Ramachandra Guha: Mindless Modi monotheism and myth of the Great Messiah

by Guest Sat May 03, 2014 9:13 am

As it happens, Jawaharlal Nehru himself was not unaware of the dangers of blind adoration. In November 1937, the Modern Review of Calcutta carried a profile of Nehru, which spoke of “intolerance of others and a certain contempt for the weak and inefficient”. It noted that his conceit was “already formidable”, and worried that soon “Jawaharlal might fancy himself as a Caesar”. It was later revealed that the piece was written by Nehru himself, under the pen-name of Chanakya.

Nehru’s Caesarist tendencies were kept in check by his own self-awareness; and by the fact that he lived in an age of political giants. Within the Congress, Patel, Rajaji, B.C. Roy and others treated him with affection, not deference. The Opposition, meanwhile, had leaders of considerable self-respect and ability—such as Ram Manohar Lohia, S.P. Mookerjee, J.B. Kripalani, and A.K. Gopalan....

And now we have emergent the cult of Narendra Modi. Unlike the Indira and post-Indira Congress, and unlike regional parties such as the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Samajwadi Party, the Shiv Sena or the Biju Janata Dal, the Bharatiya Janata Party was never controlled or dominated by a single individual. It prided itself on its collectiveleadership. In the years when it rose to prominence and then to power — circa 1989 to 1999 — it regularly showcased three leaders. These were L.K. Advani, M.M. Joshi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, all of whom were accorded equal status in party propaganda. After Vajpayee became prime minister he was elevated above the rest, but only marginally —he was first among equals.

All this has now changed. In the run-up to the general elections of 2014, the BJP has increasingly subordinated itself to the will of a single individual. Modi’s PR machine steadily built him up as, first, the saviour of his party, and then, the Saviour of the Nation itself. The other leaders of the BJP have obediently laid down their liberties — and their critical faculties — at the feet of this one man. So have the party cadres. And now they ask that the rest of us follow.

There is, as one newspaper editor recently commented, a “mindless Modi monotheism” abroad. This cult of the One Great Leader has been nurtured and promoted by sycophantic writers and journalists, competing with one another to be to Modi what Deva Kanta Barooah once was to Indira Gandhi. They promise their readers that their Leader will clean up government, grow the economy by 10 per cent a year, take on Pakistan and China, and make India a Great Superpower. Even more aggressive are the band of cyber-hooligans who seek to express their bhakti not so much in praising their Hero as in abusing — in the most vulgar language — those who do not subscribe to the Myth of the Great Messiah.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1140503/jsp/opinion/story_18192582.jsp#.U2Tiu1cWcbk