AN election in India is a beautiful game. It reassures people that democracy is still alive and the public has faith in its functioning. Like in a game, the team which plays with planning; does its homework seriously; and, puts into play its strategies before the start of the game, wins the battle. In the recently held assembly elections, the BJP could defeat the Congress, which was the favourite of pollsters and political analysts, because of its better planning and micro-management till the last mile. In fact, the BJP, under Narendra Modi, has evolved a science, a formula, tested several times in its political laboratory, for fighting and winning elections. Like a scientific praxis, an election infrastructure has been created. In every election, this science is put into motion with minor tweaking, depending upon the political pitch of the state. In these elections, in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, the same template was in full play. This template is an amalgam of Hindutva, organisational muscle power, propaganda and ultra-modern technological equipment, which together created a beast that is mythologised as unbeatable. This apparatus can be fragmented into the following subheadings.
I am a Hindu
This story is from the December 21, 2023 edition of Outlook.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the December 21, 2023 edition of Outlook.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
No Singular Self
Sudarshan Shetty's work questions the singularity of identity
Mass Killing
Genocide or not, stop the massacre of Palestinians
Passing on the Gavel
The higher judiciary must locate its own charter in the Constitution. There should not be any ambiguity
India Reads Korea
Books, comics and webtoons by Korean writers and creators-Indian enthusiasts welcome them all
The K-kraze
A chronology of how the Korean cultural wave(s) managed to sweep global audiences
Tapping Everyday Intimacies
Korean filmmaker Hong Sang-soo departs from his outsized national cinema with low-budget, chatty dramedies
Tooth and Nail
The influence of Korean cinema on Bollywood aesthetics isn't matched by engagement with its deeper themes as scene after scene of seemingly vacuous violence testify, shorn of their original context
Beyond Enemy Lines
The recent crop of films on North-South Korea relations reflects a deep-seated yearning for the reunification of Korea
Ramyeon Mogole?
How the Korean aesthetic took over the Indian market and mindspace
Old Ties, Modern Dreams
K-culture in Tamil Nadu is a very serious pursuit for many