Dear Dr K,
I read recently that a lot of people in India, particularly youth from varied backgrounds, seem to consider Adolf Hitler a figure worthy of admiration. Historically, India didn’t have much of a connection with Hitler, so why is it that so many people now revere him?
Madoff Kilter
Dear Madoff,
It seems perfectly reasonable to me that Hitler should be revered in India; after all, what makes a man more praiseworthy than the slaughter of millions of people and leaving permanent physical and psychological scars upon the world? If only our leaders aspired to be like him, warmongering and totalitarian,
India would be further ahead in the world than it is now.
You see, aside from being a racist perpetrator of genocide, Hitler is also admired for being a patriot, and patriotism is a quality we regard very highly in India.
It is true that Hitler’s patriotism caused him to lead his country into terrible defeat, destruction and division, followed by years of hardship and shame, but that doesn’t discount his original noble sentiment.
But Dr K, I hear you argue, these reasons aren’t specific to this country. What is the reason that makes so many Indians admire Hitler?
Well, there are some who believe that Hitler should get credit for India’s independence from the British, since after World War II the British were so exhausted that they decided to leave us be. Hitler had his own plans for India which, unfortunately for him and all his admirers here, never materialised. He wanted to partition India into two halves, one for the Germans and the other for the Japanese.
Hitler’s admirers in India probably wish that he had ruled India because, recognising their own enviable herd-like mentality, they would do very well under a ruler who asked for mindless obedience. There would be none of the frustrating political bickering that plagues our country today.
But isn’t it a contradiction, you might ask, that the same people who credit Adolf Hitler with India’s independence would also like to see India ruled by him?
Not necessarily. Nazi rule may have been preferable to British rule, in that unlike the British, who tried, imprisoned, and attempted to stand in the way of many of those who were fighting for Indian Independence, the Nazis would have simply gathered up all those suspected of being freedom fighters, and killed them in one go. The Nazis would have ruled India with a firm hand, unlike the weak and cowardly British who were constantly dithering and gave Indians too much room to express dissent.
Hitler, for example, was of the opinion that the British should simply shoot Gandhi to send a message to all Indians, and if that didn’t work, shoot all the members of the Congress. The British never took Hitler’s advice, and this is probably one of the most disappointing things about their rule, since those who admire Hitler also consider Gandhi and all his followers to have been cowards. After all, what is there to admire in a man who never killed anybody?
Yours questionably,
Dr K