“May 23rd, 2019 will go down as a dark day in Indian history.”
“The Indian population just took a giant dump on itself.”
“Indians are idiots.”
“For the first time in my life, I’m considering not wanting to live here anymore.”
These words flashed across various social media feeds on the day of the election result, from the moment folks got a whiff of the government-to-come accumulating far in excess of the required number of seats to claim majority in the lower house of parliament.
With growing dissent in urban, educated circles, one had been at least partially convinced that there was going to be a wave of change, defying the all-pervasive chant of “Phir ek baar…”. There were PSAs going out in the form of ‘no alternative is no reason to bring the party back to power’, an indication that at least there wasn’t going to be a sweeping victory. The result as we all know, was a telling lesson about the power to vote being a great, great equalizer. And with this result, came the collective consternation of the ‘disappointed urban, educated Indian.’
Whilst several came forward to rue the ignorance of a vast majority towards the implication of the growing social regression in the country, there also emerged an irksome, increasingly accusatory tone amongst this disappointed 1%. The accusation saw intellectually charged, passionate folks taking “a giant dump” on the intelligence and agency of the majority of the nation’s voter base, in order to validate their own privileged opinions and feelings. (I urge you to put your instinct to jump to your defence upon hearing the word ‘privilege’ on hold, at least until the end of this piece.) In dismissing the decision of the majority, do we not put our ideological discontentment above the State and our fellow citizens? Do we not imply that we are somehow more affected by government and policy than the average person when we claim that this majority voted without knowledge, rationality, or reason?
There is something inherently entitled about dictating how other people should think and feel about their leaders and the government. Don’t get me wrong—my heart aches at the thought of living in a nation where hatred and the blatant disregard for the rights of minorities stand to be legitimized. But the increasing futility of this yelling and finger-pointing in a vacuum, restricted to self-validating social media feeds and dinner table conversations, shared and hurrahed by people who have the privilege to participate in dissent, eclipsed my heartache.
It appears that in opposing one extreme ideology, we have created our own extreme, and we will use any means necessary to substantiate it including denying the choice of the majority voter base. I cannot help but be overwhelmed by the irony. My question is this: At what point will we be shaken enough by the threat of bigoted and divisive politics, to leave the comfort of our cushy living rooms and offices, and make our way into the world where the majority vote came from? That we can dismiss our country’s majority decision is a function of our privilege. That there is in fact, a majority that cannot identify the threat posed by extremism and communal politics, is a function of their socio-economic context. And even in saying this, I run the risk of sounding privileged, because I have in fact, the privilege to offer commentary on the beliefs and decisions of others, without truly having to suffer the consequences in my day-to-day life.
I don’t know what exactly the future holds, but my biggest takeaway from this dissonance is this: It is a ginormous reality check! Maybe I need to take some time to understand the minds of this majority, their motivations to re-elect a government which per our own assertions, did nothing but “screw the nation over.” Perhaps they have reason to believe otherwise—let us try to recognize, if not empathize, with that. I also want to take a moment to make peace with the truth—more than half our nation either does not have the context to, or is not interested in making sense of this rhetoric. If we are so enlightened as to criticize the choice of the nation, and to know of an alternative, brighter, less bigoted future, let us maybe find ways in which to enable access to this enlightenment. Let’s maybe acknowledge —and perhaps learn from the victor—what instinct has the combination of ideology and governance catered to, in the public that voted for them?
The way I see it, it’s time to accept that outrage and rhetoric confined to the minds and homes of a privileged few will not be able to counter a narrative that is enabling a world where discrimination is acceptable and even encouraged. While I do not have the knowledge nor the means necessary to dictate what anyone should do, I do have some hope for those who are able to make privileged political choices. I hope that we stop relying on that one ballsy comedian or that one very vocal Instagram influencer to channel our contempt for fascist political tact. Complaining about a regime simply won’t suffice. Neither will bashing the next, supposedly ‘un-intelligent’ common man.
They have five years. And we have five years. If we care so much about ideological regression, I hope we will stop complaining about ignorance, and get off our entitled bums to create positive dialogue, change minds about the repercussions of hate, and start to build movements that help spread the message of the futility of divisive politics.
I hope we get out and start talking to people with contexts different than our own.
I hope we can focus on creating conversations that will spark an alternative way of thinking—one which the existing social structure and even the education system has been unable to foster.
I hope that we will have it in us to swallow the outrage, and to evaluate, analyze and act instead of agitating and hating.
Maybe just maybe, if we step out of our mini-verses and do our bit, we can even begin to envision a culture that doesn’t internalize hatred as a way of life, no matter the ideology of the incumbent ruling class. Liberality in tiny, sporadic quantities alone cannot sway an entire nation. Heaven knows the outrage alone wasn’t enough to stop the forces that be.
DISCLAIMER: Definitely not a bhakt, but open to evaluating my stand and modifying it. No pun intended. 😛