{"id":1894,"date":"2020-11-09T11:45:44","date_gmt":"2020-11-09T06:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/?p=1894"},"modified":"2020-11-09T11:45:44","modified_gmt":"2020-11-09T06:00:44","slug":"america-does-it-again-vivekanand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/america-does-it-again-vivekanand.html","title":{"rendered":"America does it again. : Vivekanand"},"content":{"rendered":"

America does it again.<\/span>
\nby Vivekanand<\/span><\/h4>\n

The indubitable rise of raucous jingoism and the consequential relegation of \u2018utilitarianism\u2019 in politics is down with the sunset on the political innings of the maverick Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

With the curtain down on the maverick, erstwhile president Donald Trump, the global community which came under the suffocating stress with the unpredictability of the world\u2019s most celebrated democracy, has something to celebrate at last: The darkening cloud gathered over the horizon of world wide democracy, has begun dispersing. No wonder then the return of Joe Biden to the Oval office, is definitively an august occasion for the democracies across the world that had begun experiencing a hovering cloud over their horizons for the last several years. With the dark, lengthening shadow of fascism, having already stretched its menacing tentacles to engulf the democracies world wide, the departure of the iconoclast Trump had an embedded lesson for all democracies across the world, especially for India too: With the brand of politics followed by his comrade in arms, already falling casualty to the people\u2019s ire, will Narendra Modi, determined to undo the institutional values of democracy in India, be chastened with the outcome of the presidential election, and consequently become democratic in his style of governance, or remain reconciled to embrace political hara- kiri for his refusal to draw lessons from Donald\u2019 s humongous monstrosity of political profligacy brought about by his temperamental incongruities with cherished democratic ideals and institutional values.<\/p>\n

Having been an avowed worshipper of democracy, especially the ones as espoused by the world\u2019s great democrats like Jayaprakash Narayan and Martin Luther King 2, I, one of the Indians today, who stand thoroughly disillusioned with the present situation not only within India, but across the world. Invariably at times, a deluge of foreboding has come to haunt me with the menacing thoughts criss- crossing my mind that, \u2018 How could the universe conspire so mischievously to herald the galaxy of such leaders who, despite presiding over the time tested institutions of democracies, have so pathetically contributed to their degeneration, itself appeared an enigma to me. Significantly, my riddle became further complicated with the rise of like minded leaders from across the world, as if the universe has conspired against humanity to keep them under the pall of expanding gloom. In fact, by way of an endorsement of the famous novelist, Paulo Coehello\u2019s world class novel, Alchemist, where he made a famous observation: When you sincerely aspire for something, the entire universe conspires to enable you to attain your desire\u2019. It purportedly appeared that the universe has been so ardently aspiring to enable the fascists world wide to enable them to attain their common objective: to seamlessly transform thriving democracies into the subtly manifest, fascism. The finesse with which it is engendered, has its own skillful ways of orchestrating where the vast populace remains immersed in singing panegyrics for the rulers of the day, with media so powerfully being terrorised into submission, so much so that, abdicating its constitutional role of being the watchdog of the democracies, they exuberantly love to perform the role of the government\u2019s spokespersons. But then, far from being a recent phenomenon in India, it had reared its ugly head in the immediate wake of India liberating Bangladesh, way back in 1971.<\/p>\n

In a democracy, the biggest fallout is, when its ruler triumphantly claims his or her supremacy and promotes his\/ her image as invincible as well as indispensable leader for the country. No wonder such a ruler targets the three important pillars of democracy: Opposition, Judiciary and media, the emasculation of all these three in conjunction with each other, is the precursor to the onset of fascim. Also, such a ruler is always in the quest for cultivating some imaginery enemies to perpetuate his own hold over the power. Adolf Hitler, for that matter, had discovered in Jews his potential enemy and consequently polarised the Germans on the fictitious but, purportedly, a lofty ideal of so- called \u2018superiority of Aryan race\u2019. Inevitably, Goebbelsian propaganda followed to strengthen this concept of so- called supremacy of Aryan race and the consequential vilification of Jews as the heathen populace. Naturally, Germans were deluded into believing themselves as the superior race which, sooner than later, will take over the leadership of the world under the stewardship of Fuhrer Adolf Hitler. Apparently, Indira Gandhi, taking the cue from historic rise of dictators world wide, sought to destabilise India\u2019s democracy by all means at her command. Incidentally, as Lal Krishna Advani writes in his unique autobiography: My Country My Life\u2014perhaps one of the finest political autobiography ever written\u2013that how Indira, even in the wake of her historic defeat in 1977, was extremely reluctant to shed power and, therefore, had held a secret parleys with the three military chiefs for their support to remain in power by proclaiming another emergency on the republic. Imagine the consequence of such fallouts: Would not India have degenerated onto the path of dictatorship with its much vaunted democracy having been given a decent burial once and for all? Would not such lofty ideals of our being an established democracy have been eluding us, if Indira Gandhi ,whose progenies are laying their birthright over the national leadership, had succeeded in her diabolical mission to turn the clock back to India\u2019s pre- independence days?<\/p>\n

