God Modi

When the President [Prajapati] in O V Vijayan’s novel The Saga of Dharmapuri wakes up in the morning, there is a whole bevy of devotees waiting outside his bedchamber to receive his excreta as the sacred offering (prasad). The novel is about political tyranny, corruption, and abuse of authority. It was written during the Emergency (1975-77). It acquires more relevance today.

  A few days back, a group of transgender people gathered at the Press Council of India (the venue is significant) and chanted religious verses they called the Modi Chalisa in front of a figure of the Prime Minister. In short, they elevated Modi to the status of a god. There are already a few temples built in various parts of the country with Modi as the presiding deity.

In Vijayan’s novel, the citizens didn’t go to that extent.

When a politician becomes a god, democracy is in danger.

A politician can be questioned. A god cannot.

Democracy depends upon a simple principle: those who exercise power must remain answerable to those over whom they exercise it.

How do you question a god for the rising unemployment in the country? Holding a god accountable is a major logistical nightmare. Once a leader ascends from public servant to celestial entity, the standard tools of democracy such as press conferences, town halls, and audits become completely obsolete.

When you question god on inflation for example, the response is inherently pre-packaged: “The universe works in mysterious ways, how dare you insult the divine cosmic plan?” Mortal politicians dodge questions with jargon. Divine leaders dodge them with karma or higher dimensional logic like the extra 2ab in the expansion of (a+b)².  

Scores of newly constructed bridges collapsed in India recently. That’s all now a spiritual test meant to build character in the believers.

You are not citizens anymore but bhakts, devotees.

Questioning your God is blasphemy. Criticism is heresy. Dissent is profanity.

Facts are immaterial in the divine milieu. A devotee never asks, “Is my god wrong?” He asks, “How can I defend my god?”

Even the morning farts of Prajapati may now be broadcast as devotional bhajans to start your day with.

How far have we come from the secularism and scientific temper envisaged in our Constitution!