Hindutva's Orwellian Agenda

Control over the past is “more terrifying than mere torture and death,” writes George Orwell ([1949] 2006, p.28) in his dystopian novel, Nineteen-Eighty Four.

Orwell in this novel ridiculed all the ‘totalitarian nightmares’ for manipulating history. He particularly derided the ruling Party’s slogan: 

Who controls the past controls the future: 

Who controls the present controls the past.

“The monopolistic nation states and ‘powers that be’ do not like plurality as it threatens the uniform worldview they want citizens/subjects to hold. Totalitarian regimes were the worst culprits in this regard”. (Yadav, 2002)

According to Heywood (2007, p.217), “totalitarianism is an all-encompassing system of political rule that is typically established by pervasive ideological manipulation (italics mine) and open terror and brutality.”

Nineteen Eighty-Four (first published in 1949) tells the story about Oceania, a society ruled by the oligarchic dictatorship of the Party. Life in the Oceanian province of Airstrip One is a world of perpetual war, pervasive government surveillance, and incessant public mind control. This is accomplished with a political system named English Socialism (Ingsoc), which is administered by privileged Inner Party elite. Yet they too are subordinated to the totalitarian cult of personality of Big Brother, the deified Party leader. The protagonist, Winston Smith, is a member of the Outer Party who works for the Ministry of Truth, which is responsible for propaganda and historical revisionism. His job is to re-write past newspaper articles so that the historical record is congruent with the current party ideology.

This novel popularised the adjective Orwellian, which refers to “official deception, secret surveillance, and manipulation of the past (italics mine) in service to a totalitarian or manipulative political agenda” (see Wikipedia, Nineteen-Eighty Four).

Orwell writes “The mutability of the past is the central tenet of Ingsoc. Past events, it is argued, have no objective existence, but survive only in written records and in human memories. The past is whatever the records and the memories agree upon. And since the Party is in full control of all records and in equally full control of the minds of its members, it follows that the past is whatever the Party chooses to make it”. (Orwell, op.cit., p.181)

“[B]y far the more important reason for the readjustment of the past is the need to safeguard the infallibility of the Party. It is not merely that speeches, statistics, and records of every kind must be constantly brought up to date in order to show that the predictions of the Party were in all cases right. It is also that no change in doctrine or in political alignment can ever be admitted. For to change one's mind, or even one's policy, is a confession of weakness”. (Ibid., pp.180-181)

Various regimes have adopted this technique of manipulation of history to strengthen their hold on the subjects.

So, Napoleon entrusted the administration of history writing to his Minister of Police. He is also reported to have told this minister that the past be treated in such a manner that anyone who reads that history heaves a sigh of relief on reaching 'our rule' (Gooch,1956 cited in Yadav, 2002).

Similarly, Hitler declared that the more urgent goal of history lay not in the 'objective presentation' of facts but in instilling national pride and in recalling the growth of the united nation due to the efforts of German heroes like Charlemagne, Luther and Bismarck topped by Hitler himself. Consequently, Hitler also erased the French Revolution from the curriculum to prevent the German students from turning into democrats (Southgate, 1996 cited in Yadav, 2002).

Ideologically motivated history was also the norm in USSR. For example, in late 1920s the role of Trotsky was eliminated from narratives of the Great October Revolution, a historical manipulation satirized by George Orwell in his famous novella Animal Farm (1945). This was the result of his questioning the Stalin regime - whether the policy of the Soviet socialist rule was a dictatorship of the proletariat or a dictatorship over them? (Stern, 1970 cited in Yadav, 2002)

The educational establishment in India under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led coalition rule from 1998-2004 also set out on a similar agenda of manipulating history.

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This is the introductory chapter of my dissertation submitted at Asian College of Journalism. The whole document can be read here - 

http://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/87359157?access_key=key-1sojlhccdpulsjhursb4

You can read George Orwell's  Nineteen-Eighty Four here - http://orwell.ru/library/novels/1984/english/en_p_1

Image Courtesy:
http://www.extremetech.com

The Destiny's Child - (Blog-a-Ton 6)

This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 6; the sixth edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

As young Mohandas scrambled through his final law papers, the only thing he contemplated was a comfortable life back home. Little did he knew, his fate had already been written. He was to become the torchbearer of a struggle never seen before, an inspiration for millions to come and the father of a whole nation.

