Fantasy is a natural human activity. It certainly does not destroy or even insult reason,” said J.R.R. Tolkien, the master of fantasy and author of The Hobbit. “On the contrary, the keener and clearer the reason, the better fantasy will it make.”
Our 2014 parliamentary elections prove this. Elections are about big claims, big talk and big promises. The voter watches the fantastic poll dance with amusement, then goes and votes according to his/her own convictions or needs. In the choice between dreams and reality, we largely go for reality. We like the tangible. We trust our eyes and ears. We trust our instincts.
This time though, there is a difference. Because in these elections, along with the customary dreams and curious claims, there is something more substantial challenging our reality. An almost tangible, carefully constructed hyperreality. This is a meticulously built fantasy world, so well crafted that we forget that it is unreal.
So this time, we could unsuspectingly step beyond the lakshmanrekha of reality and into the world of fantasy. That is what the Modi magic is all about. It is about making you believe a virtual world to be the real world.
Why else would we wish to worship the “Gujarat model”? It is a model of ruthless growth where big business is mollycoddled at the cost of the poor and underprivileged. Where public resources are exploited to benefit the rich and powerful. A model where human development is redefined in absurd terms. Where progress is measured by money alone. Where there is little patience for constitutional guarantees. Where law is devoid of justice. Where good governance does not include the safety of its citizens. It is a model where there is no space for ethics.
How can intelligent voters in a lively democracy actually believe this to be a good model? How can we talk about it as a model for “inclusive growth” when every statistic and objective report points to the contrary?
Because that is the magic of hyperreality. People worship the Gujarat model even though it sports huge holes, and even after Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan ranked Gujarat among the less developed states of India. In a world of hyperreality we think differently. We like to believe.
So we are willing to set aside the furious sectarian frenzy of 2002 and trust the kinder, gentler, unreal face of Gujarat’s development and growth. We are willing to believe that the Bharatiya Janata Party under Narendra Modi is all about good governance — never mind that thousands of Muslims killed and maimed in his watch 12 years ago have still not got justice. We are willing to believe that the BJP is now moving away from a sectarian agenda and is becoming secular and development oriented.
But even the hyperreal needs to be convincing. Tolkien called it the secondary reality — the reality within the fantasy world. And consistency is vital for it. When this consistency fails, the fantasy world can crumble. It can only be saved by the audience —by a willing suspension of disbelief.
That is precisely the point where we stand now. At that juncture where only our willing suspension of disbelief will keep the Modi fantasy world afloat. Because it has been proudly punctured by less careful Hindutva leaders.
“Those opposing Narendra Modi are looking at Pakistan,” said Giriraj Singh, a BJP candidate from Bihar and former minister. “In the coming days, such people will have no place in India. They will only have a place in Pakistan.”
He went on to explain that nobody had a “right to act against national interest and appear to be speaking the language of a foreign country which has been known to act against our country.” In short, anybody opposing Mr Modi would be acting against the national interest and siding with Pakistan, the enemy. That would, of course, make every non-BJP candidate and voter an anti-national, fit to be charged with sedition. Mr Singh refused to apologise and announced that he was ready to face any action taken against him. He has since taken anticipatory bail.
Then in Mr Modi’s Gujarat, Vishwa Hindu Parishad president Pravin Togadia told Bajrang Dal activists to forcibly oust the Muslim owner from the house he had bought in Bhavnagar, take possession of it and stick a “Bajrang Dal” board on it. The owner would be given 48 hours to vacate. “If he does not, go with stones, tyres and tomatoes to his office,” urged Togadia. “There is nothing wrong in it… Even the killers of Rajiv Gandhi have not been hanged... there is nothing to fear!” Besides, there was no law against throwing tomatoes, he pointed out. No law against spitting. So spit on Muslims, throw tomatoes at them, till they buckle, he urged. “I have done it in the past,” he assured the group, “and Muslims have lost both property and money”.
And in Mumbai, Shiv Sena MLC Ramdas Kadam threatened Muslims and Pakistan as Mr Modi shared the stage with him. “These Muslims riot against the police, burn their vehicles, vandalise statues of our martyrs. These Muslims molest our policewomen...” he thundered. And assured the audience that “Narendra Modi will ensure that such acts do not go unpunished.” For good measure, he promised more: “If Narendra Modi comes to power, he will destroy Pakistan in six months!”
Meanwhile, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, the curious Muslim spokesperson of the BJP, stated happily that they want to build the Ram Mandir where the Babri Masjid once stood.
Mr Modi and the BJP have merely made mild disapproving noises when their friends and partymen were busy showing their saffron fangs.
Strangely, we still believe that Modi’s BJP is about growth and development, not about sectarian hatred. We ignore the overt Hindu narrative of his campaign, the election chant of “Har har Modi!”(a take off from the Hindu religious chant “Har har Mahadev!”) and the shameless equating of Modi with the nation and the nation with Hindutva. The inner logic of the fantasy world has snapped. It is time to step back and recognise it for what it is.
As Tolkien said: “If men were ever in a state in which they did not want to know or could not perceive truth (facts or evidence)… Fantasy will perish, and become Morbid Delusion.”
