Over the last several millennia, political influence has been in a constant state of change, at any given geographical location in the world. The story of human civilization has been one of a never-ending cycle of the rise and fall of societies and nations. For most of history, military invasion and expansion was the main model through which ideologies and power centers expanded their control. In recent centuries a more sophisticated approach has emerged. We have all heard of the ‘divide and rule’ strategy, at some point in our lives, and presume that we have a good working understanding of the concept. However, I believe, there are several subtle aspects of it, that need to be considered carefully.
Most of us would agree that it is preferable to be a society that is open to ideas, rather than one under the grip of inflexible dogma. However, this openness also exposes such populations to being actively manipulated and divided. In the case of India, the creation of competing narratives has been particularly useful in keeping ordinary people preoccupied and confused. Power structures have been able to act in their own selfish interest, while directing the energy of the rest into areas that suit them. But this is not a story born today. If we take a few steps back, our history stands testament to similar pockets of self-interest disrupting kingdoms.
The aftermath of the first war of Indian independence, in 1857, resulted in a change in some crucial British policies. Looking into the history of the era, one realizes just how close the Indian side had come to military success at the time. The main result of that conflict was a shift in emphasis from military control, to maintaining empire by controlling ideas. From a strategy based on annexing land and kingdoms, the East India Company initially moved to relying on the support of small princely states by appeasing their interests. With the passing of power to the English crown, the approach to maintaining power was refined further. And a similar approach, of creating artificial ideologies, sharing a bit of power or introducing opportunistic individuals as controlled opposition, continued throughout the British Empire, something acknowledged by historians as one of the reasons for the Bengal Army reorganization. (Peel report)
The Mind as a Battlefield
Fast track to today, and nothing much seems to have changed, except possibly the post-independence politics further empowering the self-serving system. I firmly believe that it is these policies and strategies that have led to the divide we are experiencing in modern India. Where recent years, and some very recent incidents, have required us to take a stand in identifying where the fault lies, I feel placing the blame entirely on an “external enemy” is half the story.
Modern India needs to wake up to and acknowledge the fact that what has been the age-old affliction of our society, and possibly several ancient societies, continues till today – the divisiveness born of personal greed and gain, which has been exploited before, and continues to be so. I think its time we start looking at the ‘enemy within’. And by this I mean no reference to any religious or political ideologies. Rather to the sections which flourish and profit by creating chaos and unrest among the masses.
By its nature, India is an inherently pluralistic civilization. Not only has it made room for ideas of external origin, it has given birth to diverse ideologies from within its borders as well. Debate has been a central part of our culture for millennia. Unfortunately, in independent India, this capacity for dialogue has been used by the political class to divide and secure vote banks based on identity or ideology. What has further complicated matters is that an entire ecosystem of self-interests has emerged to support this divisive style of politics, whether in academia or journalism. For decades, political leaning has been used to control access and career advancement in these critical fields of a democratic nation. How do we go about achieving this, without creating so much difference in opinion, that it becomes a means to control and sabotage us?
For a civilization to thrive, it needs to create a respectful and open space for all ideas to prosper. However, in the case of a society or a nation, this space needs to be used responsibly for the greatest good of all. The human intellect knows no limits and a free mind will always pursue ideas. In my opinion, this will always attract manipulative political forces who seek to gain power on the basis of creating divisions. In India this has spun out of control and we now have one of the most disappointingly opportunistic political class in the world.
As I had pointed out earlier, such a system of power sharing spreads beyond the political sphere very easily. As successive generations of politicians have worked on the means to maintain their support, they have resorted to actively creating classes of ‘intellectuals’ who operate in pseudo-consensus and propagate thinly veiled propaganda. It is commonplace for Indian journalists, artists and academics, of all sorts of political leanings, to confidently spout ideas that can be easily exposed as disingenuous and flat out incorrect. Questioning these worthies is then defended with hysteria and more self-serving narratives. To me, it is equally ridiculous to question how each individual expresses their patriotism or to label a person with a differing opinion as a ‘troll’. If any argument is reduced to an adjective or an insinuation, it should be considered weak and discarded.
Civilization is an ongoing conversation with ourselves
A democracy is always prone to becoming a noisy madhouse, if its citizens shirk the responsibility of aspiring to an evolved and mature national conversation. Ultimately, the quality of a political discourse depends entirely on us, the people. The one basic weakness of democracy is that it is prone to manipulation through education and polluting the available information. I must stress that the only means to overcome this is by It is sometimes said that people get the government they deserve in a democracy. I would make an even wider statement and say that citizens are directly responsible for the political climate of a democracy. There is no other lever of control that can ensure a political class that works for the greater national good, in any country, apart from enlightened citizens. It is inevitable for politicians and political parties to be opportunistic, when it comes to democratic elections. All leadership, good or bad, is built on ideas. The onus is on the ordinary citizen to ensure that they will not get swept up in manipulative ploys and strategies.
Change takes time, but this is no cause for pessimism. All great achievements take time. It is always the case that unraveling something of beauty takes very little time in contrast to creating it. What this should show us, is that any effort we can make towards educating ourselves and gaining a real understanding of issues is an investment in our own future. We will need to first rejuvenate the evolved mind-space which India was historically home to. I’m not referring to specific ideas, but to our tradition of intellectual honesty, rationality and introspection.
Unified, but diverse
As the Indian economy expands, it is inevitable that a new class of the wealthy and middleclass will emerge. As generations turn, the consensus will change. As demographics blur, new identities will ask for their representation. Given the huge diversity that India has always been host to, I truly believe that it is one of the few large nations in the world that can organically evolve from traditional identities to their future version. In order to do this, Indians cannot look to western democracies for inspiration. Unfortunately, the supposedly greatest minds of the early 20th century, from that part of the world, came to a consensus that the general population has to be controlled in order for order to prevail. If that seems harsh to the reader, I would invite them to study the works of such highly regarded men and women for themselves. I believe Indians should have a far greater respect for the general citizen than seeing them as an individual who needs to be pacified and sedated through marketing and rampant materialism. This is a challenging task but one that we must take on.
In many ways, battling external enemies is easier and people tend to gather around ideas more easily. However, for all who aspire to a truly evolved civilization and society, it is impossible to shirk the responsibility of taking on the enemy within. These are not ‘evil’ people, they are simply individuals who have created lives that are based on their acting to propagate propaganda and manipulate others. I doubt if most such persons actually see themselves as such. Undoing these hypocrisies will be hampered by the self-congratulation that many minds have been trained to indulge in. It is often said that change comes about in science when a generation that held onto a previous belief has passed on. For India to emerge as a truly enlightened and free-thinking society that has left behind the intellectual sabotage of colonialism, and the post- independence opportunism that has reinforced it, a similar time-scale might be needed. We should all participate as rational and enlightened individuals in that process secure that true intellectual freedom and goodwill towards all, will eventually prevail.