It was on this very day, January 9, back in 1915 that Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi set foot on the Indian soil after his extended stay in South Africa. This 55 Fiction is dedicated to this great day and the great struggle that followed.

The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective posts can be checked here. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

The Indian Dream

This is the Platinum Jubilee (75^th) Post on this Blog. It is a tribute to our Father of the Nation, M.K. Gandhi whose 140th Birth Anniversary was celebrated yesterday.

This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 3; the third edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

You can be what you want on that land of paradise
So they said and left to chase the American Dream
Some fell on the way while others managed to rise
But they missed to realise a possible Indian Dream
Here can be no dream but nightmares they nagged
Hurriedly packing their bags for the foreign shore
What has India given to me they demandingly asked
Not bothering to mention what had they given to her

A possible Indian Dream?

Yes, to dream in India is possible and to realise it, staying here is also possible.

However, I am not an idealist. Hence, I am not against anyone leaving the country for the greener pastures. Moreover, in this global village where each economy is dependent upon each other, free flow of human resources is as important as goods and services. India is the largest receiver of remittances from its overseas citizens, something that fuels our forex reserves and makes us competitive on global front.

In short an Indian Dream can also be realised while staying away. However, for that to happen, you will have to see your dream and the Indian dream complementing each other. You may stay away physically but emotionally you will have to stay close enough.

What is the Indian dream?

It is the dream that all the people, irrespective of their socio-economic standing, will get the opportunities to realise their potential within the country.

In this sense my Indian dream and your Indian dream are the same, i.e. to succeed in life and definitely we will prefer to realise it staying closer to our roots. Ofcourse there are some exceptions who are just adamant to move away to foreign lands irrespective of the fact that back home, the opportunities exist or not. For them, the grass is always greener on the other side.

Not including such exceptions in this discussion; we must realise first of all that the onus lies upon us to make our country resilient enough. Before demanding anything, we have to be ever ready to supply her with the nourishment she requires.

For example, on short term basis, the money we receive from non-residents may boost our economy but for the long term development of the nation, we also need their true commitment. It’s something like taking care of the ailing parents who need personal attention rather than monetary help.

As for those who opt to stay back because of their dignity or the lack of opportunity, must learn to accept the fact that we have many problems on our way which must be dealt by us, ourselves.

Dream
Indian, Fancy
Rising, Shining, Roaring
Would leave everyone behind
Delusion
Vision
Many problems impeding speed
Trying, Solving, Succeeding
Pragmatic, Indian
Dream

Yes, we cannot live in any delusion and have to find our way through. We cannot put all the responsibility on the government but have to shoulder it too. Poverty, overpopulation, unemployment, illiteracy, corruption, environmental degradation, communalism, casteism, terrorism, regionalism and disparities are just some of the causes that are impeding our growth and not allowing us to have a promising Indian dream. And these problems cannot be solved by escaping from them but by facing them with courage and determination.

To make it possible, it is not necessary to be in any specific power position. We as the citizens have to perform our vocations, whatever they maybe, diligently. We have to act responsibly and empathically in our social interactions. We have to develop sensitivity towards the economic disparities that exist and help the government in plugging them. We have to perform our role as a good citizen before demanding good governance.

Our forefathers also had an Indian dream!

They saw an India where the people will be free from all the clutches and will rule themselves.

They gave us the freedom and gave us the vision but somehow we wavered off the path. However, the situation is not all that glum. Last decade or two have seen India taking the right trajectory once again and the conditions seem ripe to realise our Indian Dream. However, it should be ensured that the fruits of development are distributed among all the citizens and are not limited to any particular section.

What about our future generations' Indian Dream?

If everyone takes upon himself/herself to be a part of this Indian dream, and make our personal dreams a part of it too, then we can give a sweet Indian dream to our future generations.

Let us just not wait
For the Change to happen but
Be the Change ourselves.

Moreover, this Indian Dream should not be seen in relative terms but in absolute terms. We have to compete with ourselves and not with anyone else. This is true for us individually and India as a whole. There is a thin line between optimism and wishful thinking. We must not transgress it.

