Gaslighting: Joseph Stalin
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| By Gemini AI |
When power cannot control reality, it begins to
rewrite it. Gaslighting has become a common practice all over the world now.
For those who are not familiar with the word, gaslighting refers to the
practice of psychologically manipulating someone into questioning their own
knowledge, memory, and/or powers of reasoning. Gaslighting makes us doubt the
truth we clearly see. If politics distorted facts earlier, today it teaches us
to distrust our own perception of them – and that’s gaslighting.
The real crisis of our
times is not misinformation, but the steady erosion of our confidence in what
is real.
Joseph Stalin
Many political leaders used this art
of gaslighting effectively in the past, though the word is new. Let us take
Joseph Stalin as an example today, one of the most systematic practitioners of
gaslighting.
Stalin was a master of converting the
very obvious reality into a political instrument. He didn’t merely censor
facts, he rewrote them. Photographs were altered to erase purged officials.
Former allies became enemies overnight. Confessions were extracted…
Speaking of confessions – we may be
reminded of Nikolai Bukharin whom none other than Lenin called “the favourite
of the whole party.” This man was a Marxist theorist, a leading figure in the
early Communist Party, and the principal advocate of the New Economic Policy
[NEP – not to be confused with Narendara Modi’s NEP]. Yet Stalin made him stand
in a courtroom and calmly confess to being a traitor and a spy.
What Stalin did was to subject the
man to relentless interrogations, psychological pressure, threats to his
family, and prolonged isolation. By the time Bukharin spoke, the confession had
already been written; he had to just perform it. Bukharin’s was a
manufactured guilt. He was one of the many victims of gaslighting in human
history.
Stalin’s totalitarian regime demanded
confessions. Modern ‘democracies’ have much more ingenious ways of gaslighting.
Like reframing reality through repetition. Protestors become “antinational,”
for example. Policy failures can be made to look like masterstrokes. Narratives
are fabricated with the help of the media, especially social media.
Whataboutery suddenly becomes a sacred cow: What did Jawaharlal Nehru do?
Critics become urban Naxals. TV anchors shout at us as if we are the most
damned sinners in the country. Worst of all, all kinds of Senas come and accuse
us of insulting the nation or betraying it.
Truth was what Stalin declared it to
be. Gaslighting can make a cloud out of a mountain and then convince you the
sky was always empty. Gaslighting can make an 80 million starving population
believe that they are living in a $5-trillion economy.
The real danger of
gaslighting is not that people believe lies. It is that they begin to doubt
their own judgment. When that happens, public discourse weakens.
The most effective gaslighting today
does not demand belief; it quietly erodes the confidence to question the given
truths.
PS. Want examples of PM Modi’s use of gaslighting? Click here.
PS. This post is a part
of Blogchatter A2Z Challenge 2026
Previous Posts in this
series
Tomorrow: Hero Worship – Indira Gandhi
Sir, let me tell you certain stories related to my daughter who is at 6th standard. While she wrote her Hindi classwork, very neatly with lovely pictures, the teacher told it's not good, and showed it to the class. Then again for her music selection, at school, she could see she got A+ in the sheet, which is eligible for selection, but the teacher denied, saying you got B+ and did not announce her name in the selected team. I think this is gaslighting. I am telling you, Sir, because I look up to you as a teacher, and as a learner, I look up to all teachers. This sort of behaviour can be really demotivating.
ReplyDeleteIt’s heartbreaking to hear that your daughter is going through this. A 6th-grader’s classroom should be a place of encouragement, not a place where their hard work is dismissed or their achievements are hidden. Your concern isn't just about the grades; it’s about her sense of fairness and self-worth.
DeleteA teacher should never humiliate a little student publicly. Errors can be corrected in so many other numerous and effective ways. Also, the discrepancy between the A+ on the sheet and the teacher’s verbal 'B+' is the most concerning part. That isn't just a difference of opinion; it’s a factual inconsistency that warrants a polite but firm clarification.
As a person who spent all of 4 decades in teaching, I feel sad about what your daughter has had to face. As mother, you need to take care of the situation with some tenderness. Make sure she knows that her 'lovely pictures' and her 'A+' talent are real, regardless of what was said. Sometimes children need to know that even adults can be wrong or biased.
Gas Lighting is part of our Post-Truth Culture and Construction of Alternative Facts. There is also the cultivated Art of Obfuscation, going along with Whataboutry.
ReplyDeleteI chose this topic precisely because gaslighting has become too common now, universal.
DeleteHari OM
ReplyDeleteGood Gracious, you Grasped Gaslighting and Gave Great examples! YAM xx