Post-truth India

From The Economist

‘Post-truth’ is a relatively new phrase which means “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief”. About three years ago, The Economist published an article which defined post-truth politics as the “art of the lie”.

India has internalised the art of the lie. The country’s Prime Minister himself peddles lies and half-truths as it suits him. Yesterday he spoke very emotionally to a teeming crowd that Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura are killing BJP workers. There are clashes between politicians belonging to different parties in these states as in any other, no doubt. But the BJP workers are not particularly at risk of being attacked more than any other party men. The PM knows how to foist half-truths and full lies on a nation that has become uncharacteristically credulous these days.

The truth is that people belonging to minority communities are being attacked all over the country since Modi was returned to power with a bigger mandate. Within three days of the announcement of the election results, at least five incidents of attack on Dalits, Adivasis and Muslims were reported from different places and all these attacks were made by BJP men or their affiliates. The irony is that when the PM was asking his new MPs to work towards winning over the confidence of the minority communities, his party workers and associates were busy attacking members of minority communities in various places. Mr Modi pretends not to see. And he chooses to peddle half truths about his own men being attacked.

A man being attacked for allegedly carrying beef

“When politics is like pro-wrestling, society pays the cost,” warns The Economist article mentioned above. India is paying a heavy cost for the post-truth bamboozle engaged in by none less than the PM himself. How to counter this? The Economist says that “mainstream politicians need to find a language of rebuttal” [pro-truth]. But is that possible in India where majority of the politicians are more post-truth than the PM?

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