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<div class="header reader-header reader-show-element"> <font
size="-2"><a class="domain reader-domain"
href="https://www.asiatimes.com/2019/12/opinion/indians-rise-up-against-their-liar-in-chief/">https://www.asiatimes.com/2019/12/opinion/indians-rise-up-against-their-liar-in-chief/</a></font>
<h1 class="reader-title">Indians rise up against their
liar-in-chief</h1>
By <a class="text-uppercase"
href="https://www.asiatimes.com/author/vijay-prashad/">Vijay
Prashad</a> - December 24, 2019<br>
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<div class="content">
<div class="moz-reader-content line-height4 reader-show-element">
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<p>Every day and in every part of India, hundreds of
thousands of people, mainly young people, have been
gathering on the streets to express their anger at the
government. Their protests, like the protests in Chile,
emerged out of one particular grievance but then <a
href="https://go.ind.media/e/546932/ple-protesting-against-caa-nrc/ckxsl4/526583433?h=crDx90O2IjjIBznWuDf-XegxwYQYVTO1hzas9gf-NGY"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"
data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://go.ind.media/e/546932/ple-protesting-against-caa-nrc/ckxsl4/526583433?h%3DcrDx90O2IjjIBznWuDf-XegxwYQYVTO1hzas9gf-NGY&source=gmail&ust=1577242363567000&usg=AFQjCNGzjlPB9ci7rUKMxjeo60JfSyWWsQ">cascaded
outward</a>. They are angry at the government’s
attempt to define citizenship in a narrow and bigoted
way; but they are also angry at the arrogance of the
government and at the disastrous way in which it has
managed the economy.</p>
<p>Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi belongs to the
Bharatiya Janata Party, a far-right political party that
has intimate roots to India’s fascist currents. The
BJP’s parent organization, the <a
href="https://go.ind.media/e/546932/catalog-product-view-id-21401/ckxsl6/526583433?h=crDx90O2IjjIBznWuDf-XegxwYQYVTO1hzas9gf-NGY"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"
data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://go.ind.media/e/546932/catalog-product-view-id-21401/ckxsl6/526583433?h%3DcrDx90O2IjjIBznWuDf-XegxwYQYVTO1hzas9gf-NGY&source=gmail&ust=1577242363567000&usg=AFQjCNHuTy6YvVhUfVmRqa9_m9lE8ZVeGQ">Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh</a>, was born in 1925 with close
links to Italian fascism. Both the BJP and the RSS
believe in a doctrine known as Hindutva, which is in
essence the promotion of the supremacy of Hindus over
other communities inside India.</p>
<p>The animus of the BJP and the RSS is directed against
India’s Muslims. The way that the BJP government defined
the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National
Register of Citizens (NRC) appears directly to target
Muslims, and to define Indian nationality in opposition
to Muslims.</p>
<h4>Anti-Muslim</h4>
<p>Given India’s large population, minority communities
are also considerably large. India’s Muslim population,
for instance, though only 15% of the total, amounts to
more than 200 million people. The country with the
largest Muslim population is Indonesia, and Pakistan and
India are in essence tied for second place; India’s
Muslims by themselves would form the eighth-largest
country in the world after Brazil and ahead of Nigeria.</p>
<p>The demographic make-up of India necessitates that the
country’s laws and traditions accommodate all of India’s
cultural and social diversity. The fascistic viewpoint
of the BJP and the RSS is not only immoral and unjust,
but is simply impractical.</p>
<p>The upsurge of the population against this immoral
anti-Muslim posture of the government has surprised the
BJP leadership. Modi and his cabinet have become used to
pushing a hard-right agenda. When Modi was the chief
minister of Gujarat, he oversaw a pogrom in 2002 that
killed more than 2,000 Muslims and disfranchised many
thousands more. The BJP’s agenda was clear then; it did
not take the new bills to show the face of the BJP’s
animosity to India’s diverse social world. That was
apparent in 2002.</p>
<p>Indeed, it was apparent in 1992, when Modi’s seniors in
the BJP and the RSS egged on mobs to destroy a
16th-century mosque in the town of Ayodhya (on its ruins
the Indian Supreme Court this year allowed a temple to
be built, a vindication of the hooliganism of 1992).
