JCB School of Justice
Hitler in Nazi Germany used to claim, "I am the law", and Louis XIV earlier in France, "I am the state." Today, in India, our Topmost Leader seems to claim "I am everything: Legislative, Executive and Judiciary." Each section readily falls in line, happy to comply. Consequences follow.

Avay Shukla, in his "Holy Cows and Loose Cannons" (Paranjoy, Manipal, 2025), says that the IPC has been replaced by JCB: Parliament House destroyed; houses of Muslims and weaker groups bulldozed in Delhi, UP, Assam.

He continues, "I have discovered that whereas to build is human, to demolish is divine." Such a craze drives our present Regime: Babri Masjid in 1992, Ernakulam in 2019, selective demolition of the houses in the name of environment, (of Muslims as though they are all Bangladeshis). Over 50,000 people have been rendered homeless in Delhi (countless in Assam). Bulldozer justice demands, "Bend to the Top Leader's norms or be wiped out!"

"Demolition is good governance," think Adityanath Yogi and Himanta Biswa Sarma. UP and Assam have initiated 'Encounter' Killings in addition.

Modiji Keeps Count of Criticisms Received
'Indians are losing their height,' points out Shukla in good humour; they are being 'cut to size by the Prime Minister.' They have sunk to the height of Neanderthal Man, about 5 feet ... a man of few words, but liberal use of the club. Loyalists feel protected, being under a man with a 56-inch chest, who will stand by them in right or wrong. They feel proud that he is treated like a god at the TV station.

It was very unfair of Kejriwal to question Modiji's education credentials, who has such a precise memory of the number of times he was criticised. PM was pleading for sympathy when he said in Karnataka that he was abused 91 times by other parties. Don't mistake the number, not 90 times, but 91 times!

But, as a Prime Minister, does he remember how many died of COVID, the extent of national loss due to his thoughtless demonetisation, or the cause of the economic slump, which Sitharaman described as an "Act of God" (meaning, the Government was helpless), or how many die of dog bites in a day?

The Supreme Court reported that there are approximately 20,000 dog bites per day in India, with 2,000 occurring in Delhi alone. Other reports mention 4.4 lakh dogs in Tamil Nadu, 17 lakh in Odisha, and 30,000 dog bites per year in Delhi. Many die of rabies; children are the greatest victims. However, these losses are trifles compared to an anti-national activity like criticising the PM.

Hinduism in Danger Trope
Shukla notices "A deliberate, calculated, nation-wide hysteria being built up to reinforce the 'Hinduism in danger' trope." The prime movers diligently keep negative memories alive and reopen wounds, using films like "Kashmir files" (recently "Bengal files"). But why are there no "Gujarat files 2002" nor "Northeast Delhi files 2020" where Muslims were killed, nor "Manipur files?" Shukla sees liberal values fast disappearing. Modiji has placed politics and religion under his unified authority.

As you see, Avay Shukla is bent on humour. Read no further if you cannot stand it. Or be selective and go ahead. His target is the Indian politician. He identifies a few. Accept only what is true.

Shukla argues, "A regime whose stock in trade is lies and untruth" has to control the press. Non-compliant editors and reporters have to be taken out of circulation. This task is "easy enough for a government that has all the corporates on a leash, and the corporates have the media in their pocket." There is no end to cases against critics. So, India proudly occupies the 142nd position out of 146 in the Press Freedom Index! Prejudices are carefully cultivated. You notice a big change from Nehru's 'fraternity' with Pakistan, for example, to Modi's 'firepower!'

Nationalism is a Shallow Display
Vasudevan Mukunth says that "'grandeur' has become the national pride over 'inclusion' of minorities and the downtrodden. And nationalism has become mere 'spectacle.'" While Yogi is manufacturing hatred and repression on an industrial scale, Narendra Modi skilfully complements him with "Olympian arrogance, cronyism, pandemic blunders, delusions of grandeur and encouragement of religious bigotry."

TV agencies openly propagate communalism and intolerance. Devotion to the Leader is ardently cultivated. Courts and Governors are instrumentalised. The Judiciary is eloquent in its ire for those who speak the truth to power. Criticism is called the 'intellectualism' of the urban elite. Pressmen faithfully report government handouts as thrilling national news. What is allowed for elections is only 'Mann ki baats.'

'Quit Thinking' Movement that Started in 2014
Were you aware that a "Quit Thinking" Movement began in 2014 under the Modi Regime? "We are by now accustomed to our ministers spouting nonsense...," e.g. Tripura Chief Minister claimed that Hindus had invented the internet 9,000 years ago. The ISRO Chairman claims that the Vedas contain references to the structure of the universe, aviation technology, and metallurgy.

Sakriya Jeshbhai Khimjibhai from Gujarat, who attacked the Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, said he was prompted by Lord Krishna to come to Delhi. This is the furthest extent to which obscurantism can take the nation. With this background, we can present India as Viswaguru in NCERT textbooks!

Let us now move on to the 'advanced economic theories' of the RSS-BJP. The Chairman of the 16th Finance Commission argues with deep conviction that 'income inequality' is a necessary side-effect of wealth generation. He dismisses 'inequality alarmists.' But the ugly fact remains that a billionaire in India spends on the wedding of a family member an amount that one lakh citizens earn in a year! And Siddhartha Chattopadhyay is certain that growing inequality is the cause of increasing crime in Delhi, Bhopal, Gwalior, and other places.

Voltaire used to say, "Prejudices are what fools use for reason."

