Rise of hypernationalism

 Like how pollsters more often got their speculations totally wrong, perhaps there is a need to understand why despite being slandered as a party led by “communal, extreme right and fascist”, the BJP has trounced its political foes in two successive elections. That means the majority bloc voted for Modi. It is without doubt that Modi is the most successful ever Indian politician who fully exploited the media with his successful messaging and packaging that resonated across the country. The BJP garnered 37.4% of the votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and with NDA , the total percentage was a huge 45% of the vote. However, despite its barely hidden agenda of hyper nationalism, rooted in far right extreme Hindu ideology, Modi’s BJP received the thumbs up even from non-Hindus, atheists including minorities. That means the balance that tipped the scale was Modi’s personal popularity. He was seen as a tall figure and the best suited to ensure the nation’s internal and external security. This resounding mandate may not necessarily mean that all those who voted for the BJP-led NDA believe or support the kind of hyper nationalism being forced into the national psyche. The main opposition Congress is on a downward spiral, set in motion by dynastic hierarchy that has been groping in the dark. The overused cliché of secularism has been given a burial after the 2019 Lok Sabha election. In fact the Congress need to re-look at its own image from people’s perspective. The grand old party has been overusing secularism to create a youngest kid syndrome in society when it came to minorities. Today even practitioners of casteist politics are losing relevance. Minorities look for relevant politics and leadership capability. They are no longer wooed away by the word ‘secularism’ which can mean many things to many people. The establishment of a modern and secular society is not only the responsibility of the majority, but a responsibility of every member, including the minorities. Unfortunately, in this regard every section, including the minorities have not done their bit. The slogan of secularism/ minorities, has made the majority feel they are being held accountable for the minority syndrome. Hindu nationalism and hypernationalism is a counter and seems attractive to persons wishing to project a militant India on the world stage. However, hypernationalism is not the way to defeat Islamic fundamentalism. Also hypernationalism as opposed to liberalism will open the doors wide for authoritarianism. Authoritarians have long spouted hyper-nationalistic slogans to coerce people into submission. Even in other nations, far-right political parties and movements have sprouted across the entire democratic world. What Modi is to the far right in India; Donald Trump is to the far right in the USA. Both derive their strength from hypernationalism directed against “enemies” – aliens/ migrants and minorities on the opposite side of the ideological spectrum. Today, 75 years after the Indian freedom movement, the leaders would surely turn in their graves to see their India has veered away and being pushed under growing hypernationalism and intolerance. The leaders of the independence movement were ideologically opposed to each other; yet they stood as one for a multi-cultural and united India.