Now, it is upto you to decide, this Indian dream of mine is a delusion or a vision.

Off-the-topic Relevant Reflections :

• The first poem is a simple two-versed composition with the most common rhyming pattern of a-b-a-b.
• The last two lines of this poem are inspired by the U.S. President J.F. Kennedy's famous quote, "Don't ask what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."
• The second poem is a Mirror Cinquain, an extended form of the cinquain, a form of poetry that I have introduced earlier on this blog. Moreover, this cinquain is much closer to the original form than my previous attempt. Here line 1 has 1 noun, line 2 has 2 adjectives explaining the noun, line 3 has 3 action verbs (-ing ending verbs), line 4 has a 4 words phrase and line 5 has 1 word explaining the noun in line 1. The Mirror cinquain is formed by a cinquain and a reverse cinquian. Original cinquains have a 2, 4, 6, 8, 2 syllables pattern which got gradually transformed into a 1, 2, 3, 4, 1 words pattern.
• The third poem is my crude first attempt at a Haiku. It is a very popular form of short poetry, an unrhyming verse genre, conveying an image or feeling in two parts spread over 3 lines with 5, 7, 5 syllables pattern. Traditional Japanese Haiku is written with a seasonal reference unlike this one.
• This Haiku is inspired by Mahatma Gandhi's famous quote, "Be the change you want to see in the world." It is a tribute to the great man whose 140^th Birth Anniversary was celebrated yesterday.
• Talking of Indian Dream and poems, you might like to read my childhood poem on this subject. It is in Hindi and have been posted earlier. Click here to read it.
  

The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective posts can be checked here. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

Image Courtesy:
http://img.fropper.com (edited)

Going back to the masses

A new democratic experiment in U.K.

It was Mahatma Gandhi who realized the importance of masses and engaged them in the fight against discrimination in South Africa. On returning to his homeland, he successfully replicated the model on a much larger scale, which played a decisive role in helping India attain freedom. However, once the job was done, the masses chose to disengage with the politics and allow their representatives do the dirty work. It was quarter a century hence, when Jayaprakash Narayan decided to bring the masses back to the center stage from the wilderness. JP must have succeeded for that made those in power act irresponsibly and plunge the country into the darkest years of Indian democracy, the Emergency.
The politicians still need the masses to get into power but they have learnt all the tricks to deceive and exploit them for their own good. So while the poorer lot still oblige these men by attending their rallies and turning up at the polling booths to vote for them, the not-so-poorer lot prefer voting for reality shows and television surveys, rather than at the general, assembly or local elections.
A new model of engaging the masses has been developed in U.S. by Barack Obama. He made the best use of information technology and communication to form a decisive democratic force of masses which heralded him to the post of the most powerful man in the world.
Taking a cue from all this, a new democratic exercise is being experimented in U.K. I read about it just now in an article by Hasan Suroor in 'The Hindu' and I could not wait but share it with others. If you remember the recent 'Lead India' Campaign of Times of India, then this new experiment in U.K. is just taking such an initiative to its logical conclusion.
A campaign has been launched in the name of 'The Jury Team', which according to its website is a political movement created with the goal of making politics more accessible, politicians more accountable and political institutions more transparent. According to their mission statement, this campaign is against the current political parties that have turned the Government into an Oligarchic institution, a small and increasingly distant group.
This is how the campaign operates- Anyone interested in a political career can put themselves forward through The Jury Team’s website but they must agree not to support any policies that discriminate on the basis of race, colour, gender, sexual orientation, disability or religious or other belief. The general public will be able to vote for their favourite candidate by texting the code of that person to a “unique” text number. The selected candidates will then be fielded as Independents. Moreover, these candidates once elected, would be free of the party whip, i.e., they won't be obliged to follow the dictats of their party but will be independent to vote for the proposals for legislations as they wish to.
This campaign has been launched and funded by millionaire Sir Paul Judge, however as mentioned on their website, they rely on donations to keep running.
The question is for how long can such a non-party party, a term devised by Sir Paul, can remain a non-party. Isn't there every chance of egoism of such people coming in way of high principles set initially. On the first thought, such an experiment will have a chance to survive only if such an individual distants himself from it with time, to allow the masses take it forward, but on a second thought, wont this campaign just wither away if it doesnt get the support and direction of a strong personality.
Moreover, in a country like India which finds itself divided on the lines of religion, caste, region and ethnicity, where the so-called National Parties are being dictated terms by the regional ones, where still the majority doesnt vote for an ideology but for a bottle of country made liquor, where still only a small minority find access to modern technologies, can such an experiment even survive one election. These are the questions that spring once the reality dawns. However, they can be answered only when the experiment has been conducted.
As for the initiative, the best source seems the Indian media. They were so active post-Mumbai carnage, driving their individual campaigns against politicians. It will be interesting to see if they have it in them to do what they preach. As for the initial funding, the media houses can oblige their 'high class' chatterati to donate some bucks, who love to come on the discussion shows and spank the Indian politics and the politicians and then share a glass of wine with the same politicos at their evening parties.
Recently, in India new initiatives are being taken as we see a number of unconventional political parties springing up. There was a technocrats based Lok Paritran and recently an IIM-IIT graduates based political outfit. In a Punjab district recently, the members of the Market Association decided to field their own candidates as they felt, the political parties always forget them after taking donations for their election campaigns. However, rather than coming together to obtain a critical mass, such parties prefer to do it alone. Maybe, with time they realize the importance of united action.
India which has adopted the parliamentary democracy and many of its conventions from U.K. might also give a try to this latest experiment though its still to be seen if it makes any mark in the country of its origin itself being in nascent stages there too.

