Farmers Movement Archive

Craving for power and fetish for nationalism

There is something paradoxical about the discourse of power. The more powerful you are, the more fearful you become. Yes, the craving for or blind attachment to power causes terrible insecurity. It sees conspiracy everywhere; it cannot trust and communicate; and it only erects walls of separation.What else do you see at the Ghazipur, Singhu and Tikri borders? Those barricades and iron nails reveal how the ruling regime, despite its messiah and huge propaganda machinery, functions with almost neurotic fear, anxiety and insecurity. Yes, whoever is not in tune with its policies, as it is argued, is necessarily a conspirator. Hence, the farmers who have been fighting for their rights are either ‘misguided’ (influenced by a bunch of Maoists, Khalistanis or tukde-tukde gang) or ‘anti-national’. In fact, these days, any critical voice is seen as a threat to the ‘unity’ of the nation.As we find ourselves amid the epidemic of FIRs and sedition charges, the ‘enemies’ of the nation are discovered every day. A journalist with conscience (not like those noisy television anchors who seem to have monopolised the absolute right to ‘love’ the nation), a human rights activist, a young student guided by the ideals of equity and justice, or a leader of the farmers’ movement trying his best to retain the practice of non-violent resistance or satyagraha: don’t spare anybody, stigmatise them, harass them through court cases, and if necessary, send them to prisons.Yes, this toxic culture filled with fear, suspicion and surveillance is an inevitable consequence of the discourse of power that has made the ruling regime terribly afraid of losing its authority. No wonder, even a tweet by Greta Thunberg or Rihanna can unsettle the government. And, some of our spineless celebrities were required to demonstrate their ‘nationalist’ spirit through what is being regarded as a Twitter war. Yes, this is the story of our moral, intellectual and cultural fall. And everything is justified in the name of ‘nationalism’.Well, nationalism as a psychic emotion is immensely powerful. As history shows, it can inspire a defeated nation to fight the tyranny of colonial power; it can arouse a positive life energy for collective welfare (imagine the emphasis Gandhi put on constructive work); and it can activate the spirit of selfless work and courage to strive for a higher goal (think of a martyr like Khudiram Bose or Bhagat Singh).However, the discourse of nationalism, as we are witnessing right now, can be completely distorted for a purely divisive and partisan purpose. For instance, when the ruling regime speaks of nationalism, what it means is essentially majoritarian ‘Hindu’ nationalism.It does three damages. First, it marginalises and stigmatises the minorities; it is like saying that a ‘Hindu’ nationalist has to continually suspect his/her ‘other’ — a ‘Muslim traitor’. In fact, this stimulant nationalism, far from generating a positive/altruistic life energy, activates negative emotions and psychology of hatred. In the cacophony of Jai Shri Ram, there is no religiosity of love and tenderness; it looks like a noisy slogan of war— a warning that the ‘enemies’ of the nation must be careful.Second, as our moral/ethical sensibilities decline, this sort of nationalism becomes terribly compulsive and exhibitionist. It doesn’t matter even if one is corrupt, brute and insensitive. The only thing that you need to do is to hate Pakistan, see all Kashmiri Muslims as potential terrorists, demonise humanistic values, and celebrate all sorts of hyper-masculine militaristic gestures to prove your ‘loyalty’ to the nation. Hatred — not silent and honest work for collective welfare — is its fundamental characteristic.Third, even though it rests on ‘Hindu pride’, it does a great damage to the pluralistic/syncretic spirit of Hinduism. There is no bhakti or love of Kabir or Surdas in the Bajrang Dal variety of Hinduism; there is no culture of debate that characterises different schools of Hindu philosophy in the prevalent monologue; and it is not easy for the likes of Savarkar to appreciate Gandhi’s experimental Hinduism and cross-religious dialogue.In other words, the prevalent nationalism corrupts Hinduism (even though it cleverly appropriates Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo and even BR Ambedkar) by transforming it into an exclusivist/hierarchical/fundamentalist doctrine. This logic of nationalism is used, time and again, to condemn, silence and punish all those — farmers, students, teachers, struggling masses — who critique the policies of the ruling regime. In other words, through this discourse of nationalism, democracy seems to have been degenerated into some sort of totalitarianism.Yes, this is the time to question this fetish of nationalism, and strive for something higher and nobler. Let us acquire the courage to say that nationalism as an ideology can prove to be a monster if it is not simultaneously elevated to a higher stage through the spirit of love, compassion, universalism and true cosmopolitanism. Only then is it possible for us to sharpen the faculty of self-critique, and see an ugly thing as ugly even if my nation does it. And then, we should not be offended if Greta Thunberg expresses her anguish over the way the government has dealt with the farmers.It was the same reason that once led us to critique America’s imperialistic policy, and stand for Vietnam. Or, these days, many of us, irrespective of our nationalities, critiqued the notorious phenomenon called Trumpism. No, this should not be seen as interference into the ‘internal’ matter of the nation. Love transcends all borders and boundaries. Globalisation should not be seen as mere McDonaldisation of the world; there is no meaning in globalisation if we do not acquire the courage to expand our horizon, and overcome the psychic boundaries that militant and toxic nationalism creates.

The Tribune

2021-02-10