Modi "sees himself as a Hindu God King" and is "the grandmaster of majoritarian division": Historian, Novelist and Columnist, Mukul Kesavan, to Karan Thapar for The Wire.
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In an interview to discuss and analyze the two and a half month long election campaign that ended at 5.00 p.m. yesterday evening (Thursday 30th), the well-known historian, novelist and columnist, Mukul Kesavan has said “it was a communal and divisive campaign”. He says India emerges from the campaign as a “majoritarian democracy” which identifies itself on the basis of excluding rather than including people.
Speaking specifically about Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the speeches and comments he’s made, Mr. Kesavan said he “sees himself as a Hindu God King” and, at another point, called him “the grandmaster of majoritarian division”.
Mr. Kesavan spoke at length about the Prime Minister’s description of Indian Muslims, who are fellow citizens, as infiltrators (ghusapaithiyon) and people who have more children than others. He said the use of the word ghusapaithiyon by the Prime Minister suggests he sees Muslims as “alien”, “outsiders” and “not one of us”.
In the 33-minute interview to Karan Thapar for The Wire, Mr. Kesavan also spoke critically of Rahul Gandhi’s use of the word “chamchi” to refer to the television anchor Rubika Liyaquat. Ms. Liyaquat was the anchor to whom Mr. Modi alleged his birth was not biological. Mr. Kesavan said it would have been preferable if Mr. Gandhi had not personalized his comment and instead referred to Ms. Liyaquat as one of many sycophantic anchors that seem to proliferate in Indian television journalism.
The interview covered a whole range of issues connected with the two and a half month election campaign that has just ended. It is an attempt to assess and understand the campaign and also place it in some perspective. Not only did the interview cover a range of comments and speeches made by the Prime Minister as well as comments and speeches made by Rahul Gandhi but it also discussed how the Election Commission acquitted itself as referee, whether the Commission lacks the courage and even integrity to take tough decisions about Mr. Modi, and how the media handled the campaign and, in particular, interviews with the Prime Minister.
Finally, the interview raises questions about whether the campaign lived up to India’s boast of being the world’s biggest democracy, whether issues that really matter to the people were raised or whether they were circumvented by talk of mangalsutras, mutton, the Ram temple, Pakistan and Mr. Modi’s alleged immaculate conception.
Finally, Mr. Kesavan compared the majoritarian and targeted nature of the 2024 campaign to the campaign of 1984 that followed Indira Gandhi’s assassination and the Sikh pogrom of the time.
If you should wish to sit back and reflect upon the two and a half month election campaign in a way that seeks to understand and assess what you have seen, heard and lived through for the last 75 days, then I strongly suggest you watch this interview with Mukul Kesavan.
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20 авг 2024
