Liberals fail to understand the Indian Problem

The term ‘liberal’ or ‘liberalism’ is undergoing a transformation in recent times. It is not what it meant a couple of decades ago. Today in India, liberal is associated with a wealthy lot who discuss poverty in Starbucks at Khan Market. More or less, they are left-leaning and dislike the BJP and the Modi government. 

Unfortunately, like how India has skewed the meaning of critical terms like secularism, even ‘liberal’ or ‘liberalism’ is understood, some would say differently, but I would say wrongly in India. 

A liberal is someone who stands for principles like substantive equality, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, etc., A liberal by definition is someone who is open to ideas and discussions and most important, evidence. Unfortunately, the ones who are associated with liberalism in India act contrary to the fundamental facets of liberalism and some even call themselves liberals though they are not. 

And in India, we miss this point. We fail to understand the meaning of liberalism, just like how we have misunderstood and misapplied the term secularism. The South Delhi and South Bombay public intellectuals who bash Modi are not liberals. They are hypocrites. They stand up for free speech but censor those who speak against them. They stand up for equality but for them, to paraphrase Orwell- some are more equal than others. Their ideas are convoluted with inconsistencies and internal contradictions. 

Nevertheless, for the sake of this article let’s stick to the popular meaning of ‘liberal’. When I say ‘liberal’ one more or less gets an idea of the kind of people I am talking about. Left-leaning, Modi-hating, well to do “intellectuals” (even though they are not liberals in the true meaning of the term). 

Liberals must come out of their bubble

The left-leaning parties and the Congress have significant support of the liberals. And we know the state of Congress and other left-leaning parties in our country, while Narendra Modi enjoys a 70% approval rating. So clearly the BJP government is doing something right. Because any other claim would mean that the people are incapable of knowing their own needs and of choosing their political representative. If one does make that claim, then the entire process of election becomes meaningless. In a democracy, it is assumed that adults are capable of exercising their choice. 

So, what is the BJP doing that the liberals fail to understand? BJP knows the pulse of the nation more than any other party in the country. We must not forget that the people elected Modi. Modi did not choose the people. He has won elections and is the legitimately elected Prime Minister of the world’s largest democracy. The people elected a government that is right-leaning. The same people in ‘WE the people’ in the Preamble of the Constitution. 

And as far as ‘TINA’ (there is no alternative) factor is concerned, it exists not only because of the success of the BJP in elections but also the failure of other political parties to persuade the people to vote for them. It is a bit strange to argue that in a country with over a billion people, there is not a single person who can give Narendra Modi a good fight in elections. 

The failure of the liberals lies, I believe, in their failure to understand the Indian problem. And their failure to understand the Indian problem is explicit in their actions, their speech and their convictions. I will take some rather common examples to demonstrate how liberals fail to resonate with the Indian nation. Now, they have no obligation to resonate with the nation’s pulse. But if they want to win elections and develop meaningful and effective public discourse they will have to speak in the language of the masses. 

India reads Chetan Bhagat, not Salman Rushdie 

Speaking of language, this is the first divide between the liberals and the masses who support the BJP. The liberals speak different English. They read different books. They discuss ideas and public policy in lit-fests. The ones who gave BJP a 33% vote share do not go to lit fests. They do not read Rushdie or Kafka. They read Chetan Bhagat. Why? Because it is what relates to them. It is palatable. Chetan Bhagat has been called  “the biggest-selling English-language novelist in India's history” by the New York Times. And it is indeed a talent and skill to be able to communicate with millions of people. For any author, being able to communicate his ideas to maximum people is the goal, whatever that idea may be. And Chetan Bhagat is achieving that. 

His books are read by youngsters across the country. Whether the liberals like it or not, Chetan Bhagat is reaching out to the masses and has an impact on their minds. His books might not be discussed in the lit-fests but are certainly discussed among millions of people in every corner of the country. 

To understand the Indian problem, the liberals must speak the language of the masses. They cannot read and quote Focoult and expect an average Indian to understand them. 

