Demonetisation has exposed Modi bhakts as true-blue right wing elitists

When people of the past imagined the future in movies like Back to the Future and The Fifth Element, the 21st century was depicted as an evolved civilisation featuring flying cars, hoverboards and robots doing the laundry.

None of them imagined that in the year 2016 an openly racist and sexist demagogue would be elected Leader of the Free World. None of them imagined that Britain, a country which colonised the planet for 300 years, would choose to leave EU while complaining of immigration.

No dystopian fiction predicted that the world’s largest democracy would financially cripple 400 million of its poorest citizens and call it a minor inconvenience.

In the words of the humanitarian Jeffrey Lebowski, “the goddamn plane has crashed into the mountain”.

Donald Trump’s election victory has upset many in America and the world. While Americans are shocked that a veritable psychopath now has nuclear codes and will henceforth represent them, it is quite odd how many Indian nationalists are celebrating this win as if it’s a positive for their diaspora and economy.

It is equally grating how many Indian liberals are so pre-occupied with American politics while their own backyard is already burning with the fire of racism, casteism and sexism that they fear might burn America.

In the aftermath of the election, several political pundits argued that Trump won because of the condescending manner in which Social Justice Warriors (SJWs) and liberals made a case for Hillary Clinton as if she was the voice of sane, educated people. Liberals are seen as urban elitists who didn’t speak for the majority of simple, white folk who reside in Smalltown, USA.

The right-wing’s unabashed focus on nationalism is increasingly finding takers across the globe. As someone who doesn’t subscribe to any political party but who has always identified as being slightly left-of-centre, I find it disheartening that the public in so many countries continue to be drummed up into frenzy by us-vs-them rhetoric.

Once demagogues come into power, they always make a U-turn on the policies that get them the desired result. After Brexit, Nigel Farage quit and admitted to exaggerating on key statistics. Donald Trump has already erased his immigration stance on Muslims from his website. Amit Shah laughed off Narendra Modi’s promise of returning Rs 15 lakh into the account of each Indian as an election "jumla". And yet the supporters of these parties still stand by them because no one wants to admit they were taken for a ride.

To those who charge that liberals are elitist intellectuals prone to sermonising, I would counter that the alt-right in America and the saffron brigade in India are not devoid of their own handicaps as well.

How else is one supposed to retaliate to the shootings of unarmed black people but through a disruptive movement like Black Lives Matter? How is one supposed to request a totalitarian government to not kill minorities? Pretty please with sugar on top?

The nationalist would go well to remember who threw the first brick. Without the oppression of minorities and denial of human rights to the public, the ideology of the Left would find no currency; it’s not the cause but the effect.

When the protester is making arguments from home, he is called an arm-chair intellectual, and when he is out on the streets he is labelled a hooligan or political stooge.

For the last two years, the right-wing has painted non-BJP supporters as being out of touch with the common Indian, but the demonetisation issue has laid bare how elitist most (if not all) of them are.

By refusing to acknowledge the crisis faced by India's poorest and calling it an inconvenience, they are showing their true colours.

While the public is realising what the "anti-nationals" had been warning against all this time, the hardcore "bhakt" is acting like an ostrich and hiding his head where the sun don't shine.

He refuses to acknowledge that 50 days of queuing up mean different things to a salaried individual/businessman and to daily wage earner; to the former it may be an inconvenience but to the latter (for whom time, literally, is money), it is a financial quicksand.

I was behind the demonetisation drive when it was announced but withdrew my support when I realised that it was poorly executed. 

After engaging in far too many confrontations, both online and offline, I have realised that it doesn’t achieve much. Over the years, I have lost several friends who thought my stance interferes with their broadcast of communalism (I am the better for the loss, but that’s another story).

In wake of last week’s events, I hope people from both extremes can sober up for a moment and take account of the shortcomings of their blind support. The liberals need to get behind candidates who stand for more than dynasty politics and the right-wing needs to question if their hate for The Other is actually doing them any good.

It is not necessary to owe allegiance to an ideology because those who can read our emotions often polarise us into neat categories.

I’d like to share a quote by Marjane Satrapi that gives an insight into the decreasing chasms between cultures (I think the same applies to differing political groups): “The world is not divided between East and West. You are American, I am Iranian, we don’t know each other, but we talk together and we understand each other perfectly. The difference between you and your government is much bigger than the difference between you and me. And the difference between me and my government is much bigger than the difference between me and you. And our governments are very much the same.”

Also read: Why is Modi betraying panic after demonetisation?

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