Modiji has Re-interpreted Democracy
Narendra Modi waxed eloquent recently when condemning the Emergency, calling it a direct assault on the Indian Constitution and a dark chapter in Indian history. Emergency is already in class IX textbooks! The sad fact is that Emergency continues unquestioned, not like the one of Indira Gandhi, which lasted 21 months, but one that has been going on for 12 years, like the Nazi rule in Germany. There is no doubt that Indira disciplined the RSS, but she listened to protests, stepped down and accepted defeat in elections. She believed in Democracy.

But who believes in Democracy today under the present regime, with an "Undeclared Emergency" going on?

Modij does! He used to invite foreigners to come and see the 'festival of Democracy' in India during elections, with long queues. Unfortunately, of late, it has been greatly damaged by excessive army movements and armed forces in action!

Everyone knows that Modiji's Democracy is a "re-interpreted" version, like Trump's peace-making claims. Make arbitrary use of the Directorate of Enforcement, Criminal Investigation Department, Chief Election Commissioner; use at your discretion the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act; and invest heavily in social media that makes you a super-hero and a champion of Democratic values. Then, move ahead like Muhammad Ali, the boxer, who said, "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee." Modiji remains unassailable!

His Mission is to Re-interpret also Varnashrama Dharma and Re-impose It
Donald Trump lavishes praise on heads of State when it suits him. Before an Indo-American trade bargain, he chose to exalt Modi, who ruled over 1.6 billion Indians for 12 years. Trump described him as "good looking, beautiful, an angel... But actually, he is tough; he is a killer!" What Trump meant was that he was a tough negotiator in trade deals. "Modi is a tough cookie, calm but not so calm" when it comes to profits and losses.

But for his ardent followers, Narendra Modi is an insightful Avatar, a god incarnate, born again to reorganise India's social order... to re-interpret the 'Sanatana Dharma of caste order' in the present situation, and bring it back in full force.

He Turned People's Anger against Structures against Cultures, against Opposition
The special skill of Modi consisted in turning the anger of the lower classes against the unjust structures of the rich and powerful, against the cultures of Muslims, minorities, marginals, tribals, local groups, migrants, aliens, 'the Other.' In this, he succeeded with the RSS's help. His Mantras are manifold. When Amit Shah says Vande Mataram is the mantra for the reconstruction of India, we are bewildered.

But when we see the imposition of Vande Mataram on reluctant groups, the thrusting of the word 'Bharat' in irrelevant contexts, the imposition of Hindi or Sanskrit on the South and East, ban on food and dress, control of relationship styles, thought patterns and modes of protest, we understand that there is an ulterior motive to every petty thing pressed down the throat. We go breathless. What the police will not do, street vigilantes will do; 'moral police' will take it one step further. No one is spared.

Mamata Banerjee's house is searched the day after her defeat, Pinarayi Vijayan's too; every defiant person's. Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan calls protesting students "terrorists." There is going to be an absolute control over every thought, word and deed in India!

Murder of Democracy
Our leadership is creative. When protests against the CAA and the national registration of citizens to exclude the unwanted didn't go through, they devised the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). SIR has deleted nearly 6 crore voter names so far. Some have calculated it to correspond to 10.2%. Will the proportion double, treble? Who is there to prevent? A passport is no proof of your citizenship. No document is. The Election Commissioner decides, the Judiciary approves.

Plato warned, "Appearance tyrannises over truth." An arbitrary rule under democratic garb can get anything done. On Yoga Day, a cartoon depicted a person asking, "Will Yoga help my political manipulation techniques?" Modiji knows how to do that, how to combine 'Yoga for peace' with the deployment of 12 Nuclear warheads in a strategic shift.

As initiatives by individuals and parties are being curtailed, a mighty effort is being made to break the backbone of NGOs and charitable organisations through amendments to the FCRA rules. All NGOs are asked to categorise themselves as social, economic, educational, cultural, or religious. Why this insistence on being exclusive? Can a religious organisation not be engaged in educational and medical work, in social development, and in culture-promotion activities?

Venugopal of the Congress alleges that the new FCRA regulations are an assault on India's civil society. It is an effort to cripple the charitable works of the Christians. Over 20,000 registrations have been cancelled. 'National security' is misquoted; words like 'proselytisation' are used out of context. False accusations multiply. The implementation of complex FCRA regulations is neither transparent nor consistent. Democracy respects the internal organisation of civic bodies. Under a biased regime, poor and weak communities are doomed to suffer.

Meanwhile, the BJP imposes the Gayatri Mantra and Saraswati Vandana in Chhattisgarh schools, and vegetarianism in West Bengal. Jairam Ramesh of the Congress calls Modi the "master of falsehoods" who runs the country with "fraudulent nationalists" like the RSS. For him, Modi is presiding over the "murder of democracy."

Trust Deficit
At the G7 in France, Modi was right to emphasise human solidarity, pointing out also that there was a "trust deficit" in the global context and a shortage of respect for international law. He insisted that trust had to be restored. In the Indian context, Modi's eagerness during the second term was to remove this "trust deficit" from which he and his BJP-RSS team had suffered greatly. His slogan was, "Not only Vikas, but Viswas." Unfortunately, this trust deficit has only deepened.

