An ode to the nation of stupids
This election was a testimony to the George Carlin who warned us to never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups and its time that we started calling those stupid people out.
Democracies fail not just because of corrupt politicians, but also because its citizens are gullible and its conscience keepers, pliable. They say that in Democracy the government is the will of the people and that the will of the people should be respected. But what do you do when that “will” is inherently flawed? A case in point is #Verdict2019. This election was billed as the common man’s answer to the 5 years of failure to lift the economy, create 1 crore jobs, double the farmer income, and show “Laal Aankh” to China, which by the way has decided to make a permanent settlement at Doklam since that crisis.
But what did we get in return? An even bigger mandate, and that too after a campaign that saw only Pakistan, Nehru (who didn’t let the Pradhansewak work for 5 years), Bharastachari No.1 Rajiv Gandhi, Tukde Tukde gang and a terror accused, with not even an iota of the mention of fabled “Achhe Din” of 2014.
The point is, the reasoning that election results are people’s verdict and that they should be held sacred is hypocritical. We are a nation of idiots, who revel in our ability to remain stupid and gullible. So, today let’s throw this cloak of political correctness aside and say this for what it is.
This mandate is a reflection of those 35–40% electorates who gave their precious vote to a party who promised them stars and delivered them stones. It’s a mandate on those people who believed that Modi is incorruptible and that he has removed corruption from the public life, despite being exposed to common scams like Rafale, Demonetization and to not-so-common scams like Electoral bonds and FCRA amendment.
It is a mandate on the new India’s new generation which is sitting at its home, unemployed but still think that Modi has done them a great service. It is a funny take on millions out there who are struggling to find a decent job and a decent salary, but are lecturing us on how good the last five years have been.
It is a mandate on those chest-thumping nationalists who think that Modi has made India strong, despite losing 40 precious lives to a terror attack in Pulwama and 22 CRPF lives in the jungles of Manipur, while the government of the day allowed ISI a tour of our military installations. It is a slap on the face of those who think that Modi has made India strong while we capitulated to an international bully to roll back a favorable oil deal from Iran and remained hesitant to raise reciprocating tariffs while bowing to their demands.
It is a telling proof of the people who have the audacity to stand before us and lecture us on terrorism and national security while supporting a party that nominated a terror-accused, campaigned for her and made her win. Even Pakistanis showed Hafiz Saeed his place when he tried standing for elections last year. But not us. And still, we have the gall to say that we are better than them.
It is an ode to those so-called “liberal” Hindus who turned their face the other side and pretended to not hear a thing when their co-passengers in their compartments spilled bile against another religion, knowing full well that those people share the same compartment too. It is a manifestation of the silence that they have maintained while people were getting lynched on the streets in the name of a cow.
It is a mandate on the “neutral” anchors who whing day and night about how low the media has fallen and calling them out to stand for truth, while remaining a part of it themselves, sharing their posts, and finding it utterly necessary to draw equivalences to the opposition after they have reported a fact about the ruling class. “BJP did this thing wrong, but Congress shouldn’t thump their chest. They did this too”. For god sake, we know what Congress did and they are paying for it.
This mandate is a joke on the numerous white collared, iPhone totting educated elites who never came out of their social media feeds and think that ignorance and idiocy are fashionable. It is a joke on self-proclaimed “refined/s” whose idea of general awareness is tuning into the 9 PM idiot boxes.
It is a telling remark of the lumpen who believe that it is laughable to support a candidate like Atishi and Kanhaiya but perfectly okay to vote for a big mouth like Giriraj Singh and a terror accused like Pragya Thakur. It is a gift to those new converts who till a few years back where shaded red but have suddenly realized that saffron is their color.
It is a harbinger of new India. It is the culmination of a strange fascination that still keeps on believing that “Hindus Khatre Mein Hain”, even after winning 336 seats five years ago and wresting power back in 16 states.
Welcome to the nation of stupids.
