How Modi colonises our minds

Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a rally in Bengaluru on August 26. Pic/X

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to convene a special session of Parliament, from September 18 to September 22, has the nation guessing regarding its purpose. Will Modi advance the Lok Sabha elections? Or will he conduct simultaneous polls for the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies, and how? Will the special session pass the long-pending Women's Reservation Bill as well as enact a Uniform Civil Code?

The suspense and speculation have had concrete outcomes: it has trained the spotlight on Modi, denied the I.N.D.I.A alliance a rare opportunity to monopolise the proscenium of the Indian political theatre, and driven out from the news cycle the charge that the Adanis illegally funnelled funds to boost the share prices of their companies. For long, the Adanis have been Modi's Achilles' heel, their relationship touted as a classic example of crony capitalism.

Surprise and suspense define Modi's style of politics, which is designed to colonise the minds of his supporters and critics alike. We define our politics in reference to Modi. He does not let us forget him. Even his absence and silence become talking points - as, for instance, in the ongoing crisis of Manipur and during the wrestlers' protest against sexual harassment. He insinuates himself into the moments the nation is in raptures, as he did during the live telecast of India landing on the moon, denying us a clear view of the historic moment.

But then, colonising missions seldom take into account the interests of the colonised, nor do they tolerate a competing power, as the leaders of the I.N.D.I.A alliance have experienced - raided and jailed, and losing their governments through defections. Modi can brook no new narrative, lest it should impede him from completely colonising our minds.

Surprise is Modi's instrument to have the nation obsessing about him. His 2016 demonetisation policy was a surprise he sprang on an unsuspecting nation. We kept thinking of him as we stood in queues to exchange old currency notes for new ones. He ordered an overnight lockdown on March 24, 2020, sending lakhs of desperate people walking hundreds of kilometres home. They suffered, and yet they thought of him.

These two episodes spotlighted the grim consequences of governing by surprise, instilling in us the fear that Modi does not necessarily think through policies that seem path-breaking but are, in reality, devastating. Our collective fear is driving the speculation on the purpose behind the special session. And this speculation has been given a direction with the formation of a panel under former President Ram Nath Kovind to study the feasibility of holding simultaneous polls for the Lok Sabha and all state assemblies.

It is moot whether Kovind can deliver a report in a fortnight, although it would be foolish to rule out such a possibility under the Modi rule. Indeed, the ground for preparing simultaneous polls would be inordinately difficult, for it would require several constitutional amendments, which will invariably get stuck in the Rajya Sabha as a two-third majority is required to pass them. The BJP cannot muster this number even with the help of supporting parties. No party still having a tenure of a year and more in power in states would vote for liquidating its own government.

But certainly, a discussion on simultaneous polls in the special session could become a national talking point, with Modi citing the amount of money the exchequer would save to build his case. To prove the nobility of his intent, his selflessness, he could advance the Lok Sabha elections to coincide with the polls in five states in December - Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram - saying he has shortened his own tenure for the nation's good.

Add to these states Maharashtra and Haryana, where the Bharatiya Janata Party is in coalition governments and which will have their Assembly elections next year - they could be asked to opt for simultaneous polls in December. Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh elect their Assemblies along with the Lok Sabha elections. Their chief ministers might feel they have nothing to lose from limited simultaneous elections in December, and thus buy into Modi's plan. Such a scenario will have him take the high moral ground with a compelling narrative.

His projection of simultaneous polls as a national need, however, conceals his fear of performing poorly or modestly in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. In such an eventuality, his domination of the national consciousness would be challenged. Like colonial powers, Modi suffers from insecurities. Modi has alienated so many that he fears the consequences of being out of power. Relentless domination of the national psyche is his way of combating his fears.

Perhaps the talk of simultaneous polls is just a red herring, and the special session has been called to pass the Women's Reservation Bill or to introduce a bill banning polygamy, the practice of halala and such like, which could be packaged as a step towards evolving a UCC. Perhaps Modi has planned surprises we simply have no clue about.

The growing suspense over the special session has reduced the mental state of the nation to that of viewers watching a thriller, driven to the edge, wondering what the denouement would be. Filmmakers colonise the mind for a couple of hours. Modi has colonised ours for nine years.

Surprises, suspense and a colonised national mind do no good to our democracy.

The writer is a senior journalist

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