The Virus Might Leave, But The Plague Is Here To Stay
By: Anwin Harvey
Tags: Virus, Corona, Bjp, Modi

A hostile atmosphere with low concentrations of oxygen, people gasping for air, ghoulish smoke rising from ravenous pyres, an evasive virus spreading like wildlife — unlike stereotypical Hollywood depictions of India that paint a picture of an ‘exotic’ land, India, today, more closely resembles the dystopian world of Mad Max. And at the top, on the high-chair that gives him a panoramic view but limits his vision, sits a man who promised the people a utopia — the ‘Acha Dinn’ that never came. Will the virus finally reveal the man behind the smoke and mirrors? Modi, the man, might not be immune to the virus. But, what about Modi, the myth?

Appeal to a man’s primal nature works better than an appeal to his better nature — this is a basic fact of life. Communists are often accused of not really understanding Marx. Interestingly, it’s BJP’s Machiavellian application of a Marxian thought — that ‘religion is the opium of the masses’ that engineered their victory in 2014. One could argue, it wasn’t so much the promise of progress but the promise of regress — the revival of a Hindu rashtra, that resonated with the masses and propelled BJP to power. Give a man a fish, and you secure his vote; give a man an identity, and you secure his unwavering loyalty. BJP, with its brand of Hindutva politics, seeks to foster a sense of religious nationalism hitherto dormant in the majority. The Manmohan led Congress government ran India into the ground with endless corruption, scams and scandals. On the same ground, BJP sowed the seeds of their black and white vision. The people’s increasing disillusionment with the ever shaky ‘centre’, combined with BJP’s firm nudge, pushed the majority towards the right. Modi, with his ascetic lifestyle and assertive presence, was the anti-thesis of Manmohan Singh. In a country that has religion running in its rivers and veins, BJP packaged and presented a messiah, a symbol of hope — a superman. Except, like General Zod, the party’s agenda was to terraform a new India — an ethnic democracy. In this ‘secular’ India, Allahabad became Prayagraj and Faizabad became Ayodhya.

In a ‘secular’ country like India, where more than 80% of the population identify and belong to one single religion, the key to the kingdom lies in igniting spark to the closeted bigotry hibernating in the majority — to wake up sleeping dogs and show them a bone, something to pine for. BJP’s India has been a breeding ground for bigotry and communalism. According to a Reuters report, cow vigilantism has seen a rise since 2014. This calls into question Modi’s murky past — the 2002 Gujarat communal riots that scholars have described as a pogrom, took place when Modi was the sitting Chief Minister. He was accused of condoning the genocide and being complicit in the violence. In an ideal world, this would have tarnished his image and ended his political career. But while Gujarat burned in the background, Modi rose from the ashes, unscathed. Yet, this instance wasn’t an anomaly.

On November 8, 2016, at 20:15 IST, Indians who calmly switched on the television for their daily numbing dose of soap opera, were in for a shock. On live TV, Modi declared — “From midnight tonight, five hundred rupee and thousand-rupee currency notes will no longer be legal tender”. Presented as a tactical move, intelligently designed to fight ‘black money’, it was but a clusterfuck. According to RBI reports, more than 99% of the ‘demonetized’ black money returned to the banking system. The real impact of this ‘bold’ move was an economic slowdown. When the narrative ‘it was a move to counter corruption and terrorism’ didn’t seem to work anymore, BJP countered with a spin on the same narrative. ‘it was, in fact, a move to transition to a cashless economy that would fetter corruption’. It was convincing enough to lull the masses into believing what they already wanted to believe — ‘that Modi can do no wrong’. When you twist facts to suit theories, it only matters if they suit. And if they do, what’s there to complain about? The demonetization fiasco only consolidated the fact that the myth of Modi is bulletproof — you can shoot at it, but you can’t poke holes in it!

On 14 February 2019, in Pulwama, a convoy of vehicles carrying Indian security personnel was allegedly attacked by a vehicle-borne suicide bomber, killing 40 Indian CRPF personnel. A week later, the skies of Balakot witnessed a rather unusual sight. ‘Is it a bird? is it a plane? It’s an airstrike!’. The BJP government claimed that the Indian jets killed a ‘huge number of terrorists’. Pakistan’s official statement was that ‘the planes dropped the payload in an uninhabited hilltop area’. Two months later, BJP won the elections with an even bigger margin than the previous election. Truth is, it’s not recency bias — Modi’s macho and swift response to the ‘terrorist attack’ at the most opportune moment, that sealed the deal — it’s the halo effect. Under Modi, the economy crumbled, unemployment skyrocketed, and religious vigilantism flourished, but the masses stood by their redeemer. In a country where cows are gods, the people are lambs — to the slaughter!

In the early months of 2020, when the unstoppable coronavirus was making its way through continents, countries, and people’s immune systems, bringing the developed first world to its knees, all eyes were on India. Being a country with an underdeveloped health infrastructure (investing a mere 1.26% of the total GDP in its public healthcare system) and a huge population density, India was a ticking bomb just waiting to explode. But there was no bang, only a whimper — a seemingly satisfying anti-climax. Sure, India’s informal sector, that makes up 90% of the country’s workforce — migrant workers, street vendors, agricultural wage workers, hawkers and the likes, bore the brunt of it. According to estimates from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, more than 120 million people lost their jobs. The virus took lives and the government took away their livelihoods. But, according to the mood of the nation survey polls that came out in January 2021, a staggering 87% were satisfied with the Modi government’s handling of economy. The lesson here isn’t that Modi rises from every crisis unaffected. If anything, it reveals the nature of India’s relationship with Modi — akin to Job from the Old Testament, every trial and tribulation, sponsored or sanctioned, only serves to strengthen their faith in their ‘infallible’ leader.

On 28th January, 2021, at the World Economic Forum, Modi declared, “It would not be advisable to judge India’s success with that of another country. In a country which is home to 18 percent of the world population, that country has saved humanity from a big disaster by containing corona effectively”. The prime minister’s head was in the clouds, so, he, understandably, didn’t anticipate the possibility of a second wave hitting like tsunami. They say pride comes before the fall. On the contrary, in India’s case, pride came before the peak.

But, to presume this would affect Modi’s popularity, is to be delusional — and that, is the bigger tragedy. In a country where anti-rationals vastly outnumber anti-nationals, this is but the reality. In 2019, the BJP led government passed the Citizenship Amendment Act that strategically excludes Muslims. This otherization of the community which fits into the broader Hindutva framework, is a calculated move to consolidate the Hindu votebase that make up the majority — meaning, Modi’s victory isn’t written in his present or future (in)actions, it is written in the past. The COVID nightmare — the hell we’re in right now — will come to pass. And when it does, the dead will stay dead and the ones alive will be all too forgetful and all too forgiving of the messiah. Modi might fall, but as always, he’ll land on his feet — because Modi isn’t a personification of India’s worst fears, but its worst traits. And self-preservation, is a biological instinct!