Since 2014, when Modi became the prime minister,
violence against Muslims and against oppressed castes
(Dalits) has become <a
href="https://go.ind.media/e/546932/modinama-html----store-in/ckxsl8/526583433?h=crDx90O2IjjIBznWuDf-XegxwYQYVTO1hzas9gf-NGY"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"
data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://go.ind.media/e/546932/modinama-html----store-in/ckxsl8/526583433?h%3DcrDx90O2IjjIBznWuDf-XegxwYQYVTO1hzas9gf-NGY&source=gmail&ust=1577242363567000&usg=AFQjCNEJyTxI-k8fqJ8J6fvCueSC19RzGA">routine</a>.</p>
<h4>Borders</h4>
<p>For historical reasons, the borders dividing India from
Bangladesh and Myanmar have been porous. These are lines
drawn by colonial rulers that made no sense to the
people whose lives were divided by them. People cross
these borders as they have for centuries, but they also
cross them to flee oppression. Because of the violence
perpetrated by the government in Myanmar, more than a
million people of the Rohingya community have fled the
country for Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and
Thailand. The BJP’s Amit Shah – who is India’s home
minister – went after the 40,000 Rohingya refugees who
are in India. He wanted them deported to Myanmar.</p>
<p>In September 2018, at an election rally in West Bengal
state, Shah spoke of the migrants from Bangladesh in the
most horrid language. “Infiltrators are like termites in
the soil of Bengal,” he <a
href="https://go.ind.media/e/546932/to-bay-of-bengal-idUSKCN1RO1YD/ckxslb/526583433?h=crDx90O2IjjIBznWuDf-XegxwYQYVTO1hzas9gf-NGY"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"
data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://go.ind.media/e/546932/to-bay-of-bengal-idUSKCN1RO1YD/ckxslb/526583433?h%3DcrDx90O2IjjIBznWuDf-XegxwYQYVTO1hzas9gf-NGY&source=gmail&ust=1577242363567000&usg=AFQjCNEjE1UCkmocY2FGBGeguYxdS-GJBw">said</a>.
“A Bharatiya Janata Party government will pick up
infiltrators one by one and throw them into the Bay of
Bengal.” This language of “termites” and “infiltrators”
is deeply provocative, and very dangerous.</p>
<p>In Assam, an Indian state that borders Bangladesh, the
government constructed detention or concentration camps
where it held those whom it wanted to deport. An Amnesty
International <a
href="https://go.ind.media/e/546932/V-OMqjvaxSsqZZ9TSxc7RvUU2-view/ckxsld/526583433?h=crDx90O2IjjIBznWuDf-XegxwYQYVTO1hzas9gf-NGY"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"
data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://go.ind.media/e/546932/V-OMqjvaxSsqZZ9TSxc7RvUU2-view/ckxsld/526583433?h%3DcrDx90O2IjjIBznWuDf-XegxwYQYVTO1hzas9gf-NGY&source=gmail&ust=1577242363567000&usg=AFQjCNG84wC80UHloyFwRWuLXXl26sgPMw">report</a> from
November 2018 provides extensive documentation of the
existence of these camps, and of their illegality. The
report quotes BJP official Shiladitya Dev’s remarks
about migrants being involved in “criminal activities,”
and Modi’s comment that people are entering Assam from
Bangladesh daily.</p>
<p>“The underlying hyperbolic,” the report says, “seems to
be aimed at dehumanizing Bengali-speaking people.” The
Indian Supreme Court also intervened to <a
href="https://go.ind.media/e/546932/on-Centres-Balancing-Act-Assam/ckxslg/526583433?h=crDx90O2IjjIBznWuDf-XegxwYQYVTO1hzas9gf-NGY"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"
data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://go.ind.media/e/546932/on-Centres-Balancing-Act-Assam/ckxslg/526583433?h%3DcrDx90O2IjjIBznWuDf-XegxwYQYVTO1hzas9gf-NGY&source=gmail&ust=1577242363567000&usg=AFQjCNFA6nZZ3HGoYeC7_uzVuRVTNx9d-A">ask</a> for
the detainees to be released.</p>
<h4>Lies</h4>
<p>Some clever people have set up a website called <a
href="https://go.ind.media/e/546932/2019-12-23/ckxslj/526583433?h=crDx90O2IjjIBznWuDf-XegxwYQYVTO1hzas9gf-NGY"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"
data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://go.ind.media/e/546932/2019-12-23/ckxslj/526583433?h%3DcrDx90O2IjjIBznWuDf-XegxwYQYVTO1hzas9gf-NGY&source=gmail&ust=1577242363567000&usg=AFQjCNH7adnrKneR0NiMYxjsu6XfpkZAEw">Modi
Lies</a>. For good reason the makers of the site have
not given their names or said anything about themselves.