A 'Statue of Impunity' to the Indian Politician
Such theories are tempting to opportunists. Little wonder that Jyotiraditya Scindia thought it over thus: if you cannot beat the BJP, join them. Thus, RSS-BJP ranks thicken. Their devious skills multiply. For example, it is becoming more and more evident that Indian elections are foully planned: EVMs are rigged, and votes are counted twice as many as those cast. Elected members readily join the Ruling Party to escape accusations of foul play.

Thus, RSS-BJP skilfully bring politics and crime together. No one is surprised that 46% of MPs elected in 2024 have criminal records, or that there are 5,000 criminal cases against the present MLAs and MPs. Shukla suggests erecting a statue outside the NITI Aayog building to honour the Indian politician: The Statue of Impunity.

Is the Judiciary Slipping?
In genuinely democratic countries, the Judiciary offers a corrective to Executive haste, blunder or partisanship. This is less evident today, even among nations with long-standing democratic traditions. A study of David Landau and Rosalind Dixon reveals, "Courts have upheld and thus legitimated regime actions that helped actors consolidate power, undermine the Opposition, and tilt the electoral playing field heavily in their favour."

Our Supreme Court considers parties promoting regionalism more dangerous than those promoting communalism. It may have been a casual remark. But it may be worth studying how far the over-centralisation of the Home Minister has fractured regional emotions and provoked a strongly negative response.

Savarkar Was Secular, Rejected Obscurantism; Vivekananda Valued Historic Precision
When offering suggestions to the current ruling elite, we will have greater persuasive power if we refer to sources they respect. As they are extremely eager to discredit Jawaharlal Nehru and even Gandhiji, we may have to look for other authorities. Surprisingly, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, the very founder of Hindutva, can help us on occasion. For example, he did not want Indians to be obsessed with religious fanaticisms, myths, rituals, and superstitions. He was perfectly secular. He criticised vegetarianism, belief in 33 crore gods, and cow-worship. He rejected caste and wanted to open temples to the Dalits.

In the same way, Swami Vivekananda did not suffer from any of the complexes that today's Hindutva leaders suffer from, e.g., wanting to distort history for self-glorification or undervaluing the contributions of Western scholars to India. In studying the history of India, Vivekananda sought precision, exactitude, and scientific objectivity. He considered it self-demeaning to "vegetate on the past." What is needed is "to do better."

Swamiji would have severe words for those who seek to drown illiterate masses under a flood of obscurantist practices, magic, stories, fabricated tales, deceptive myths, unverified histories, senseless self-glorifications, and irrationalities. In fact, cow-fad has gone to pathological levels today. JNU School of Social Sciences has estimated that feeding aged cattle will cost the nation more than the defence budget!

Bankim Chattopadhyaya Treasured English Education
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya, the author of 'Vande Mataram,' has even more to teach us. Bankim's careful study of India's ancient scriptures led him to the conclusion that they were not infallible. All written literature, after all, must be understood in its own historical and cultural context. Bankim is extremely unhappy about over-reliance on rituals and superstitions. He calls it "pseudo religion." He thought that the lower classes (lower castes) were better off in British India than under Hindu regimes. The British treated all castes equally.

In Bankim's understanding, it is the English that taught Indians to be patriotic and united. He firmly believed that English education would help India in diverse ways. He held that religion should serve the "good of humanity." That is true Dharma. For an ordinary believer in day-to-day life, it amounts to being truthful, caring, forgiving and good-natured. What really matters is the 'Truth,' which makes itself evident to the sincere seeker.

Things can Turn for the Better if only Goodwill is Generated
Amazingly, Suman Bery seeks to contend that the Indian economy, at $15 trillion, is more than half that of the US, at Purchasing Power Parity terms. Whatever way this may be evaluated, there is no doubt that the Indian economy has been making progress, with due credit to Congress for the foundations it laid and to the present Regime for retaining the old structures, orientations, and traditions under new names.

If the RSS-BJP have appropriated the symbols of a great religion and are using them as tools, they find less difficulty in using inherited political styles, priorities, directions and emphases and claiming them as their own creation. The nation is the beneficiary, as very many of them have survived. So, we can keep our stature at the global level, despite Trumpian bullying.

No one can deny that there are sharp differences today between parties, their outlooks, political philosophies, and social visions. However, there is a sufficient number of citizens who are capable of transcending those differences. A teenager, Zara Bharadwaj, in San Francisco, has produced a film that points to differences and yet rejoices in being together. The general argument is that we are all primarily human.

Handle Disagreements Respectfully, Democracy is an Ongoing Conversation
Carmen Hernandez from Georgetown University, Washington, writes in One World Outlook that the measure of a strong democracy is a society's ability to regulate disagreement without collapsing into disintegration. She sees that best realised in India. She argues that it is the largest democracy in history in every sense: over 1.4 billion people, dozens of major languages, hundreds of dialects, a kaleidoscope of religions, castes, ethnicities, and cultures. And yet, over seven decades, they have remained loyal to the ballot box. They voted their leaders to power. They have the option to change them!

Dictatorship ignores human diversity: of identity, belief, and aspirations. Democracy, on the one hand, acknowledges that governance is messy and that truth is multifaceted. But it believes, on the other hand, that listening is more powerful than silencing. One leader, one vision, one command can make big promises, but it cannot fulfil them. Democracy is a continuous conversation across identities. India eminently manifests the resilience of pluralism. It is bound to emerge successful. May such predictions of well-wishers come true. May our dreams be fulfilled!