India likes Chulbul Pandey, and not Newton

After working 9-10 hours a day for six days a week, a casual labourer or a street vendor or a house-help, who is anyway facing problems of corruption, caste discrimination, gender biases, harassment, and other forms of social issues does not want to watch the realities of their own life being played on the cinema screen. They do not want to watch a dccumentary on RGB. They want to watch Jolly LLB. They don’t want to watch Article 15. They already know about and maybe are victims of caste discrimination. They want to watch Singham,  a police officer who single handedly challenges the system and saves people like them from oppression of the corrupt politician. These movies provide an average blue collar worker with an alternate reality for 3 hours. 

Another deeply distressing yet not surprising fact was the fandom around Arun Reddy/Kabir Singh. Movies are made for people and their tastes. If a movie that is misogynistic is becoming a hit, it means that the people are enjoying it and are misogynistic themselves. Even though there was a backlash against Kabir Singh very little was spoken on why such movies are being celebrated by young men in our country. 

Turning a blind eye to movies like Dabangg is turning a blind eye to the preferences of people who sustain the world’s largest film industry. 

To understand the Indian problem, the liberals must understand what Indians watch and why they watch it. And this applies to the entertainment a large section of Indians watch at 9 PM in the name of news and investigative journalism. Rejecting some journalists for being loud and not doing “real journalism” is isolating yourself from those who form the hard right vote base. I am not saying that the liberals also must start shouting on News. All I am saying is that completely disregarding the impact some right leaning journalists have and refusing to adopt measures to counter them effectively is unwise and sitting in an ivory tower.  

Cow vigilantism and vegan woke-ness

Liberals hate cow vigilantism. And of course, without a doubt, violence committed on persons in the name of cow protection is deplorable. But this issue is much bigger than merely protecting victims of cow vigilantism. The liberals seem to consider people who have affection for cows as inferior and peasants. There isn’t a feeling of contempt, but superiority. 

The irony is that the liberals more often than not are the ones who will move the courts and get on the roads if someone throws rocks at dogs and cats. They have no qualms about people killing another sentient being (i.e. a cow) for food. 

If dogs and cats were being eaten like how cows and for that matter chicken, pigs, goats and other animals are eaten, the liberals will not tolerate it. 

Veganism is proved to be beneficial for the environment and also morally consistent with a peaceful existence on Earth. However, if you feel outraged if a dog is absued then it is only consistent to protect cows. Not on the grounds that it is sacred for some Hindus, but because cow and dogs suffer alike. 

The so-called “cow-belt” or Hindi heartland has affection for cows. It is quite common to see people feeding cows on roads in the evening and praying to them. This feeling is deeply entrenched. Ignoring this is only blinding oneself to reality.  

Feminism

Before going any further on feminism, I must define what I understand by feminism. According to me, feminism means- the advocacy of women's rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes. (oxford dictionary). Equality of opportunity for both men and women. 

The problem comes when feminism has to be practised and equality has to be achieved on the ground. Prohibition of women into Sabarimala is no doubt a deeply sexist practice. And liberals were right to outrage against it. Ironically, the majority of women in Kerala and female devotees of the deity at Sabarimala did not want to enter Sabarimala despite the Supreme Court judgement, for whatever reason. 

Liberation for many women is being able to work safely in her place of employment or pursuing the career of their choice or choosing their spouse, equal right to property, etc., I  really don’t think many give a damn about wearing a bindi or bindi being a sign of oppression. I really don’t think feminism for an average Indian woman in a second and third-tier town is being able to drink alcohol and puking all over like their male friends. 

Now one might think, how can he, ‘a man’, comment on this. To say poverty is bad, one does not have to be poor. Similarly, to say that the education of women, their freedom to choose a profession of their choice, etc., are bigger goals to be achieved does not require me to be a woman. 

So, when liberals outrage over issues like bindi, it does not resonate with Indian women. And focusing on issues of little significance like this compared issues of illiteracy, poor education, lack of economic freedom, is misunderstanding the Indian problem of oppression of women in the Indian context. And it is a misplaced priority. 

And this is why someone who used to sell tea for a living is the Prime Minister of the world's largest democracy, and legitimately, but Ox-bridge PhDs in political science fail to understand Indians. Liberals are disconnected from the grassroots. Investigative journalism will not help one to understand India if one is going there with preconcieved notions like Hindu-Muslim divide in India is like White-Black divide in the US. Such false equivalencies and desperate need to apply ideas of a western thinker as it is to Indian problems without understanding the Indian context distances the liberals from the Indian nation.