A new <a
href="https://go.ind.media/e/546932/nalists-in-india-2014-2019-pdf/ckxsll/526583433?h=crDx90O2IjjIBznWuDf-XegxwYQYVTO1hzas9gf-NGY"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"
data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://go.ind.media/e/546932/nalists-in-india-2014-2019-pdf/ckxsll/526583433?h%3DcrDx90O2IjjIBznWuDf-XegxwYQYVTO1hzas9gf-NGY&source=gmail&ust=1577242363567000&usg=AFQjCNFInLHaTgaI1Rvy1M-_ArvoeVRZVQ">report</a> shows
that during Modi’s tenure there have been about 200
documented cases of attacks on journalists who tell the
truth about his government; 40 journalists – at least –
were killed in this period.</p>
<p>During the current protests, a correspondent for The
Hindu newspaper, Omar Rashid, was <a
href="https://go.ind.media/e/546932/ed-by-cops-article30361909-ece/ckxsln/526583433?h=crDx90O2IjjIBznWuDf-XegxwYQYVTO1hzas9gf-NGY"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"
data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://go.ind.media/e/546932/ed-by-cops-article30361909-ece/ckxsln/526583433?h%3DcrDx90O2IjjIBznWuDf-XegxwYQYVTO1hzas9gf-NGY&source=gmail&ust=1577242363567000&usg=AFQjCNGdAQRcJHOq7HnhClWaoqb0amJY2w">picked
up by police</a> in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar
Pradesh, a state governed by the BJP. Rashid was beaten
and threatened with violence, including being told that
the police would tear off his beard. This is the climate
for journalists. It is also chilling to hear the volume
of lies from the government. It’s hard to be a
journalist when you are confronted by a deluge of
untruths. No wonder the Modi Lies site is anonymous.</p>
<p>This past Sunday, Modi gave a 90-minute <a
href="https://go.ind.media/e/546932/watch-v-AgElqM9Op-Y/ckxslq/526583433?h=crDx90O2IjjIBznWuDf-XegxwYQYVTO1hzas9gf-NGY"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"
data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://go.ind.media/e/546932/watch-v-AgElqM9Op-Y/ckxslq/526583433?h%3DcrDx90O2IjjIBznWuDf-XegxwYQYVTO1hzas9gf-NGY&source=gmail&ust=1577242363567000&usg=AFQjCNGGX2MfKSCDIy-uKjc8NoeGquAGNg">speech</a> at
a public rally in Delhi. He repeated a volley of lies,
but two of them are worth highlighting:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>There is no National Register of Citizens.</strong> In
his speech, Modi said that since his government took
power in 2014, “there has never been a discussion on
this NRC.” However, the BJP’s election manifesto from
this year <a
href="https://go.ind.media/e/546932/en-manifesto2019/ckxsls/526583433?h=crDx90O2IjjIBznWuDf-XegxwYQYVTO1hzas9gf-NGY"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"
data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://go.ind.media/e/546932/en-manifesto2019/ckxsls/526583433?h%3DcrDx90O2IjjIBznWuDf-XegxwYQYVTO1hzas9gf-NGY&source=gmail&ust=1577242363567000&usg=AFQjCNGuVi6haV1xdfeXlT4PcNXLSRCB2Q">says</a>,
“We will expeditiously complete the National Register
of Citizens process in these areas on priority” (page
11). On December 9, Modi’s home minister told
Parliament, “Rest assured, NRC will be brought in
soon.”</li>
<li><strong>There are no detention camps.</strong> Modi
said, “Rumors of detention centers raised by Congress
and urban Naxals” are lies. The term “urban Naxals” is
used by the BJP to disparage protests and dissenters;
it refers to Maoists, and is used against anyone who
disagrees with the government. Here, as we have seen,
Amnesty International did a report on these camps, and
the Indian Supreme Court has intervened regarding
them. There are news reports of camps not only in
Assam, but of government action to build camps in the
states of <a
href="https://go.ind.media/e/546932/-for-illegal-immigrants-report/ckxslv/526583433?h=crDx90O2IjjIBznWuDf-XegxwYQYVTO1hzas9gf-NGY"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"
data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://go.ind.media/e/546932/-for-illegal-immigrants-report/ckxslv/526583433?h%3DcrDx90O2IjjIBznWuDf-XegxwYQYVTO1hzas9gf-NGY&source=gmail&ust=1577242363567000&usg=AFQjCNFudUWl_972kqVsxdGVJNSigvw3nw">Maharashtra</a> and <a
