Obama’s Parting Shot

The ad: see the watermark

 In its advertisement - DAVP22201/13/0048/1415, which was published on 26 January - the government quotes the preamble of India's Constitution as "We the people of India, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC...." as opposed to the genuine version that states: “WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens..."

Mr Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister, is averse to both socialism and secularism.  He is adept at making use of surreptitious practices to achieve his objectives.  The way he tried to foist a lot of ordinances on the country, in spite of his party enjoying the majority in the Lok Sabha, was snubbed by the President himself.  There are many activities going on behind invisible curtains, activities that may remind one of Hitler and his propagandists, activities that will disrupt the country’s religious texture.

The parting shot delivered by the American President in his “Town Hall” speech is of greater relevance than most Indians may imagine.  He underscored the importance of secularism and the need to sustain the religious diversity in India.

Just as the Indian Prime Minister chose to keep mum on many issues related to attacks on minority communities, he will in all probability ignore our demand for explanation on the disappearance of Socialism and Secularism from the Preamble of the Constitution.

“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.”

Hitler’s propaganda chief, Joseph Goebbels, said that.  Mr Modi and his supporters have already started practising it.  The outcome may not be what India as a country voted for a few months back.