BJP has made a
clean sweep of the Chandigarh municipal elections by winning 20 of the 26
seats. Amit Shah has already declared
the victory as the people’s approval of the demonetisation. We should not disregard Shah’s declaration as
the Hanuman’s natural devotion to his god.
In fact, BJP’s sweeping victory is an indication of things to come. The party may end up winning many more
elections in the coming months. As many
as seven states are going to assembly elections in 2017.
“An economic
measure should be, and normally is, judged on the basis of how it benefits the
people, and any measure that brings distress to the people is derided for that
reason. What we find in the present case however is just the opposite: the
more demonetization brings distress to the people, the more it is applauded for
its wisdom and courage.” Prof Prabhat Patnaik wrote
recently in The Citizen.
[emphasis retained from the original]
There is nothing surprising about people accepting their distress
voluntarily. They may even ask for more
suffering. Provided there is a religious
touch to it all.
 |
| Modi as the idol in a temple in Gujarat last year |
Mr Modi has carefully crafted an image for himself, an image which is
that of a Messiah. He is the Messiah in
contemporary India for exterminating evil and upholding righteousness. Millions of Indians see Mr Modi as the
contemporary avatar of the eternal terminator of evil. Once religion comes in, distress becomes
necessary self-sacrifice, a sacred ritual.
You can’t get to the Paradise without accepting the self-sacrifice of
jihad in Islam. Christianity is explicit
about the road to heaven being paved with thorns and pains. Hindu pilgrimages aren’t devoid of suffering
and sacrifices.
Sacrifice is accepted as a religious doctrine and necessity when
Paradise is the goal. That is why
Indians have fallen in love with their distresses spawned by demonetisation. That is also why Mr Modi is likely to remain a
hero for many more years.
We should remember how an equation has been created between the
suffering of the ordinary citizens with that of the soldiers at the
border. Yes, it’s a glorious war we are
fighting. That’s the message passed
directly into the hearts of the people who are always willing to suffer
anything provided there is a Messiah who assures them of the final victory. And in this glorious war against a demoniac
enemy, we have to embrace sacrifices such as standing in long queues before ATMs
or enduring hunger for days.
When you transmogrify a people into an army of devotees fighting for a
god, your victory is assured. People
love their gods and the gods' Messiahs.
Your sarcasm is apt Sir. The rule (to be exact, the era) of Mr. Modi appears to be a labyrinth without a way out for the suffering commoners. The massess will continue to suffer and still continue to root for him. He is God, after all. Suffering is increasing only day-by-day on account of irrational and high-handed decisions imposed by the government but none of such decisions appears to be the proverbial last straw on the camel's back.
ReplyDeleteIt's also interesting how the Modi govt and its various machinery keep on changing decisions and yet people kowtow to them. One day they will tell us not to rush to the banks as there's time till Dec 30 and the next day they ask us to furnish reasons why we did not rush. One day's limit for exchange is not the next day's. Even the chameleon will be baffled by the govt's change of colours. Yet he gets worshippers. Only gods can afford to be so capricious and yet win so much adoration.
DeleteThey have fine tuned the art of harassment..
ReplyDeleteYou name it appropriately: art of harassment.
Delete"You can make a fool of a man many times; you can make fools of many men one time; but you cannot make fools of all men all the time", is what comes to my mind;) Let's see..there are many a slip..it's a long way..the masses are agitated:(
ReplyDeleteAs Dickens said in Hard Times, it's the best of times and the worst of times. Maybe, after these hard times there will be the best of times. Maybe it's going to be much worse. Personally I'm not very optimistic.
DeleteLiked this post for its subtlety in the sarcasm..
ReplyDelete😊😊😊
DeleteI think the people are waiting for Dec 30 deadline for things to come to normal, face value of Mr Modi has still not faded but I have seen and talked to the people who were ardent Modi fan but now promises to not vote for him
ReplyDeleteEquating the results of chandigarh muncipal elections across the country and reading it as the sign of things to come is a wrong interpretation. The mentioned elections are not fought on national issues but local muncipality centric ones...Who knows ....there would have been no worthy candidates other than BJP in the fray..That could have been a reason.....Or being a muncipality which ofcourse is urbanised, it can be assumed that chandigarh would have had the infrastructure already in place to face the demonitisation drive..since many urban dwellers already use digital payment methods....And the middle class being major component of urban india today they wouldve already ushered in digital supporting the modi move..
ReplyDeleteBut state elections or lok sabha elections are different ball games......
Here the rural comes in...those who are unbanked, illiterate, daily wagers, etc...
Im trying to say that State elections vannal MODI kkittu 8 inte Pani kittum... Naadinuvendi kudumba jeevitham thyagam cheythu ennu kashtapettu undakkiya image ippol potti thazey veezhunna nilayilanu....
Kaaranam, pothujanam,especially the women are thinking that Veedum, bharyayum makkalum onnum illathey ooru thendi nadakkunnavanu kudumba jeevithathinte kashtappadu onnum ariyan oru vazhiyum illa.....kids die in hospital due to lack of notes, elder ones are fainting in queues...pakshey ippozhum mallya, kallapanam ellam puratthu thanney.....
His judgement day will come !! Annu karanju kaanichittu......bhaiyon bahano desh ke liye maine sab kuch choda ennokkey paranjal poi pani nokkedannu voter mar parayum..... especially rural !!