Patriotism bogey - idiots galore

The patriotic fervour, which the BJP unleashed in the country after JNU's “anti-national” sloganeering controversy, has reached a crescendo after its overt politicisation of the Army’s reported “surgical strikes” inside Pakistan last month. Hysterical television media has been helping the regime in its effort to intoxicate the gullible citizens with crude patriotic overdose.

Patriotism is loving one's country. It sounds innocuous and noble, but when it degenerates into chauvinism, xenophobia, and jingoism, this patriotism becomes extremely dangerous and suicidal. This is what had made Albert Einstein hate “all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism”.

Patriots are often viewed as people who support their country's leaders under any circumstances. The idea of “love it or leave it” can be politically beneficial for the party in power, but there is no doubt it breeds distrust in society and weakens a country’s solidarity.

Patriotism like racism can place some people above others. Patriotism in India is taking that turn and fast becoming the language of Hindutva forces. Besides being socially destructive and politically devious, the hyperpatriotic emotions can be economically delusional.

According to a survey by Pew Research Centre published on September 15, 2016, nearly two-thirds (63 per cent) of Indians support increased defence spending. In a country like India, where unemployment has shot up to a five-year high in 2015-16 and the nation is home to nearly 200 million undernourished people, which is the highest in the world, and more than 300,000 farmers have killed themselves in the last 20 years due to economic hardship, the popular clamour for higher military spending is highly disturbing.

Now let’s talk about nationalism. As someone who applauds the surgical strikes and has only contempt for doubters, I have to say that the hyper-nationalism of recent weeks disgusts me. It reveals the Hindu inferiority complex in the most embarrassing way. It may not be politically correct to say this, but Hindus appear to have developed this inferiority complex because of having been ruled by foreigners for so long. It has such deep roots that it is not unusual to hear normally sensible people become starry-eyed about Indira Gandhi because she won ‘our first war in a thousand years’. Well it is time to grow up.

It is a sad thing to admit, but it has been felt since September 29 that the BJP has allowed the worst kind of Hindutva warriors to try and steal the glory that belongs only to the Army. If the fake nationalists currently attacking Bollywood are real patriots, let them send their children to fight on our borders. I say this because as the daughter of an Army officer it annoys me to hear jingoistic talk from people who baulk at the thought of sending their sons to die in the war they want others to fight. Could it be time to consider compulsory military service?

“I’m absolutely clear about one thing — for me, it is always country first,” said Mukesh Ambani, the chairman of Reliance Industries and India’s richest businessman. Cricketer Gautam Gambhir has uttered similar words. So have Bollywood actors Ajay Devgan and Nana Patekar.

When headlines in India quote this one line or a variant thereof, you know the rest of the story: In the name of love for the nation, someone has just tried to make xenophobia sound cool. It is the story of rising intolerance in India.

Fawad Khan, the handsome Pakistani actor with a massive fan following in India as well, plays a part in a forthcoming Bollywood film, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, directed by Karan Johar. The Mumbai-based xenophobic political party, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), wanted to stall the release of the film, scheduled for October 28, and threatened to vandalize movie theaters screening the film.

After Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ intervention, they’ve now called off their protests, but have asked all film producers using Pakistani actors in their films to pay 50 million Indian rupees ($748,000) to the Indian Army. The money presumably is meant to absolve them from the sin of a lack of patriotism.

Earlier, the Indian Motion Picture Producers’ Association passed a resolution to disallow Pakistanis from working in Bollywood. And the Mumbai film festival cancelled the screening of the famous Pakistani 1959 film, Jago Hua Savera.

At some level, it looks like collective insanity has taken hold over the nation. It’s almost fashionable to not make sense at all. Take the example of Mukesh Ambani. From a business leader like him, one would expect a more pro-industry remark, something that improves the business atmosphere. But he chooses to jeopardize the commerce of Karan Johar’s film with his “nation comes first” remark.  And he does so in the name of the nation