and GST crippled the economy, never mind the fact that farmers were protesting because they were not getting their dues.
All this would have mattered had there not been a terrorist attack in Kashmir on the Indian armed forces. This changed the story, now it became about self pride. The narrative was suddenly about security and India's ability to fight back and gain pride in the eyes of others.
From the terrorist's point of view, they had done their job. After all, they do not want peace, how will they be able to push through their messages of hatred if there is peace. Lasting peace is the biggest enemy of terrorism because they cannot recruit people on a us vs them mentality. SO a divisive leader who harks back to a Hindu history of the country is more important to them. It played right into their hands. The election was never about jobs, economy or poverty. It was about Pakistan will celebrate if BJP is not elected. They will take away our Kashmir. And a mob always believes in force.
Sherlock Holmes in the wildly popular BBC series said, "While the individual man is an insoluble puzzle, in the aggregate he becomes a mathematical certainty. You can, for example never foretell what any one man will do but you can say with precision what an average number will be up to. Individuals vary but percentages remain constant." So the mobs did what they did best, protested against books and movies, trolled online and killed when they found it convenient. All this knowing that behind them, they have the protective hand of the government.
The BJP (forming the NDA along with its allies), won a landslide victory. A party with its narrative steeped in virulent nationalism, focusing on an India which is a far cry from the ideals on which the nation was born.
A country which was aptly described by Shashi Tharoor in his book, The Great Indian Novel as a thali where different items are not mashed up but come together as a meal rather than a porridge which is a mish mash of everything and individuality doesn't stand out - that is the India we know of and we strive to cherish. A country which is vast and resplendent in its diversity but is now under threat of becoming a porridge. A porridge of hatred towards the other, anger towards anyone who doesn't tow the official line that manifests itself in lynchings, right wing trolls threatening rape and murder and at its nadir an accused terrorist getting elected as part of its candidate list. Let that sink in, someone who has been accused of terrorism is now an elected representative in this country.
And now for the first time in decades, a sitting Prime Minister has been reelected with a majority. That means a majority of the country wanted him back as PM. Never mind the fact that there is fear in the minority communities, never mind the fact that particular corporates have seen biased growth, never mind the fact that numbers are being fudged to portray a rosy picture of the economy where there is none, never mind the fact that history books are being rewritten intentionally leaving out information about Muslim rulers, never mind the fact that non partisan posts are being filled with yes men, never mind the fact that a hasty and unwise implementation of demonetisation and GST crippled the economy, never mind the fact that farmers were protesting because they were not getting their dues.
All this would have mattered had there not been a terrorist attack in Kashmir on the Indian armed forces. This changed the story, now it became about self pride. The narrative was suddenly about security and India's ability to fight back and gain pride in the eyes of others.
From the terrorist's point of view, they had done their job. After all, they do not want peace, how will they be able to push through their messages of hatred if there is peace. Lasting peace is the biggest enemy of terrorism because they cannot recruit people on a us vs them mentality. SO a divisive leader who harks back to a Hindu history of the country is more important to them. It played right into their hands. The election was never about jobs, economy or poverty. It was about Pakistan will celebrate if BJP is not elected. They will take away our Kashmir. And a mob always believes in force.
Sherlock Holmes in the wildly popular BBC series said, "While the individual man is an insoluble puzzle, in the aggregate he becomes a mathematical certainty. You can, for example never foretell what any one man will do but you can say with precision what an average number will be up to. Individuals vary but percentages remain constant." So the mobs did what they did best, protested against books and movies, trolled online and killed when they found it convenient. All this knowing that behind them, they have the protective hand of the government.
Pratap Bhanu Mehta, at the end of the 2014 election said, "India is a democracy, but its reputation as a bastion of liberal values is dimming by the day. The argumentative Indian is being replaced by the offended Indian, the tolerant Indian by the intolerant mob, the reflective citizen by the hurt communal mobiliser, the courageous Indian by the cowardly thug who needs the state to protect it against every argument, the pious Indian by the ultimate blasphemer who thinks he needs to protect the gods rather than the gods being there to protect him." I wonder what he will say today.
And Menaka Guruswamy said for the New York Times as the 2019 election results came in, "I don’t know of a word that begins to capture how deeply divided we are at this point."
This intolerance of dissent was and is one of the fears of a Modi victory. There will only be one thought and that will be the one the government decides for us.
At the end of it all, I only have to say my belief in inclusiveness doesn't stop because the belief did not win, it has only become more important. The night is after all the darkest before dawn. The fight will be harder but the belief is stronger.
An instagram post from one of my favourite companies sums it up.
An instagram post from one of my favourite companies sums it up.
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