Cable networks in India run a
dedicated channel to broadcast Narendra Modi’s interviews and his campaign run
up to the Loksabha Elections, supreme court does not find his mention of Armed
forces in political canvassing inappropriate, all his promises from past
election like job creation, reduction in black money and growth have receded
among the infernal din of his national security rhetoric, political jibes and
another set of lofty promises. His party has declined to make the list of its source
of funds public – despite strong push on transparency and accountability.
And yet he continues to enjoy
soaring popularity among Indian voters - at least for now. This popularity of a
hard-liner candidate is not a stand-alone case in democracies around the world
today. Flag-bearer of democracy, United States too, has its own Narendra Modi
in form of its current president Donald Trump! Israel recently re-elected a
leader with similar traits and Brazil too elected a strongman in Jair
Bolsonaro.
There are Indians who find Modi
annoying, obnoxious and even fascist. They portray him as a threat to India’s
democracy and constitution. They shout at the top of their voices against him,
try to engage in debate, debunk the lies of the government, appeal to people’s
reason and hope that they would be able to somehow change people’s mind about
him. It is important to realize that people have chosen these leaders for a
reason and first step in defeating or moderating the hardliner at the helm is
to defeat the hardliner within us. We must remember that Modi or any hardliner
leader is not a problem, he is a symptom of a problem that plagues majority of
the people. Simply exposing the problems with his leadership is rather narrow a
goal that reduces national issues and priorities and ultimately harms the
nation.
For example – we see widespread
criticism of terrorism in Kashmir, but hardly see any effort on integrating
Kashmiri youth with the rest of the India, we debate vigorously of widening
wealth inequality but hardly focus on giving our children more equitable life
experiences, we complaint of increasing intolerance but don’t branch far out
and consciously make diverse connections. All these and many other
participatory actions can be taken around the year – not just at the time of
elections.
The process of globalization and
economic growth has now become a fatal combination of rising expectations and
reducing opportunities – therefore it is natural for anyone with or without
resources to act conservatively about them. This situation leads to the popular
political slogans of India (Any other country) first. The only way around this
tightening noose of hardline leadership is to work towards increasing
education, enriching diversity and expanding the understanding of economic
growth. Practicing and spreading simplicity
can also go a long way, not just from economic but also from environmental
perspective.
This road is long – and it may take
a long time before we may see any result – but it is worth walking on it.
