India After Modi

by Ajay Gudavarthy

  However, the moot question that remains to be answered is whether the human costs of the revolution justify the benefits it promises to usher in? Even if there is a political justification of violence, can we offer a moral justification given the human costs involved, including the uncertainty of a revolution succeeding in today’s context of militarily and technologically powerful states? Similarly, it is also important to understand if the Maoists have a single one-size-fits-all kind of insurrection, given the regional variations, including in culture and in political economy in a large country like India. Is there then a need for a post-Maoist strategy signifying variations that include experiments to forge an alliance with other non-class, non-militant political mobilizations; contest elections; and democratize available institutions of representation? Similar is the need to highlight both the danger of the militarization of a political movement and the need to moderate violence and remain open to public criticism. The Maoist movement has time and again demonstrated the potential to go astray with their killings, including killing more of their own social base in whose name they mobilize against the ‘enemy class’. There is something in the sociology of armed movements that makes violence and weapons to control politics and ideologies.

  ‘Sandwich Theory’ and ‘Non-Sovereign Agency’

  Finally, there are a large number of issues that the edited volume—Revolutionary Violence versus Democracy: Narratives from India—attempted to problematize with regard to the question of subaltern agency. Can we equate the Party with the People? What type of agency does the subaltern—who is not directly part of the armed movement—wield in the contexts of armed movements? Can this kind of agency be referred to as ‘non-sovereign agency’, as against a simple-minded idea of a ‘sandwich theory’, where the subaltern is understood to be unwittingly caught between the state and the revolution? Similarly, it’s important to ask even those who are part of the militant movement if they participate because of the high idealism that the movement espouses or due to practical and immediate imperatives and contingencies that they find themselves in. If it is the latter, then how will it manifest itself in the workings of the Maoist politics?

  The contest between ‘revolutionary violence and democracy’ is an open-ended one with both raising pertinent issues that need to be mutually addressed, recasting them beyond a simple binary opposition constituted as one versus the other, notwithstanding the ongoing contestation that awaits not a closure but an inauguration of a new imagination of politics itself. Future of democracy in India will have to negotiate with this long-standing issue of the use of violence as a legitimate means by the subaltern groups. Even as we avoid a moralistic critique or dismissal of violence, similar to the way we need to avoid a moralistic rejection of the Right, we need to find new routes to connect the legitimacy of violent mobilizations to its more popular versions in articulating the limits and possibilities of democracy in India.

  Notes and References

  Introduction: Populism and the Afterlife of Democracy

  1For the meaning of dialectics, refer to: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/dialectic. This is an art of considering opposite theories to arrive at the truth. The Right performs this art of combining the opposite elements only at the level of performance or to produce a demonstrative effect.

  2Refer to: Jha, Dhirendra K., Shadow Armies: Fringe Organisations and Foot Soldiers of Hindutva. New Delhi: Juggernaut, 2017. For a quick review of the book, refer to: http://www.thehindu.com/books/books-reviews/foot-soldiers-of-hindutva-cogs-in-the-wheel/article19140540.ece

  3Refer to: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/RSS-chief-Mohan-Bhagwat-pitches-for-review-of-reservation-policy/articleshow/49041309.cms. The RSS chief on more than one occasion called for the review of reservations to ascertain who needs what and for how long.

  4On the links between caste and communalism, refer to: Menon, Dilip. The Blindness of Insight: Essays on Caste in Modern India. New Delhi: Navayana, 2005.

  5This partly explains the growing tensions between Dalits and Muslims across India. For a detailed report on the growing rift between the two communities, refer to: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/uttar-pradesh/express-investigation-part-iii-dalit-muslim-divide-deepens-goes-rural

  6In a personal conversation with a young Kashmiri Pandit girl, when asked about their support to the RSS, she said, ‘What other option is there for us?’ In other words, even if they wish to see the subjugation and being pushed as becoming increasingly vulnerable, they are left with no other tangible option.

  7Rahul Pundita, a Kashmiri Pandit, in a television interview opposed the violence of the armed forces against the Muslims in the valley. On asked how could he do it in spite of himself being a victim of displacement, he said, ‘I lost my home, not my humanity.’ Refer to: Pundita, Rahul. Our Moon Has Blood Clots: The Exodus of the Kashmiri Pandits. New Delhi: RHI, 2013.