Image Courtesy
http://www.trekearth.com by Ramesh Lalwani (edited)

Upon each shoulder lies the weight!

It can't be shirked, it can't be swayed..

Before reading this post, please read the previous, 'Aren't you just one of them?' because this is just an extension to what I 'penned' last time.
There was a reason why I asked you to introspect. The day I wrote this poem, I was having a discussion with a cousin. The topic was a common one; the falling standards of Indian polity and administration. On a fault-finding spree, he kept rattling one example after the other, all the time cursing the netas and the babus. Once he was done or rather when I was done(listening), I just asked him some simple questions. These (and some others) are the ones which I included in my poem later in the day.
Its very convenient for us to find scapegoats. Our polity and administration are the easiest ones, for the simple reason that they have hand in everything and that they deserve the backlash for anything going wrong. Just see how even I've turned critical. Its true that as citizens, we have the right to demand sincerity from our elected representatives and their executives. However, we should not forget that our polity and administration is just a reflection of our society and 'we' are the society.
When the 'Mumbai carnage' happened, we all were up against the polity. We were frustrated, we were agitated and we wanted accountability. The 'system' again failed us. Those who had been sent to represent us, again let us down.
We want tighter security. We want all the pores to be sealed but are we ready for it. Remember the last time you visited a multiplex and were frisked at the gate With time running out for the movie, how you asked the guard, "C'mon bhaiya! Do I look like a terrorist to you?" This is the very attitude of 'chalta hai' that we see so often in our bureaucracy. So you see from where it comes.
This may sound cliche, but who is being corrupt when on breaking a traffic rule, you prefer giving 50 bucks to the traffic hawaldar than accepting your mistake, letting him cut your challan and paying the due amount to the concerned authority.
I realize how easy it is for us to approach turpitude from virtuousness than the other way round. In New Delhi, where I stayed for half an year or so, I had to travel daily in the metro. Initially, I was in a habit of offering my seat to the aged and the ladies standing in the aisle. However, as time passed and I saw the depravity of my fellow passengers, I started hesitating in doing so. Though, I still had the courtesy to stand up for say, a pregnant lady or a frail looking elderly; but for each time doing so, I had to run a program in my mind to assess if the person fulfilled all the criteria to be showered with my chivalry. So from being a 'good boy', I became 'not so good boy'.
We have to learn to hold on to our virtues to ask others to do so. Here, I remember a story, one of my teacher in primary school told us. I am not sure if its true or not but definitely its quite effective. It goes something like this.
Once a person brought his son to Mahatma Gandhi and complained that he eats a lot of sugar. However, as he has a lot of regard for Mahatma, he might start resisting his temptation if Mahatma asks him to do so. However, Gandhiji asked them to come back after a couple of days. Even the next time they were returned to come back later. On the next visit, Gandhiji apologized to the person saying that he can't fulfill his simple wish as he himself has a sweet tooth. All these days he had been trying to resist but failed. So he has no moral right to ask the young one to do so.
So do we have the right to ask for accountability from our elected representatives? Yes, we do have the constitutional and legal right. However, we lose our moral right to do so by a fraction, every time we indulge in depravity and corruption. My questionnaire in the previous post must have helped you to gauge where you stand in this respect.
'Slumdog millionaire' might have disturbed us by showcasing our dirt and filth but remember we all have made a 'worthy' contribution in keeping our cities unclean. So only Government cannot be blamed for not providing enough safai-karamcharis, we all have to take the blame for it.
So next time you throw an empty wrapper out of the car window, you are also throwing a fraction of your moral right out with it. I have thrown out such fractions so many times that I've lost the count.
Moreover, now with the elections just round the corner, if you decide not to visit the polling booth, then you'll also be foregoing a big chunk of your constitutional and legal right.
So rather than being this monkey pointing fingers at others, it's better to be wholesome in ourselves. An effort can be made for sure.
These parting lines might strike a chord or two.

