Politics of Fear

A Swiss friend once asked me: “How could a nation of hundreds of millions be colonised by the British for nearly 200 years?” It’s an excellent question, but the answer isn’t simple. We were never one nation but were a collection of kingdoms, languages, religions, castes, races, and cultures. Uniting them for a single cause was almost impossible. On top of that, centuries of feudal mindset had conditioned most people to accept hierarchy and authority without question. We were used to having masters — only the flag on top changed. Even today, not much has changed at a deeper level. We remain a largely feudal society trapped in mental slavery, except now the masters are not British officers but our own politicians, bureaucrats, and powerful elites. The average person still waits for a “leader” to tell them what to do — the herd mentality is very much alive. That’s why it’s still so easy for those in power (especially the government) to intimidate people, spread fear, and get whatever they want done. The chains are off our hands, but many are still around our minds. We were not a nation but scattered kingdoms during the British era and had to wait for a Gandhi to lead us. Back then we were fighting foreign invaders, but today our democracy is being destroyed by our own brown sahibs. This makes the struggle far more complex and complicated. In fact, elections are allegedly stolen through EVM tampering and large-scale disenfranchisement of voters. The ruling dispensation has created a perfect climate of fear in which every dissenting voice is silenced—either through jail, intimidation, or worse. Why has this become such an easy task for the current government? There are many reasons, including our own lack of courage and the mental slavery ingrained in us- the fear of power is deep rooted in us. However, to understand how a government can systematically turn an entire society into subservient subjects, one must study Nazi Germany. Hitler began practising this in the early 20th century when most Germans saw him as a strong leader who would restore national pride. Born into humble circumstances, he promised to make Germany great again and created a convenient enemy in the Jews, blaming them for all the nation’s problems. He systematically indoctrinated the German people through relentless propaganda. Under Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi Minister of Propaganda, every newspaper, radio station, film studio, publishing house, and theatre came under total state control. Opposing voices were silenced, jailed, or killed. Goebbels famously said: “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.” Examples of these big lies include: • Jews were responsible for Germany’s defeat in 1918 (the “stab-in-the-back” myth). • Jews secretly controlled both capitalism and communism. • Germany needed “Lebensraum” and was surrounded by mortal enemies. These lies were repeated endlessly on radio, in films, posters, and school textbooks until they became normalised. Jews, homosexuals, Roma, and other minorities were blamed for every problem, giving ordinary Germans someone to hate and making support for Hitler feel like self-defence. A full-blown personality cult was built around Hitler. He was portrayed as infallible, chosen by Providence itself. His portrait hung in every classroom and office; people were forced to greet each other with “Heil Hitler!” Even private criticism of Hitler could send a person to a concentration camp or result in death. The Gestapo, Hitler’s secret police, created an atmosphere of terror where no one dared speak openly. This constant bombardment of lies, combined with a perfectly choreographed system of fear, made people accept falsehood as truth. Monopoly over information, indoctrination of children, daily repetition of lies, and the cult of personality worked together to transform Germany into a nation that either actively supported or passively accepted the worst crimes in history. India today is passing through a frighteningly similar phase. Repeated lies from the Sangh Parivar, the BJP’s IT cell, and their captive media—coupled with monopoly over most news channels, the hijacking of investigative agencies, and the steady erosion of judicial independence—have created a perfect climate of fear. Large sections of the population have been indoctrinated with blatant falsehoods about Nehru and the Gandhi family (whose legacy is now carried forward by Nehru’s great-grandchildren). Freedom fighters are selectively appropriated or erased to suit the Sangh’s ideology. The RSS—an unregistered organisation that played no significant role in India’s freedom struggle—has been elevated through constant propaganda into the “true protector of the nation.” Meanwhile, Narendra Modi has been turned into a cult figure who supposedly descended to earth to save Hindus from “anti-national, Muslim-appeasing Congress and the Gandhis.” An erudite, sensitive statesman like Jawaharlal Nehru,who spent nearly 13 years in British jails for the cause of independence and built the nation from the scratch when British left the nation in penury,is today demonised as a womaniser and an idiot.Ironically,today, their current favourite object of vilification is his great-grandson Rahul Gandhi, who led a lone battle against the undemocratic ways of the government.However, the irony is obvious: while Nehru gifted properties worth around ₹1,200 crore to the nation, and his daughter Indira Gandhi donated Anand Bhawan—the ancestral home of the Nehru family, to the country, two Gujaratis very close to the two Gujaratis currently in power have been plundering the nation from all sides. Unfortunately, the public remains largely unaware of how thoroughly we are being taken for a ride with promises of “achhe din,” how deep corruption has seeped into every corner, and how intensely we have been degraded—morally, spiritually, and economically at a time when the IMF has reportedly graded our economy a “C” and most of our foreign reserves stand reduced. The media has been transformed into a shameless propaganda tool of the ruling party, while the judiciary, fearing the government, has failed to act.This is both a terrifying and extremely dangerous situation that threatens the very foundations of our democracy and our moral values. The parallels between current Indian govt with Nazi Germany are too obvious to notice: an autocratic regime can function even within a so-called democratic system. In India, the identified enemies are minorities (especially Muslims) and the Gandhi family. The public has been aggressively indoctrinated to believe that only Modi can save them from these “enemies.” Given India’s lingering feudal mindset, it becomes easier for those in power to intimidate citizens with money and muscle. The media is largely compromised, investigative agencies have become subservient, and even large sections of the judiciary appear afraid to act independently. The most painful question remains: How can 1.4 billion people be silenced like this? How can a handful of individuals in positions of power intimidate an entire nation? Why are even judges afraid of the government? It seems, sadly, that Indians are relatively easy to intimidate. We hesitate to question our leaders; we fail to ask the right questions at the right time. Many of us believe that staying passive and silently accepting our fate is the safest policy. But how long can this go on?