  8For information on the movement by the Marathas, refer to: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/maratha-quota-rally-devendra-fadnavis-dalit-reservation-3041577/

  9Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali had to convince the Rajput community that the movie does not hurt the pride of their community. Refer to: https://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/padmavat-row-on-rajput-pride-and-distortion-of-history-heres-what-sanjay-leela-bhansali-has-to-say/1015404/

  10Rahul Gandhi famously argued that Mr Modi is never visible in presence of the poor. Refer to: http://indianexpress.com/article/north-east-india/modi-suit-boot-sarkar-rahul-gandhi-meghalaya-bjp-5046510/

  11In the run up to the general elections of 2014, Modi said, ‘I do not want to become the PM, I want to be a Chowkidar’. Refer to: https://www.indiatoday.in/india/video/narendra-modi-bjp-jhansi-rally-prime-minister-vs-chowkidar-423931-2013-10-25

  12Soon after demonetization, Prime Minister Modi demanded he be hung in public if the corrupt were not brought to justice in 50 days.

  13Anna Hazare lead the movement demanding electoral reforms and a direct democracy. It is more than a coincidence that anti-corruption movements are often followed by the rise of the Right.

  14Yogi Adityanath pursued an active policy of ‘encounter’ killing of the ‘criminals’; the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh justified the killing of the activists of SIMI in what looked like a staged encounter.

  15In Bhopal, in March 2018, four rapists were paraded by the police where the public, including women, could slap, abuse, and lynch them. The police felt this was a more effective way of controlling the menace of sexual violence than producing them before the courts. Refer to: https://www.thequint.com/news/india/madhya-pradesh-rape-accused-paraded-in-bhopal-slapped-by-crowd.

  16I had referred to this phenomenon as the ‘Rightward Shift in Dalit Politics’, refer to: http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/comment-a-rightward-shift-in-dalit-politics/article6405607.ece

  17Refer to: http://rss.org//Encyc/2016/3/14/rss-resolution-social-harmony.html

  18The survey was conducted in December 2017 in Osmania University in Hyderabad and Telangana University in Nizamabad. I am thankful to Rajesh who helped with the necessary contacts and in providing important inputs during the survey. This survey was funded by the DSA programme at CPS, JNU.

  19The Right also has made amendments to its activities in taking a lead to burning the Manusmriti in some universities, while claiming that its support for untouchability and varna system was a later addition by the Communists who wish to delegitimise Hindu society since they are ‘Western’ in their outlook. Many Dalit activists seemed to believe in this narrative of a past free of caste system.

  20Earlier sociologists referred to this process as Sanskritization. Upgraded Shudra castes today are ruling elites in many parts of India, and therefore, resistance has always coexisted with assimilationist strategies.

  21As I said earlier, this is reflected in blaming the Muslims for creating the caste system or the communists for wrongly entering caste-based practices in ancient scripts that did not
originally have them. Refer to: http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/politics-without-opposition/article6482127.ece.

  22Earlier, this was referred to as the Bharat versus India. Today, it is a more sharpened difference that overlaps with agrarian crisis at one end and dysfunctional liberal institutions at the other.

  23Refer to: ://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/ambedkar-and-kanshi-ram-so-alike-yet-so-different/article3405293.ece

  24While RSS pracharaks claim the word ‘industry’ came from Indus valley signifying the ‘fact’ that Indus valley was the first industrialized society, Dalit-Bahujan intellectuals such as Illiah have claimed that the surname appa (like Yeddyurappa in Karnataka) comes from the ‘fact’ that they were the original inhabitants of the Harappan civilization. Both can be considered either as distortions of history or ‘creative assertion’ against a past that has remained denied. Refer to: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/distortion-of-history-a-terror-of-different-nature-historian/story-zlxAgC6bVFBkhlNaBy2ArO.html

  25Gandhi attempted a similar method of politicizing the given location but with a transformative purpose, even though it had at times the effect of reinforcing hegemonic practices.