Ajay Rai of Congress alleges that hundreds of crores disappeared from the BJP-RSS's hands during Ayodhya Ram Mandir collections. He calls it an "organised loot." It is claimed that while the Vatican gets 10 million visitors a year, Ayodhya gets 250 million. Donations are generous. But over ?7 crore has been stolen from the temple's daily offerings. The Temple management committee is clearly involved. Champat Rai's loyalty to the RSS is being questioned. Things are moving to a climax.
Curiously, the BJP-RSS club has developed the unique skill of distracting public attention from hurtful revelations in one way or another: a border incident, a foreign visitor, a revival of interest in some Mahabharata tale, a new charge against Aurangazeb, a big sale of Brahmos to the UAE, a fresh allegation against the Nehru leadership, changing place names endlessly for no practical reasons. The Odisha Government has recently changed 64 names, e.g., Balasore to Baleshwar and Rourkela to Raurkela. UP has been doing the same. Indian maps go out of date continuously. Bengal has taken to the same game, renaming places: Suhrawardy Avenue becomes Gopal Mukherjee Road. When you are bankrupt of ideas, what else can be done? That is where we are today. Bankrupt of ideas!

A Change Is Due: of Ideas, Ideologies, Leadership
Unfortunately, it is often war that brings about change. The age of wars has returned. Pope Leo laments that wars are fed faster than people today. In dull days, society is eager for a thrill. India is inching in that direction. Even Mohan Bhagwat exclaimed, "It is strength, not truth, that the world respects." Unconsciously, he seems to echo Nietzsche, who glorified violent strength and despised the Judaeo-Christian values of gentleness, meekness and assistance to the weak.

So become the world's bulldozer!

That is what Donald Trump intended to do when he moved into the Middle East to confront Iran. Little did he realise that he would soon be exposing his nation's and his own limitations before the entire world. His shabby performance, combined with his boastfulness, damaged his image on the international stage. According to Pew Research Centre, Trump's ranking fell to 27% in the UK, 18% in India, 17% in Canada, 15% in Japan, 11% in Mexico. Of course, his image is still high in Israel, with 81% of admirers, followed by a dip in Germany to 5%. Modiji would not tolerate any such evaluations.

Truth Tames People
War mongers in Europe learned during the two World Wars the hard lesson that bullying does not pay. As the War progressed, the euphoria and jingoism attached to nationalism began to give way to a sense of tragedy and horror on an unimaginable scale. An atmosphere of gloom and silence spread wide. The leaders sought to glorify warrior heroes and martyrs of duty to maintain motivation. War glory was little more than empty nothingness that came from the clash of nationalist insanity. Giant nations became non-entities.

Europe is still to accept its present position in world affairs. An over-dependence on America continues to humiliate her. An unexpressed nostalgia distorts her self-understanding. Repeated change of regimes and a horror for immigrants are merely symptoms, which the public expresses through the shuffling of populist leaders.

Giorgia Meloni is Italy's 68th PM after WW II. The outgoing UK PM, Keir Starmer, was the sixth since Brexit. Leadership in many other European countries has been stumbling for a year, too. JD Vance wonders whether the real problem is that Western civilisation is dying. Neither stopping immigration totally nor harassing the immigrants endlessly will ease the anxiety. A way forward may be found only by rediscovering Europe's 'deeper identity,' affirming and fostering it, and leading it forward to a great future.

Re-discovery of One's Identity Calls for Deep Thinking
Indians, too, are fumbling for a renewed identity in a fast-changing world. Modiji is taking people in the wrong direction. Re-Brahminisation of all communities, including minorities and tribals, is not the sure way to restore India to its ancient greatness. MN Srinivas coined the term "Sanskritisation" to describe the process by which tribals gradually adopt Brahminic food habits, purity norms, domestic practices, and devotional styles to gain greater acceptance among the upper classes. Are the Gujarati duo (Modi-Shah) dragging every individual community in India, including the tribals, in the direction of "Hindi-Hindu-Hindustan?"

In this process, minorities and tribal communities lose their specific identity and end up as one of the lowest castes. Many tribals in North India, like the Gonds, are on this track. Ambedkar warned his Dalits against this mistake. His suggestion was that they preserve their selfhood and modernise themselves with English open-minded education. Those tribals of the Northeast who have chosen this have emerged on the national scene as persons of stature. The others keep steadily falling back.

Rediscovering one's identity and fostering its growth require deeper thinking. Diocletian, the Roman Emperor, retired to Salona to live a quiet life. He wrote to his friend, "Come and see the cabbages I have planted... No one would be tempted to power again." Chandragupta Maurya, too, retired later in life to become a Jain monk, to be himself. Maybe Modi will do well to do the same. He used to withdraw to the Kedarnath Temple and other holy places. In his home village, Vadnagar, there was a mighty Buddhist monastery from the 2nd to the 7th century (not an RSS Shakha)! An atmosphere of equality and mutual respect was fostered.

Buddha's insight was: respect the identities and perspectives of others who differ, and help to harmonise different points of view for the common good. Walk forward together towards a shared destiny. That seems to have been the practical philosophy of Indians down the centuries. There is every possibility to recapture it!