Diversity is one of the greatest strengths for a country like India. Many people, holding many viewpoints, keep the country safe from growing stale.
Nevertheless, a new tide is rising – politics has injected its poker into the heart of this diversity, ripping it in the process. What we are witnessing, is a surge of conservatism among the newer generation of Indian youth, who acknowledge the impact of globalisation, without being influenced by it.
They rock their Chinese made goods, all while decrying their encroachment on the Sino-Indian border. They aspire to replace their old iPhones with the newer models, in the same breath which they oppose the ‘Western Influence’ on media and culture.
Fuel by nativist outlooks, the new face of Indian conservatism is becoming a hot mess of hypocrisy – but who’s to blame for this?
A Whole New World
Globalisation is an inescapable, all-consuming void; it will suck in all that dare to come near. There is no one-foot-in – either you fall inside completely, or keep it at a sieg-heil distance. It turns out, the conservatives are doing exactly that.
Any new ‘radical’ outlook, does receive its fair share of backlash (it is not hard to remember a time when social media websites were maligned by parents across the board. Currently the most active users on these websites are moms and dads, who got hooked on Farmville, and never truly left). The liberal dream of a unified globe is no different.
This time, the proverbial ghee (clarified butter) being added to this regressive dumpster fire, just happens to be of political and capitalist persuasion.
The Uber- Conservative
Who’s to say how a person should live their life? Maybe, they want to indulge in a life of partying and drugs, or rather devote their lives in the name of the lord. The modern conservative says, “why not both?”
A national survey from 2016, asked 6,122 youth aged 15-34, about the visible rise in intolerance and conservatism. The results were shocking to say the least.
Free speech, for instance, is enshrined in our constitution, giving every single person irrespective of their background, to put their point across. 60% of the youth considers any media that hurt national or religious sentiments, worthy of a ban.
These weren’t people living in rural India; this was in Delhi, the national capital! Moreover, 46% opposed the hot-button issue of Beef consumption outright.
But topics like equality in marriage, really brought things into perspective – a whopping 51% of youth, professed that wives should ‘always’ listen to their husbands! 41% said that women working post-marriage is a BIG NO for them.
What Went Wrong?
One could argue that it is the work of a propagandist that is keeping India from reaching out towards new viewpoints. While partially correct, the two-piece jigsaw puzzle has another side that makes it whole.
Political outfits have but given a voice to the voiceless Indian, who feels left out in this ever changing environment. They vehemently oppose ‘western influences’ like Valentine’s Day (40% disapproved it), but gladly bathe themselves in the biggest influence of them all – corporate capitalist culture.
Gone is the age when propaganda used to be spread though flyers and books; the ‘modern’ conservative gets their daily dosage of xenophobia from the internet. Herein, lies the biggest hypocrisy. Cherry picking what works and what doesn’t, really muddies the water for the static observer sitting afar. The right-wing has invested heavily in big data, and overshadow the liberals by an indescribable margin.
Living in hypocrisy has really numbed these youth out of their senses. Politicians will frequently invest heavily in religious ceremonies, giving the left-out conservative, some viable alternatives. In the name of God, parties blaring pop versions of classic bhajans blare. While the patron enjoys, what can only be called, a ‘party’ akin to a Rave – all funded by your local Neta.
Once again, this is not the old and dying generation of India, but the fresh new crop. The country is standing at a cross-road of progress. Ideally, Indians should adapt and adopt – taking new ideas and meshing with what worked for us before. The problem is that the neo-conservative unsuspectingly adopts the new, without acknowledging it, while being stuck in an eternal loop of self-pity and isolation. Add that to a steady stream of propaganda being pumped through social media and the like, the Neo-Con will grab the outreached hand of globalisation, and hack it off the elbow.
This very duplicitous nature, lies at the very heart of the modern conservative movement.