  26Goodhart, David. The Road to Somewhere: The Populist Revolt and the Future of Politics. London: C.Hurst and Co., 2017.

  27In Kerala, for instance, the growth of Left politics has to also do with the reforms initiated by Narayan Guru. The Left neither acknowledges nor takes those modes and spirit of socio-spiritual transformation.

  28Refer to: https://www.guystanding.com/files/documents/The_Precariat_final_summary_GCPH_Nov_11.pdf

  Part I Introduction

  1Refer to: https://postcard.news/exposing-the-hypocrisy-of-the-award-wapsi-gang-an-open-letter-to-shabnam-hashmi/

  Part I Populism And Authoritarianism

  1Refer to: Alexander, Jefferey. Performance and Power. https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Performance+and+Power-p-9780745655666

  2Refer to: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/pulled-strings-and-got-away-says-lawyer-who-attacked-jnus-kanhaiya-kumar-1278475

  3In sociology, ‘deviance’ refers to any behaviour that challenges or lies outside the established social norms. Refer to: https://www.cliffsnotes.com/study-guides/sociology/deviance-crime-and-social-control/theories-of-deviance

  4Refer to: https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/telengana-to-jnu-attack-on-kanhaiya-kumar-invokes-dark-history-of-lawyer-led-goondaism-116021800189_1.html

  (This article refers to lawyers’ attack on Dalits along with other attacks by lawyers under the current regime. The point is that there is a social location of those indulging in wanton acts of violence.)

  5Cultural subalterns, non-English speaking, non-urban, first-generation learners from upper castes, among others. In the introduction, I have argued that lower castes and first-generation learners among upper castes from rural hinterlands can together constitute the new cultural subalterns.

  6This refers to how perceptions matter more than empirical efficacy. Clear instances of this are popular beliefs about Muslims having more children and becoming a majority andthat there is more bigamy or polygamy among Muslims, while data shows otherwise. Refer to: https://thewire.in/politics/rss-claims-rapid-growth-muslim-population-simply-false

  7Symbolic space refers to perceptions based on symbolism that are not necessarily empirical. Again, the example of Muslims can be invoked here. Popular statements such as ‘All Muslims are not terrorists but all terrorists are Muslims’. Please refer to: https://thewire.in/communalism/jaipur-hssf-fair-hindu-groups-love-jihad-gau-raksha

  8Refer to: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/Amartya-Sen-terms-demonetisation-a-despotic-action/article16730675.ece

  Amartya Sen referred to demonetization as a disaster on economy of trust.

  Further reference: https://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/demonetisation-was-arbitrary-larry-summers/article20049323.ece

  9Bauman, Zygmut. Search of Politics. London: Polity, 1997.

  10It refers to birth-based identities, such as religion and caste.

  11There is an ongoing demand from those involved in sex work and social activists to legalize sex work in order to provide them more legal rights and entitlements.

  Refer to: https://www.livemint.com/Politics/H8Xbgos8CjOYE57bcKppPL/Sex-workers-demand-legalization-of-prostitution.html

  12Neo-liberal economy is also pushing forward the ideas of choice and autonomy as guiding principles in social and cultural life.

  13Freedom, for instance; freedom of expression and civil liberties are being undermined in light of a growing sense of insecurity.

  14Modi broke down while his name was proposed as the Prime Minister.

  Refer to: https://www.firstpost.com/business/modi-breaks-down-in-parliament-promises-to-live-up-to-expectations-2007063.html

  15Earlier discourses of equality referred to structural change in property relations and private property. Today, when we talk of equality, we do not refer to such large-scale structural change in property relations but relative mobility of social groups and individuals who experience better standard of living in comparison to their peers or their previous generation. For further reading on this change in the popular notions of equality,

  Refer to: Philips, Anna. Which Equality Matters. London: Polity Press, 1999.

  16Refer to: Mishra, Pankaj. Age of Anger: A History of the Present. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2017.

  17Please refer to the below given article that draws a contrast between the idealism of Ambedkar and the shift pragmatism by Kanshi Ram in the context of Dalit politics.

  https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/ambedkar-and-kanshi-ram-so-alike-yet-so-different/article3405293.ece.

