Demonetisation is all about Modi, either you're with India or against it

The basic thing to do, says Confucius, is to call a thing by its correct name. Anything less is an insult. Proof? Why do we get offended when we are called names?

One thing is clear. This demonetisation drive is fundamentally not an economic exercise. I thought it was. Today I am convinced it isn't.

I am not an economist, but a student of literature. People like me are trained to think through images. This is as radical as it is risky. Images allow you to peek through folds of deception. But they can also lead you to the backyard of Timbuktu.

Having noted the nuances of this raging face-off, I am inclined to think that this national turbulence is best seen as Modi's Ashwamedha, or horse sacrifice.

The horse is unleashed to test resistance, or the extent to which the Emperor's absolute sway is accepted by all within the territory. Some of the suggestive pointers in this direction are:

1.    It was Modi, not Jaitley, who announced the move, which is ostensibly a financial matter.

2.    The landscape of demonetisation is completely dominated by the larger-than-life figure of Modi. No one, neither Jaitley nor the Cabinet, matters one bit. Modi is the Colossus of demonetisation; or, as Venkaiah Naidu claims, the "Messiah" of the poor. (By the way, Hitler too was hailed as the Messiah.)

3.    When Modi was away from the country for a few days, the demonetisation juggernaut came to a halt. It began to rumble the moment his plane touched down in India.

4.    The venture bypassed the Parliament completely.

5.    Modi has now turned it into an affair between him and tech-savvy citizens. The Parliament looks anachronistic, for which the entire blame cannot be put at his doorstep.

The precursor of Modi's Ashwamedha was Advani's Rath Yatra. Lalu stopped it in Bihar and attained instant stardom. Modi's monetary horse is a million times more intractable than Advani's Rath. It travels in all directions at once and affects the lives of millions in a flash. In comparison, the Rath pales into insignificance; just as Advani does vis-à-vis Modi.

In a Plutocracy, money is the king's horse that you dare not resist. Though pre-democratic in pedigree, it has enchanting heroic, overtones and deep mass-appeal.

Unless the Opposition understands this, they will not be able to evolve a relevant response strategy. Even then, it is doubtful if they will ever come up with an effective one.

Two shrewd politicians read the message aright: Nitish Kumar and Naveen Patnaik. Nitish's image is a giveaway: Modi is "riding a tiger bravely"! See how feudal overtones of "bravery" and "exploit" are telescoped into a single metaphor! It is a stirring, macho image. Nitish and Naveen know that nothing will change on the ground. No dominant interests will be affected and, soon, it will be business as usual.

The rest of us are on a time machine. Citizens have become prajas. The hallmark of a praja is unconditional loyalty and implicit acceptance of the ruler's will.

The public expression of loyalty is the willingness to put up with humungous inconvenience. In the olden days, when a Maharaja visited a part of his kingdom, the people used to wait patiently for hours together.

The more backward the subjects, the greater their patience. The greater, also, their fulfillment at having waited so long!

This patience is not indexed to any anticipated benefit in the near or distant future. It is a demonstration of loyalty. Modi knows this and is hugely emboldened by this. And why not?

Hence the rationale for going straight to the people via the Modi app.

Within the ambience of Ashwamedha, any difference with, or resistance of, the ruler's will is treason. The subjects are vertically split into two segments: those who are with the Chakravartin and those, if any, who do not accept his suzerainty.

Debate is alien to Ashwamedha. It is either or. Either you are with me, or you are against me, which means, besides, that you are anti-national.

The citizens of this country today stand at the crossroads. They have to decide if they want to go back to the heady, heroic days of Ashwamedh, with its pomp and poverty. (By the way where there is pomp there will also be, perforce, crass poverty.)

Or, if they want to be citizens living under the aegis of a Constitution, which confers certain fundamental rights and makes some basic ideals -justice, liberty, equality, fraternity- accessible to them.

No matter how blind we are, there is one thing we cannot miss: the stark contrast between the ruling elite and the common man. Let us assume that all pro-monetisation statements from those who stood and wiggled in queues all over the country are untutored and sincere. Modi was right in saying in Goa that the common man in this country deserves to be saluted for his fortitude.

The question is, why are such values and ideals conspicuously absent from the political class? The human stock of the common man comes through a lot nobler than that of our leaders and rulers. Is our humanity too being demonetised? Shouldn't that be a concern?

It is all right to be idealistic. But as citizens we need now, more than ever before, to see through the politics of flattery. The common man is flattered, not out of love for him, but merely to manipulate him. Flattery means only one thing: you are behaving in a way that is convenient to the flatterer. The moment you step out of that line, you will be damned.

Citizenship implies a duty: the duty to tell the truth. Surely, you are not telling the truth when you say that having to stand on long, interminable queues for days is a cheerful thing for you. Surely, you are cheating yourself when you say that not being able to work and earn your daily wages, having to stand on queues, will build a better India!

Surely, you are dishonest when you say, as a small trader, that your business has taken an eighty percent hit, but it is a happy thing that you can make such a sacrifice for the sake of the country.

Come on, you don't mean that, do you?

Why is it that this spirit of sacrifice is alien to the ruling elite? Why are rulers bleeding the country to death? Why are corporates -fatted calves- being fattened more at the expense of emaciated people? Why is it that obscene affluence and wastage of resources that mark governance not checked?

No, my sisters and brothers, no one is interested in you. Certainly not politicians. They are interested in your fingers that press the buttons on EVMs. That over, you are consigned to the sewer of neglect and political untouchability. That is why Ram Kishen Grewal had to commit suicide in Delhi. How quickly we have forgotten him!

How many times should this hypocritical drama be played out, before we bother to learn?

Name one politician who valued you or responded to your needs in the past? You are surely not richer by Rs. 15 lakhs; are you? If the rich and the mighty have defrauded our banks to the tune of 7 lakh crores, how much of that has got into the stomach of your chicken or goats?

Look, there is one thing you need to do, if you want to live like a human being: stop being stupid. Think for yourself. Have the courage to cry out. Learn to treat people based on their track record. Call a spade a spade. Treat the wicked as public abominations. Do not become shouting mouths for those who deserve to be denounced. Above, all, use your votes. What else are you left with? India will change, if you will. If you don't, God help you. The day is far spent. The night is nearly upon us. Even animals go back to their stables. Why are we still wandering in the by-lanes of confusion and self-deception?