“Show our critics a great man”, he said, “and they begin to what they call ‘account for him ‘; not to worship him but take the dimensions of him.” Hero worship is certainly not dead in India. Hero worship is demoralising for the devotee and dangerous to the country. I welcome the criticism, in so far as it conveys a caution, that you must know that your man is great before you start worshipping him. For in these days, with the press in hand, it is easy to manufacture great men.
Even Carlyle, who defended the worship of great men, warned his readers how: “Multitudes of men have figured in history as great men who were false and selfish.” He regretted deeply that “the world’s sages (of homage) are pocketed (by these so-called great men), the world’s work is not done. Heroes have gone out; quacks have come in.”
This shows his clarity about Indian people thinking and the way they trust someone easily. This has always been an advantage to political parties to seduce people and gain votes. This started from Mahatma Gandhi (Dr.Ambedkar refused to call him “Mahatma”). Instead of following his thoughts and way of life, people began to worship Gandhiji. Then comes the famous “Indira is India” slogan, And now comes the present Prime Minister.
The cause behind all this is a dependency on others (especially media) for information and trusting everything they say and repeatedly show to form that visionary and godly image of the person they want to project. As an educated and responsible citizen, we have to educate ourselves, create our own opinion not depending on what others want to engrave on our mind. Unless and until the citizens of a country have their unbiased opinions independent of caste, religion, race, ideology, etc, the scammers will continue to rule on your mind, and maybe the country too.