They knew the vaccines would catch up sooner or later. But first they wanted India to stand with hat in hand, begging the West for vaccines. Go to China and beg, some of them said. Their desire to see India humiliated was insatiable.
But India held. We did not go under. And it drives them crazy. They cheer each other up with promises that the final destruction of India is not far away from now. Each morning you can find them on social media, coiled like serpents around some random talking point and hissing. Hunger index, happiness index, press freedom index, anything to assure them that it is all over for India. It is called confirmation bias. Then there are the reports from "think tanks". A report from a European country that calls India "authoritarian" can sustain a liberal for an entire week.
They pester visiting foreign diplomats with questions : tell us something India did wrong. Tell us why you hate India. Give us something we can put in a headline. But no matter what they get, whether big or small from America or from Turkey, they are always burning on the inside.
When they have a half an opportunity to humiliate India, they pounce on it with unholy relish. Did India have to say no to wheat exports after making an earlier pronouncement about feeding the world? Such U-turns are not uncommon in an uncertain world, ravaged by war and pandemic, where America is scrambling to get food for their babies. But still, India having to just a little on this issue made them squeal madly with delight.
Is there war in Ukraine? Look, India is neutral. That means they must be standing with the aggressor. India is fascist and "morally corrupt". We told you so, they say to their friends around the world.
But because the real India refuses to go under, the reality frustrates and unnerves them. That is where the wild fantasies come in. Political instability in Britain? Prime Minister ousted by his own ministers? Modi will meet the same fate one day, they say. Or he won't because India is under fascist rule. Did protestors in Sri Lanka take over the presidential palace and burn down the prime minister's house? Modi will meet the same fate one day. Or he won't because India is "morally corrupt".
Like conspiracy theories, the wild fantasies can live on very little or nothing at all. Did Biden just dodge a hug from Modi in that frame? That should be enough to sustain the ecosystem for a day. Oh no, Biden just walked up to Modi from behind, sought him out and exchanged greetings. Never mind. Did you see that capture where PM Modi seems to be bending before some Sultan? Told you the Arabs are going to deny oil and finally, crush our country. Yeah, the same Sultan who came to confer his country's highest civilian honour on our prime minister.
There is a difference between hating the prime minister and wishing for evil on the country. If you want to understand difference, check with BJP supporters when their favourite party was in opposition for decades. Go find out how many of them raised slogans of "How's the Jaish" after a terrorist attack on our soldiers. Indeed, in all the decades of India being under ruinous Nehruvian socialist rule, it is the BJP supporters who often foolishly spoke of a coming awn that would make India a superpower. The BJP supporters always dreamed of great things for India, not ruin.
There are many states in India where BJP is in the opposition. But you won't see a BJP supporter standing with a m
Maoist or a jihad terrorist, just to spite the government. Not now, not before, not ever. Eight years have passed since Modi came to power. Not everything has gone right nor could it have. But despite war and pandemic, India has made it to the position of the 5th largest economy in 2022. With a little bit of luck, we will go past even Germany by 2024. A bit of luck I said which every liberal in this country wishes we never have.
Liberalism in this country is not dead because after two back to back defeats, liberalism in India has become the ideology of the "un-dead". Its followers prowl the streets and the airwaves, looking for shreds of human misery to feast on. Whatever they eat, whether it is too much or too little, only makes them more hungry. The fire in their heart never dies down. It burns brighter each day that this "morally corrupt" nation is still alive.
.........concluded.
- Abhishek Banerjee in OpIndia
My take
I subscribe to the points articulated by Banerjee. Some people's hatred towards Modi has to be seen to be believed!
Tailpiece.
Got up around 4, washed and recited my prayers before turning off to sleep yet again. Maman woke me up at a quarter past 6, the chores and was ready by a half past 8. Headed straight for the VJT Hall (now called 'Ayyankali Hall'). Organised the reception for the participants in the Quiz competition and their chaperones.
The All Kerala Quiz competition began at 10. The performance was good overall.
Lunch at Hotel Aruna, the same place where I and my classmates had lunch during the UPSC exams for the NDA, in Jun '72.
The valedictory function went off well. Headed for the bus stand and hopped on to the 2130 hrs low floor bus to Kozhikode. Approaching Kayamkulam, as I punch in this post.
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