Some Thoughts

One basic principle of the natural world is that to annul a force, an equal and opposite force must be applied.  A corollary to this principle is that to reverse the course of action the opposing force must be greater than the original force.  The defeat of communal fascist forces that are ripping India apart requires precise application of this principle.  An equal and opposed alignment of secular and democratic forces need to boldly stop this devastating force that is now openly calling for genocide of Muslims.  This needs to be done urgently, boldly and unabashedly by launching a fierce ideological and street battle against these forces.  History has shown us that such forces are relentless, and unless crushed, can destroy countries, people and humanity.  A softer approach, pandering to religious callings and false debates will not stop the rot.  It needs to be tackled ruthlessly, proudly embracing the multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-religious identity of India, and directly attacking and destroying the ideas that support unitary vision.  The cancer of communalism must be carved out of the body of the Indian nation to prevent its degradation and ultimate demise.  Let India not suffer the same fate as Europe in the first half of the twentieth century.

The heightened communal sloganeering ramping up to calls for genocide of Muslims and Christians is neither spontaneous nor accidental.  It is a well thought out strategy of the ruling BJP and its parent organization RSS to create irreconcilable tensions in the society as they push their fascist agenda.  False and hyper-nationalism, overt glorification of military, disregard of intellectual work, brutal suppression of dissent, lawlessness, sponsored hooliganism, vigilantism, storm-troopers who are above the law, and brazen hatred of minorities have been the hallmark of BJP rule for past seven years – all characteristics of fascist rule.  Under such chaos, which has consumed public imagination, selling of national assets, public sector and infrastructure to crony capitalists have continued unabated and at a startling pace.   This is typical of the fascist playbook, where the government exists to serve the capitalist class while engaging the masses in the false dichotomy with and extreme hatred of minorities.  Privatizing or selling of national assets can only be achieved when the majority community is constantly provoked, trained to hate the minorities, and can project the root cause of their economic distress on the minorities.  The antidote to misery, poverty and hunger that the fascist policies produce is the communal opium of the mind; that provides the mass frenzy and necessary distraction to prevent the masses from revolting.  The ruling fascist regime of BJP/RSS is playing by the book.

The silver lining is that Modi is not a bright man, he is terribly incompetent and has failed in every single aspect of governance; the list of his failures is long.  India is facing the worst economic conditions, joblessness, misgovernance, inflation since independence.  The suffering of people has started to dent Modi’s image even among his most ardent followers and cracks are now apparent.  The aspirational middle class has started to realize that extreme religiosity, communalism, othering of a community comes with a package.  It is not possible to have a booming economy with a divided society, marginalized minority and utter lawlessness.  Modi is simply street-smart; he is limited, uneducated, lacks vision, lacks empathy, harbors deep bias against Muslims and knows only communalism that he learnt in the RSS.  His deep sense of inferiority is reflected in the narcissistic behavior that he has displayed in the past few years; his obsession with fancy gears and clothing do not befit a prime minister, especially in a country like India.  It is simply a façade to cover his failures, insecurities and his shallow self.  His arrogance due to thumping majority in the lower house has made him live in a bubble; has made leaders of his own party redundant.  He is bound to fail; he is simply not fit for office; the façade cannot be held for long.  Farmers’ protest significantly dimmed his sheen, and he will continue to wane.  He is already a near pariah in the international community and soon he will be at home.  He has no characteristics that define a leader of a democratic country.  He is autocratic, arrogant and a pumped-up fool, who was propped by big capital to gain control over resources of India.  A task that he has dutifully executed, and in the process has nearly destroyed all democratic institutions and norms.  His anti-people policies are not his own genesis, he is not that capable, it is policy dictation from the capitalist class, both national and international that is in action.  Modi’s sociopathic personality combined with incompetence and arrogance make him an ideal tool for the capitalist class to wield unchecked power.

It is now the test of the people of India – whether they choose to pay attention to their material life conditions, which have drastically deteriorated under Modi, or continue embracing hate at the great cost of their own personal lives.  If dialectical materialism has any truth to it, then the material conditions must dictate the state of mind and thought.