Upon each shoulder lies the weight!
It can’t be shirked, it can’t be swayed.
You’ll try that someone else falls prey,
For yourself, you'll search an easy way.
Today you might shut your eyes and say,
“Hey, let’s keep it for some other day!”
But how long will you keep it at bay?
For upon each shoulder lies the weight!
Those who realize it well in time,
Won't lose a penny or a single dime.
They’ll do it while others pretend and mime.
With shoulders feeling light and sublime,
They’ll hear the eternal satisfaction chime.
Don’t bother that next line doesn’t rhyme ;)
For upon each shoulder lies the weight!

Image Courtesy
http://superpowersthatbe.blogspot.com (original)

"It was due to want of intelligence, somehow we moved in different ideological grooves"

Reflections of EL in the Mahatma and his protege

Here I discuss the glimpses of EL to be found in two personalities who, between themselves, steered Indian consciousness for nearly half a century(1915-1963). Their ideologies condition many minds till date, not just in India but world over. I am undoubtedely talking about Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru.
I take the liberty of quoting Gandhi once again, "Before we dare think of freedom we must be brave enough to love one another, to tolerate one another's religion, even prejudices and superstitions."
Here Gandhi has directly associated freedom or for that matter liberty with ones tolerance for the norms, values and cultures of others, be they superstitious and irrelevant in our eyes. The essence of liberty cannot be felt till we adopt an outlook of acceptance and tolerance. However, this never prevented Gandhi from starting the Harijan Movement, hence attacking the prejudices of upper caste Hindus. Here the prejudices of the so-called upper castes were negatively effecting the socio-economic condition of the lower castes, they being relegated to the periphery of the Hindu society and economy. One should be neutral to only those prejudices which are themselves neutral in nature. One can not accept a prejudice which has non-acceptance as its own foundation. Non-acceptance of the basic human rights of equality, equal opportunity and no discrimination on the basis of ones lineage, in the given case of Hindu society.
Nehru, a proponent of the socialist philosophy, writes in his autobiography, "It has been my privilege to be associated very closely with a large number of Congress leaders and workers, and I could not wish for a finer set of men and women. And yet I have differed from them on vital issues, and often I have felt a little weary at finding that they do not appreciate or understand something that seems to me quite obvious. It was due to want of intelligence, somehow we moved in different ideological grooves. I realized how difficult it is to cross these boundaries suddenly. They constitute different philosophies of life, and we grow into them gradually and unconsciously. It is futile to blame the other party. Socialism involves a certain psychological outlook on life and its problems. It is more than mere logic. So also are the other outlooks based on heredity, upbringing, the unseen influences of the past and our present environments. Only life itself with its bitter lessons forces us along new paths and ultimately, which is far harder, makes us think differently. Perhaps we may help a little in this process."
Nehru shows ones helplessness in choosing his/her ideology, outlook or value system. We may regard ourselves individualists but still our surroundings play a decisive role in conditioning our mindsets. There are few who are able to break the shackles of the norms and values, and hence think independently. However, even this independence is nothing but just fiction. As Nehru says, its not our intelligence but the lack of it that shapes our ideologies and make them different from others. It is the limitation on our part that we are not able to comprehend the ideologies of others. Hence the onus lies on an individual to remove the layers of indifference which gradually accumulate between us and open ones mind and intellect to polemics of others. Maybe through our receptivity, we can set an example for them too and the polemic gets moderated to a healthy discussion which goes on to fill that lacunae of our intelligence. Further moving on the steps of Nehru, I too acknowledge that it is not easy to bridge this gap. However, the try is worth it.

