THE RISE OF THE FASCISTS

Indian polity is witnessing, perhaps, the most phenomenal rise of the right-wing Hindu fascism it could ever dread. At the forefront of this disturbing rise is its poster boy – a self-confessed disciple of Madhav Gowalkar, who notoriously and obnoxiously stated that the biggest threat to India is Muslims.

For all we know, Narendra Modi is no firm believer in anything and a firm believer in everything. Else, there is no plausible explanation to the man venerating the RSS and admiring Sardar Vallabhai Patel simultaneously. One needs no deep knowledge in Indian history to know that had Patel been allowed his way, there would have been no RSS and no Narendra Modi. The phenomenal rise of the the pracharak is praise-worthy, for his political astuteness is a case study in itself. What is intriguing is Modi’s discomfort with the RSS! As an analogy, it is similar to a kid who has bitten a hot sweet which he can neither swallow nor spit out. Modi realizes that he is nothing without the khaki-shorts of the RSS cadre but also understands that an apparent leaning towards the majoritarian fundamentalists will harm him electorally.

Along the highway (pun intended) of this meteoric rise (again, pun intended) there have been enough casualties – some fatal and other, fortunately, not fatal. Haren Pandya, Sanjay Joshi and the patriarch himself. Modi has been unabashed and unapologetic. He has not shirked from using the state machinery as his personal fiefdom. He has not feared in spreading blood and mocking it too. Even if we were to ignore the 2002 pogrom, it is bemusing to fathom how did the Gujarat intelligence apprehend Ishrat Jahan and decisively kill her (obviously, another dangerous Muslim terrorist in an encounter) and had no clue whatsoever about Akshardham. And there are many more such cases of the Gujarat police’s efficiency in eliminating terrorists. It baffles me to know that the intelligence could trace these individual terrorists but could not sense and trace AK-47 wielding terrorists who physically climbed the walls of the temple and fired indiscriminately. Obviously, the Gujarat government has no role to play. It is the upholder of internal security through intrusive snooping to cater to the platonic interests of a CM who is (un)married.  

How can we not recall the comic Sadbhavana Mission! A man who embarked on a heart-cleansing contrition and an attempt sell his “inclusiveness” comically refused to accept a skull-cap from a Muslim cleric. Wasn’t the whole purpose of this photo-op telling the Muslims that this man was trying to make a lame attempt at pacifying the afflicted minorities? But yes, there is this plush Muslim ghetto in Ahmedabad where 400,000 marginalised Muslims live without basic water and sanitation. This is the contrition that deserves praise. A secular leader who was “rehabilitated” the minorities after decimating their habitation. Anyway, forgiving the Sadbhavana Mission gaffe (one of many), this same man today dons the head-gear of every state in which he polarizes gullible paid audiences by effortlessly distorting history. Be it the Biharis defeating Alexander or Shyam Prasad Mokherjee talking to Swami Vivekananda at the sagacious age of 1 or Chandragupta Maurya belonging to the Gupta dynasty – we have it all. This penchant for conveniently rewriting history was once displayed by certain Mussolinis and Stalins and other like-minded autorcrats. You know what we called Mussolini’s style of governance? FASCISM!! You know what I call Narendra Modi? FASCIST! Just a reference to Chandragupta Maurya gaffe (see, I am being fair) – the Gupta dynasty is famed for its patronage of Brahminism and thereby perpetrating the social divisiveness through the caste system. Intriguingly, the Maurya dynasty propagated Buddhism, which was opposed to the caste system and propagated social inclusiveness. Is there any wonder as to why Modi is fascinated by the Guptas? Just coincidental, I want to think (being fair again).

Modi’s greatest achievement is not that people talk about him, but that people do not talk about him. He is visible but not accessible and that is a huge problem. No biographer has been allowed any access to write a proper account of this man. Nilanjan Mukhopadhaya has possibly come as close, but even he has not been able to capture adequate details. For a leader who cannot digest scrutiny, dissent, criticism and opposing views, Narendra Modi is a classic case of the modern totalitarian fascist. A person who walks out of difficult interviews, avoids unscripted press conferences and basks in an oratorical monologue in staged rallies cannot exude any confidence in a democratic voter. However, for his supporters – Modi seems a God-send. The mindless euphoria of this idolization peaked when a certain Modi bhakt likened the Harppan “priest-king” statue to Narendra Modi only because they both sported a well-trimmed beard! What works brilliantly for the fascists is the self-immolation by the centrists and the decimation of the leftists, leaving a huge vacuum for the right-wing to walk into effortlessly. For every period of weak governance, there is an ensuing rise of a dictatorial personality. Indira Gandhi then, Narendra Modi now! Both revel in personality cults, both sow affinity for sycophancy, both have made the election about their individual persons. Have you ever heard Modi say “we”? That unholy swear word I say!  

For all his development stories, Modi is blatantly and brazenly pro-industrialists. Obviously, I see nothing wrong in that. What worries me is that Modi is going down the same path as Indira Gandhi who once proclaimed – “I will make my own class of industrialists”. Adani? Similar to Ambani? Or is the Modi model holier? The Nazis and Fascists, no doubt, helped raise the likes of the Volkswagens. Also, no doubt, the social inequity also peaked. Referencing this to the fascists, Mussolini said, “fascism should be called corporatism because a merges state and corporate power”. Modi’s Gujarat model of development advertises this. Why else are TATAs, Birlas and others making a beeline to enter Gujarat? But wait there is a catch here. While the beleaguered middle class will help the fascists rise; later it will realize that fascism is a hindrance to capitalistic policy of profit making, and thus exploitation. The fascist state will channelize the industrial production for the nation (read nation of the majority) which will done by using the power of the state. This will breed discontent between the bourgeoisie and the fascists and now the bourgeois class will again prefer the democracy over fascism and bring down fascism. Thus, fascism by itself is never a sustainable project. But by the time, things would have gone too far and fascism would have already killed millions. Modi also has a personal militia at his disposal, ever-willing to unleash savagery on minorities. Those same khahki-shorts! Are you aspiring for an outcome besides this? I hope not! You’ll suffer an irreparable heart-break, if you survive another pogrom.

As a Christian, I fear my life in a fanatical Hindutva state. I personally subscribe to many ideals of Hindutva and Hinduism, especially the teachings of its epics. What I fear it the radicalization of its teachings by the fanatics! I still reminiscence the Graham Staines incident, which happened under a supposed “moderate” Prime Minister. More than the burning, it was the brazenness and complete lack of remorse that is disturbing. Is it any surprising that spate of anti-Christian violence perpetrated by ill-advised Hindu mobs is already on its rise, even before Modi has become Prime Minister? Most of the right-wing leaders cry “religious conversion” as a provocation which justifies burning churches, raping nuns and killing priests? If they were troubled to appreciate the work done by Christian missionaries, they would hang themselves of shame for their uselessness. Really!  Human Rights Watch, in its report said “Attacks against Christians throughout the country have increased significantly since the BJP began its rule at the center in March 1998. They include the killings of priests, the raping of nuns, and the physical destruction of Christian institutions, schools, churches, colleges, and cemeteries.” And I legitimately fear a rise in this. In fact, I fear a dedicated machinery to carry this out. A state sponsored ethnic cleansing! But we will rise. And fight. And bring down the fascists.
 

PS: The only reason why I am even able to write this “far from eulogy” piece is only because the fascists are not in power yet. They are only campaigning. There is still hope, however dim, of a centrist party or, at worst, a centrist-leftist combine salvaging this country.