Regrettably, the ongoing trend, as was manifest for quite sometimes, even in the USA, it appeared that someone far withdrawn from democratic characteristics, had suddenly seized power from some different planet. Perhaps in decades, the USA, hardly would have witnessed someone so boorish and disdainful of democracy, having been elevated to lead the nation. Gone was the civility of Barack Obama, the statesmanship of Bill Clinton, instead what the nation has someone who, in the garb of making America great again, was seeking his own supremacy as the fascist who dictated the terms to the world, which the world should dutifully bow to accept them obsequiously. Donald Trump perceived himself not as the democratically elected president of the USA, but the emperor of the USA and the world, who was born to order, and for the world to obey. No wonder such boorishness is adequately manifest when, despite America and the whole world erupting in celebration, Trump is threatening to challenge the people\u2019s verdict and put whatever obstacles he can on the way to Joe Biden\u2019s entry into the White House. What will be the fate of Trump\u2019s antics, only time will tell, but one thing is apparent from his conduct: He is anything but a democrat. He can go to any extent to foil the people\u2019s mandate. No wonder had America been an African country or any of the third world nations, Donald Trump would have obstinately stood his ground and denied vacating the position that he had so convincingly lost. For instance, Hilary Clinton had so gracefully ceded power to Donald when she knew that she was rejected by the people of the United States. Interestingly, in the primaries during 2008 election when there was a conflict between Obama and Hilary clinton, it was Bill CLinton who came forward to call the end of the contest and asked Hilary Clinton not to unnecessarily prolong the battle. Likewise in 2000 Presidential election between George Bush Junior and Al Gore, the Vice- President when Bill Clinton was the President, was finally settled after the recounting of Florida electoral colleges. THough there was the speculation that the dispute as to who had won, would be prolonged in the court battle, but finally Al Gore conceded defeat, in the strict tradition of an institutionalised democracy where the people\u2019s verdict is accepted with the head bowed down.<\/p>\n

The lesson of Donald Trump\u2019s defeat has an inherent lesson for India: As America had refused to accept the authoritarianism of Donald Trump, India too, as it rejected Indira Gandhi\u2019s fascism lock, stock and barrel, it should have no compunction in rejecting Narendra Modi\u2019s authoritarianism too, if the situation refuses to show a change for the better, the likelihood of which appears remote. During Indira\u2019s time, notwithstanding the hosannas being sung for her, India, already being relegated to the back burner. Much similar to \u2018Indira is India and India is Indira\u2019, the slogans like \u2018 Modi hai to mumkin hai\u2019, Har Har Modi, Ghar, ghar Modi\u2019, are renting the air. Much like Indira, Modi\u2019s contempt for democratic institutions is becoming obvious: As Indira had subjugated the media, transforming them as her spokespersons, Modi era too, is increasingly witnessing the pulverisation of media as an instrument of his image promotion. Significantly, India today, is invariably moving towards the era of 1975 when Indira Gandhi had invited an apocalypse upon the nation by putting forth her own personal interest over and above the nation. Hence in this backdrop, the presidential elction of USA has come as a major relief as well as the new emerging paradigm for the world to follow. No wonder the world surrounded from all sides by the emerging fascism\u2013be it Jingping, Erdogan of Turkey, Joan Un of North Korea, Vladimir Putin of Russia, Benjamin Nitanyahu of Israel and, of course, Narendra Modi of India\u2013all are strong men with authoritarian streaks to censure press. Therefore, the current election in the USA imparts a mesage to the world community: show the door to the leaders flourishing in the name of democracy, yet doing everything to erode its credibility from within. Will India follow in the footsteps of its American counterparts, only 2024 will prove the same. In the meanwhile, it is for Narendra Modi to draw a lesson from his friend\u2019s ouster from White House and take corrections so that he too does not follow in the footsteps of his friend Donald. However, it is the time now to celebrate the expulsion of an authoritarian president from White House and welcome a democrat in his place: President Joe bidden. Americans deserve kudos from all democracy loving people from across the world. America has proved it yet again: Being the pioneer in ushering in a true democracy, it has sent into exile the man who failed to live upto the democratic credentials.
\nVivekanand Jha, author of the upcoming book The People\u2019s leader.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

America does it again. by Vivekanand The indubitable rise of raucous jingoism and the consequential relegation of \u2018utilitarianism\u2019 in politics is down with the sunset on the political innings of the maverick Donald Trump. With the curtain down on the maverick, erstwhile president Donald Trump, the global community which came under the suffocating stress with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1895,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[18,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","category-top-stories-of-madhesh"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/biden-v-trump-feature-v4.gif?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paS11m-uy","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1894"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1894\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1895"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/himalini.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}