Strength begets strength. Strength attracts, strength reassures and strength revives. Narendra Modi won a massive mandate twice because of his strength as a leader unstained by corruption. So did Yogi Adityanath in Uttar Pradesh for similar reasons—crime, corruption and caste chaos had engulfed the state under Akhilesh Yadav. In 2014, Modi’s slogan was development; UPA II’s drift as corruption cases followed one after the other like lemmings made public optimism rudderless.
The highly respected Prime Minister Manmohan Singh became Maunmohan. Modi had won the election even before it was held. In 2019, he emerged as the only strongman with the cojones to strike back against aggressors. Modi and Yogi are the most high-profile leaders in India. Modi is perceived as India’s Prester John, waving in an empty tunnel as if greeting a vast metaphorical audience that will adore him forever. He is already in the realm of the mystical—a philosopher king established in the national gestalt. Yogi’s comparison with Modi ends there.
The austere monk of Gorakhpur and relentless crime fighter holds up his Hindu credentials proudly as the leader of Ram Rajya. Somewhere along the journey to become Modi 2, Yogi seems to have lost Ram but retained Raj. Ram represents justice, idealism and upright governance. The alleged gangrape and murder of an innocent Dalit teenager in Hathras is not an international conspiracy to defame UP. FIRs are not the need of the hour, but the effort to cleanse UP’s image as an area of darkness. Not police violence against political rape tourists, but transparency.
Presenting a forensic report taken 11 days after the incident to tarnish the girl’s dying declaration is cowardly self-absolution. It is the government’s responsibility to protect any victim. When the police are ruthlessly unleashed on those who question the government, the strongman becomes a bully. An authoritative leader can become authoritarian. It is the Strongman Con Syndrome. The Strongman Con is a phrase coined by author Teri Kanefield who suggests that democracy will die only if a majority believe it is already dead, or think it is not worth keeping alive.
A commentator analysed that dictators talk tougher than they can walk the talk—on his way to Rome to seize power, Mussolini had only 30,000 Black Shirts with him while he claimed he had 300,000. The authorities did not resist because they believed him. “If only we can give them faith that mountains can be moved, they will accept the illusion that mountains are moveable, and thus an illusion may become reality,” Mussolini declared after becoming II Duce.
Kanefield’s premise is that the strongman wants to capture your mind with fear. “So it’s important to remind your mind of the power already gained by putting minds together,” because it will make the strongman look weak. And weakness is his kryptonite. Strongmen ignore a fact of history that the most ardent of supporters will one day get tired of unrelenting strength; people need the mildness of everyday routines to find peace. Yogi doesn’t need to fear looking weak. Democracy thrives on dissent. To use police force recklessly to intimidate objectors is not a sign of strength.
Ravi Shankar
ravi@newindianexpress.com