Image Courtesy
http://www.gymnyon.vd.ch (original)

Gandhigiri

Yehi hai right choice babiee aha!!!

Lage Raho Rajubhai!!! Yes the man behind this great movie, Rajkumar Hirani’s timing could not have been more perfect. When violence has become an everyday affair in India, when Gandhian Ideology has been thrown into the gutter, this Gandhigiri of his makes a perfect attempt to revive those golden principles which helped our grandparents attain freedom.

Recently movies like Legend of Bhagat Singh and Rang de Basanti have made us realise the importance of the armed revolutionaries. However while doing so, most of these movies maligned Gandhiji. For eg, how in Legend of Bhagat Singh, Gandhi is shown criticising Bhagat Singh at many occasions and he has been reduced to a petty self centred politician. These movies are undoubtedly among my all time favourites, but Lage Raho Munnabhai has rejuvenated my faith in Bapu. After all there was something about him which made him one in a billion.

Well I’ll leave the critical analysis of the movie for the hundreds of media persons who survive on it. My concern here is the increasing public unrest in India. The candle lighting protest at India Gate after acquittal of Jessica Lal murder Case convicts was a direct consequence of RDB. But how many times do these protests remain peaceful?

A protesting mob on rampage, lathicharge by police to break it up, people injured and manhandled, another protest against the ill treatment and the saga goes on and on.

There are situations when this mob behaviour is expected as after Meerut fire, Srinagar sex scandal or recently the Hisar Sex scandal but in other cases its just deplorable. For instance, what happened on Bangalore streets after legendary Rajkumar’s death or how Vadodra municipal demolitions were given unnecessary communal colour was pathetic.

Who is driving this mob? According to sociologists the mob behaviour is very peculiar. It’s very easy to drive it towards a negative direction. It might be made up of individuals but when it acts, that individual factor is succumbed.

It gives us a lot of pleasure when we see a mob giving a judgement on some villainous politician and thrashing him badly. However, in real life, implications of such behaviour might not be that good. Most of these mobs are driven by goons who have their own personal motives behind such violent acts.

What I mean to say is that this unrest which has set in is being vented in a violent manner. What happened in Lorento school thanks to nationalist Hindu fanatics is another example. However, with an unprejudiced opinion I also condemn the act of Christian missionary which led to this situation.

So at such times it’s the Gandhigiri which gives me the last hope. I am not an extreme preacher of non violence but Lage Raho Munnabhai brought me closer to it. The movie is made to touch every single heart. RDB was a revolutionary movie but I feel in present scenario a movie like that will just add unnecessary fuel to the fire. It did its magic but now its time for a transformation into satyagrah.

To settle this unrest there should also be decisive steps taken by the government. The need of the hour is to generate a common goodwill through massive programmes. A national committee can be formed out of different religious and socialist Gurus to look after such programmes. These Gurus can do a lot good if they strike the Evil in a united way. Its time for them to convert what they preach into practicality. Moreover public figures from sports and entertainment can also be included. As I said Mobs easily follow a leader and if this leader or rather a group of leaders lead them together in a positive direction, it will generate a massive force to subside this unrest.

There is also a need to curb the reason which results in this resentment. That is the removal of corruption and injustice. Here again Gandhigiri can play an important role. I agree that real life is different from the reel life. Changing a corrupt officer might not be that easy as shown in the movie but as Gandhiji said "Keep trying and be patient."

Image Courtesy
http://www.bollywood-stars.net (edited)