Last week’s 12-hour excitement over a High Court judge who had apparently dubbed Tolstoy’s classic War and Peace as potentially subversive literature, unworthy of being found in the bookshelves of decent, law-abiding citizens, was more than just a silly diversion. In the short time before the whole reportage was shown to be another example of Ashwathama hatha — an incident that bordered between a half-truth and outright fake news — there were outpourings of indignation. There were questions about the quality of the judiciary and concerns over the ham-handedness of the police. But more tellingly, the beautiful people rushed in to pronounce judgment on the cretinism of India under Narendra Modi. It was concluded that with Modi, India had entered an age of darkness and even stupidity.
It would be worth the while for a keen student of the Indian media to explore the manner in which this deception originated and the manner of its dissemination. Maybe it was an innocent mistake of an ignorant subeditor; maybe it was a lowly court reporter attempting to economise on words, without understanding the implications of shortening the title of a pamphlet on the Jungle Mahals of West Bengal; and maybe it was just plain, motivated mischief. Whatever the origins, the incident was revealing. It showed that there are a pack of hyenas waiting anxiously to pounce on the smallest mistake of the Modi Government and the Indian state to tear both apart.
In the past, the attacks would have been concentrated on the Modi Government only. To some extent this understandable since a political executive is inevitably at the centre of normal politics that necessarily includes both fair and unfair criticism. That is part of life and maybe even a part of India’s argumentative democracy. However, it doesn’t end here.
Since the outcome of the 2019 general election and the resounding mandate in favour of Modi and the BJP, there is a tendency to extend the assault to the Indian state as well. This has become more marked after the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu & Kashmir and the temporary restrictions on normal life in the Kashmir Valley. It has also extended to the Indian judiciary once Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi decided that there has to be a limit to judicial procrastination and that the Ayodhya case will get a judgment before he demits office in November. The unwarranted conclusion has been drawn that the judiciary has transformed itself into a compliant arm of the Modi Government and that, consequently, the quality of Indian democracy has been seriously undermined. Motives are attached to almost every judgment that violates the pre-determined conclusions of the kangaroo court of the progressive liberals. Since the retaliatory air-raid on terrorist camps in Balakot, even the armed forces have been dragged into this fiercely partisan warfare.
The attacks on both the Modi Government and the Indian state may have been brushed away with disdain had it been completely ineffectual. Alas, this is not the case. It would be short-sighted to deny the fact that it has had some impact, more internationally than globally. Last week, for example, The Times (London) published a grim report of big concentration camp-like structures being readied in Assam to house all those whose names have not been included in the National Register of Citizens (NRC). It was made out that this was part of the anti-Muslim agenda of the Modi Government and the inference was that what was happening in eastern India could not be de-linked from the Government’s steps in Jammu & Kashmir.
It would be wrong to see the concerted bid to paint India in an unflattering light as being entire orchestrated from overseas. Yes, the demonology is principally targeted at audiences overseas. The overall idea is to ensure that India is mentioned in the same breath as Russia, Turkey, Brazil and the Philippines — countries that either outrightly authoritarian or ‘illiberal’ democracies. So far, Indian diplomacy has by and large succeeded in containing the fallout of this offensive. Foreign governments, mindful of India’s growing importance in commercial terms, have been supportive and been loath to get involved in “internal affairs”. However, as the weeks go by and the propaganda offensive intensifies, almost all democratic governments will come under pressure from human rights and civil society bodies to put pressure on India. This is what the Pakistan Government envisages and this what the Pakistani political and military establishments are focussed on.
Last week, Rahul Gandhi got into a spot of bother when the Pakistan Government cleverly used his statements to bolster its case against India on Kashmir. An embarrassed Congress tried to quickly make amends and maybe, just maybe, its pronouncements in future will be more circumspect. However, this is too much to ask from a whole host of journalists and public intellectuals who believe that the quick route to prominence overseas lies in being labelled a dissident within India. The campuses in particular will become centres of vilification of India once the academic year resumes in mid-September.
I don’t want to be cruel but my personal experience suggests that the anti-Modi and anti-Indian state grandstanding is entirely with a view to audiences overseas that love to shown concern as an act of condescension.
I would like to repeat my apprehension that the issues in Jammu and Kashmir are being systematically linked to a contrived ‘Muslim problem’ and some imaginary sinister sectarian agenda of the Modi government. India needs to bolster its public diplomacy further and complement it with domestic solidarity. Everyone knows what needs to be done. The point is to do what is necessary imaginatively and skilfully. We needs to articulate an India agenda and go beyond responding to Pakistan’s agenda. (END)
