WHY MODI IS UNACCEPTABLE FOR THE VERY CONCEPT OF INDIA ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The RSS ideology is the Indian incarnate of Fascism. The ultra nationalism, the ‘construction of ‘other’ (Muslim and Christian), the concept of Akhand Bharat (most of South Asia as India), the loyalty to Hindu nationalism in contrast to Indian nationalism are the ideological foundations of Indian fascism. Mahatma Gandhi could see some of the symptoms of RSS even then when he called it a ‘communal body with totalitarian outlook’. Till the rise of Modi one wondered how can RSS inspired movement be a fascist one as there is no charismatic leader, as fascism does require one. Modi has emerged and constructed as such a leader post 2002. As such the fascist persona of Modi was not in doubt to serious scholars and social scientists even before his emergence as a big leader, as he is projected today. * Ashish Nandy wrote much before Gujarat carnage,............ “ More than a decade ago, when Narendra Modi was a nobody, a small-time RSS pracharak trying to make it as a small-time BJP functionary, I had the privilege of interviewing…it left me in no doubt that here was a classic, clinical case of a fascist. I never use the term ‘fascist’ as a term of abuse; to me it is a diagnostic category comprising not only one’s ideological posture but also the personality traits and motivational patterns contextualizing the ideology. He (Modi) had the same mix of puritanical rigidity, narrowing of emotional life, massive use of the ego defense of projection, denial and fear of his own passions combined with fantasies of violence – all set within the matrix of clear paranoid and obsessive personality traits. I still remember the cool, measured tone in which he elaborated a theory of cosmic conspiracy against India that painted every Muslim as a suspected traitor and a potential terrorist. I came out of the interview shaken and told Yagnik that, for the first time, I had met a textbook case of a fascist and a prospective killer, perhaps even a future mass murderer. * (such.forumotion/t17216-ashis-nandy-narendra-modi-is-a-classical-clinical-case-of-a-fascist) In a similar way when a German delegation visited Gujarat (April 2010), one of the members of the delegation pointed out that he was shocked by parallels between Germany under Hitler and Gujarat under Modi. *.....Incidentally in Gujarat school books Hitler has been glorified as a great nationalist. ( deshgujarat/2010/04/10/german-mps-mind-your-own-business/) Gujarat has been the laboratory of Hindu Rashtra. Post carnage 2002, one knows that despite the propaganda the conditions of religious minorities is abysmal. Can we say that Fascism is specific to Europe only and it cannot a phenomenon in India? Fascism is essentially a phenomenon which emerges from sections of society which are opposed to democratic polity and are out to abolish the democratic space by projecting imaginary fears and assert a need for a strong leader to set the things right. It harps on ultra nationalism and has aggressive attitude towards neighboring countries and targets minorities. In that sense it can come in any country, where the social movements are either weak and fragmented or not vigilant about the dangers of this phenomenon. Some say, India is a very diverse country and so fascism cannot come here? It is a good thought, and partly it has been a factor in holding back the fascist forces in India. With time many factors become evened out and the similar tendencies grow all around. So it is not ruled out, especially with the rise of the mass support for such a phenomenon. * Only a concerted struggle to nurture democratic ethos, values of pluralism and correct diagnosis of fascist forces alone can save our democracy.
Posted on: Tue, 01 Apr 2014 20:59:53 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015