  18Refer to: Brass, Paul. Politics of India Since Independence. Cambridge University Press, 1994.

  19‘It’s a culture shock’, Kejriwal said when asked about the appropriateness of his dharna (protest) politics.

  Refer to: https://thediplomat.com/2014/02/kejriwal-resignation-failure-or-strategy/

  20For an extended debate on the interface between politics and Brahmacharya in Gandhi, Refer to: Adams, Jad. Gandhi: The Naked Ambition. Quercus, 2011.

  21Mandela retired from an active public life wanting to spend time with family and friends. Refer to: https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/06/0602_040602_mandela.html

  22Bush as a post-retirement avocation took to painting. Refer to: http://www.culturaldamage.com/george-w-bush-painting-loss-power/

  23Refer to: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/narendra-modi-the-leader-with-a-difference/article4221755.ece

  His supporters hail him as ‘Hindu Hriday Samrat’.

  24Refer to: ‘Trial By Fire’, India Today, 21 April 2018. He concludes the interview by saying, ‘Only a yogi or a sanyasi can deliver better result’.

  25Refer to: https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/bal-narendra-in-pics-comic-book-shows-fearless-young-narendra-modi-saving-drowning-boy-taking-on-crocodiles-bullies-676841.html

  26Refer to Yogi’s interview on the popular show Aap ki Adalat- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsdqhzaH7qU

  27It was alleged in 2004 that Ishrat Jahan was an LeT terrorist conspiring to kill Modi, the then chief minister of Gujarat. Refer to: https://www.indiatoday.in/india/west/story/cbi-pulls-up-ib-officer-input-regarding-life-threat-narendra-modi-let-india-today-165318-2013-06-02

  For Yogi’s claim of an attempt on his life, refer to the interview on Aap ki Adalat: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3g403j

  28Sanjiv Bhatt, a police officer, claimed he attended a meeting at which Mr Modi is alleged to have said that the Hindus should be allowed to vent their anger. Refer to: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-13170914

  With regard to Yogi, in an undated video, he is heard saying, ‘If one Hindu is killed, we won’t go to the police, we’ll kill 10 Muslims’. Refer to: https://scroll.in/article/832168/hindutva-unmasked-yogi-adityanath-bjps-most-strident-face-will-be-its-chief-minister-in-up

  29
BJP leader Subramanian Swamy maintains the opinion that Muslims who do not acknowledge their Hindu ancestry should be stripped of their voting rights.

  Refer to: https://blogs.economictimes.indiatimes.com/cursor/disenfranchise-the-jews-er-muslims/

  30This is a statement made by French philosopher Michael Foucault. The complete quote: ‘The strategic adversary is fascism... the fascism in us all, in our heads and in our everyday behavior, the fascism that causes us to love power, to desire the very thing that dominates and exploits us.’

  Refer to: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/22327-the-strategic-adversary-is-fascism-the-fascism-in-us-all

  31Miller, James. The Passion of Michael Foucault. London: Anchor books, 1994.

  32Hoess, Rudoplh. Commandant of Auschwitz. Phoenix, 2000.

  33Hoess, Rudoplh. Commandant of Auschwitz. Phoenix, 2000. p. 21.

  34Refer to: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/and-it-continues-kundan-shah-saeed-mirza-join-award-wapsi/story-t7guKRzkGv7ZrsTY6vOMZJ.html

  35Arun Jaitley’s statement. Refer to: https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/dadri-lynching-a-stray-incident-says-jaitley/article7830973.ece

  https://twitter.com/ANI/status/660739022852083712

  36Refer to: https://www.indiatoday.in/fyi/story/mahesh-sharma-bjp-mohammad-akhlaq-ravi-sisodia-bishada-345600-2016-10-08. Also https://newsclick.in/bjp-mla-dadri-assures-ntpc-jobs-akhlaqs-killers

  37Refer to: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/politics/modi-critics-should-go-to-pakistan-remark-bjp-leader-giriraj-singh-files-application-for-bail/

  38Refer to: https://twitter.com/ANI/status/660739022852083712

  39Refer to: https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/ramayana-mahabharata-are-true-accounts-of-the-periodnot-myths/291363