href="https://go.ind.media/e/546932/igrants-40-km-bengaluru-109992/ckxslx/526583433?h=crDx90O2IjjIBznWuDf-XegxwYQYVTO1hzas9gf-NGY"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"
data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://go.ind.media/e/546932/igrants-40-km-bengaluru-109992/ckxslx/526583433?h%3DcrDx90O2IjjIBznWuDf-XegxwYQYVTO1hzas9gf-NGY&source=gmail&ust=1577242363568000&usg=AFQjCNHuLEG_CeVKc78C05kLsl_KMWoRaA">Karnataka</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p>These are flagrant lies. Neither photographic evidence
(as with the camps) nor transcripts of actual statements
(as with Amit Shah’s statement in Parliament) are
sufficient to undermine the prime minister’s fantastic
statements.</p>
<p>But Modi is not alone here. He <a
href="https://www.asiatimes.com/2019/12/article/indias-modi-pulls-a-trump-on-citizenship-law/">has
good company</a> in Donald Trump, in Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, in Jair Bolsonaro, in Boris Johnson and in a
host of other world leaders for whom lying is part of
their agenda. Arguments based on reason are not their
mode of conversation; their mode is emotion. They speak
in an emotional register, in which they claim to be
victims of a large conspiracy (“urban Naxals”) and in
which they reach into the grievances and humiliations of
sections of the population and pretend that their
hideous policies are a solution.</p>
<p>The BJP has deepened the economic crisis and has
deepened further the employment problem; it has offered
no solutions. But, like Trump, Modi has suggested that
if he can tackle the migration problem, he will both
secure the country and produce jobs – it is the migrants
who are terrorists and job-stealers. This kind of
thought process does not need to be logical. It needs to
be emotional.</p>
<p>To prove that Modi has lied does not solve anything. It
is not the lie that is important to his form of
communication. What is important is the simplicity of
his emotional statement: If I can build the wall, says
Trump, I can get you jobs; if I can corral Muslims, says
Modi, I can get you jobs.</p>
<p>The lying is maddening. It is what will continue to
bring more and more people to the streets. They can see
the lie. Outside the circles of those who are on the
streets, however, are millions of people who accept the
lie. It is not that they are being hoodwinked, but that
the lie is a salve against the hopelessness of their
social condition. They believe the lie because the lie
suggests the possibility of a future for populations who
have been taught to think of themselves as the majority
in a society.</p>
<p>Other possibilities need to be presented to undercut
the emotional resonance of the lie. To say that Modi or
Trump is lying is not enough. What alternative is there
before those who want the lie, what other argument is
there to provide hope against the stagnation of the
present? Those on the streets have begun to construct
that hope. It will form a utopia, one that has to
undermine the emotional power of the Lie of the
Strongman.</p>
<p>The BJP’s political power is depleting. In March 2018,
it ruled 13 of India’s 29 states, and was in a coalition
government in six other states; now, after recent
defeats in Maharashtra and in Jharkhand, the BJP rules
only eight states and is in alliance in eight more. This
uprising has further weakened the BJP.</p>
<p><em>This article was produced by</em> <a
href="https://go.ind.media/e/546932/globetrotter-/ckxslz/526583433?h=crDx90O2IjjIBznWuDf-XegxwYQYVTO1hzas9gf-NGY"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"
data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://go.ind.media/e/546932/globetrotter-/ckxslz/526583433?h%3DcrDx90O2IjjIBznWuDf-XegxwYQYVTO1hzas9gf-NGY&source=gmail&ust=1577242363568000&usg=AFQjCNFUFDUPDMXgpP-vYfc18nGeNzJ5rA">Globetrotter</a>,
<em>a project of the Independent Media Institute, which
provided it to Asia Times.</em></p>
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