The narrative power of the Congress-Left ecosystem helped erase public memory by manipulation and misinformation.
Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit
“If all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became truth.”
George Orwell.
If one does not learn from history, one is condemned to repeat it. The Emergency in India was a 21-month period from 1975 to 1977, when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had a state of emergency declared across the country. Officially issued by President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed under Article 352 of the Constitution because of prevailing “internal disturbance”, the Emergency was in effect from 25 June 1975 [49 years] and ended on 21 March 1977. The order bestowed upon the Prime Minister the authority to rule by decree, allowing elections to be cancelled and civil liberties to be suspended. For much of the Emergency, most of Gandhi’s political opponents were imprisoned and the press were censored.
It taught many that personality cult should not be overplayed, for it brings in overconfidence among the coterie and arrogance of the cadres. The electorate prefers democratic leadership rather than a centralized one and the lesson is, never take the people for granted. The most disturbing aspect was the imprisonment of Opposition leaders, total suspension of civil liberties, curtailment of fundamental rights, draconian curbs on press freedom including censorship, and centralization of power in the hands of an authoritarian and dictatorial cabal led by Indira Gandhi. And still the Congress party called Prime Minister Narendra Modi fascist, and unfortunately this stuck, for it was echoed by the Congress’ ecosystem. The Congress, which declared Emergency, does its doublespeak effectively as the protector of democracy. With all the power and instruments of science and technology, the BJP could not take on this false propaganda and lost the battle of narratives. This is due to its own fault of being unable to create a narrative ecosystem with public intellectuals as its active proponents and participants. The lack of narrative power made a huge dent in political power. It is the battle of ideas and narratives that the Opposition won in the age of Artificial Intelligence.
Hence, the world’s largest party, the BJP was unable to detect fake news and the false narratives that were spread by the very party that perpetuated it. Who partitioned India or Bharat in 1947? The Congress, but today they speak of inclusion and diversity. Partition was done on the basis of religion and identity and was the largest violent displacement of populations and communal killings several times worse than Godhra. The second fake news that worked was that reservation would be removed and Constitution would be amended. Who amended the Constitution through the 42nd amendment? It was the Congress. Who targeted Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar? Congress, that he also wrote a book on what the Congress had done for the untouchables. Paradoxically, in this election, the Congress became the saviour of the Dalits, the marginalized and the minorities. The narrative power of the Congress-Left ecosystem helped erase public memory by manipulation and misinformation, whereas the BJP had no match to this battle of narratives as it is yet to nurture one.
Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else and that is why ideas and narratives matter. This is due to the lack of an ecosystem and intellectuals who develop and nurture the power of narratives. Somehow the NDA leadership thinks that development, science, technology and artificial intelligence can replace a narrative power-based ecosystem. Did it help, the answer is big “no”. As one of the most diverse countries and societies, the electoral process in India is inherently complex. However, this time around, more complexity emerged with minacious trends. Beyond the usual shocks and surprises of who won and who lost, these elections stand out for highlighting the perils of social media, the rise of artificial intelligence, the power of narratives and the intricate nature of foreign interference.
SOCIAL MEDIA AS A MULTIPLIER
Technology is transforming how campaigns are conducted and how voters are approached and convinced. It is a double-edged neutral weapon that serves the user and their ideology. Yet, the truly terrifying thing in the 2024 elections has been the utilization of social media as a vehicle for misinformation, spreading fears and doubts. There was gross misuse of social media, and one saw selective posting of information posed a meaningful challenge for electoral bodies and society.
Platforms like X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and WhatsApp became ground zero for creating a hazardous environment where information spread like wildfire, distorting reality and sowing hatred, fear and confusion. The impact of WhatsApp forward messages has been particularly significant, with unending sharing of fake videos and polarizing messages. Furthermore, the rising concerns about artificial intelligence, flagged by many over the last few years, have manifested in sinister ways in this year’s elections. Hacking and hackers are prowling the internet, warning all of us of the foolproof nature of technology.
A case in point is an AI-generated fake video of Home Minister Amit Shah claiming to scrap reservations. This video spread rapidly on social media and personal chat groups before it was clarified as a fabrication after a whole week had passed. However, the damage it caused persisted, as an environment of distrust was created, which intensified in successive phases and fuelled the proliferation of conspiracy theories. Addressing these dangers of social media will be a litmus test for the Indian electoral process and the Indian state.
POWER OF NARRATIVES
The recent elections witnessed the prevalence of various false and dangerous narratives, disseminated mainly through social media, including the narrative of the “death of democracy” and the authenticity of electronic voting machines (EVMs). While political narratives aimed at rival parties during elections are not uncommon, what stood out this time was how these narratives ended up targeting democracy and its electoral processes directly—a dangerously alarming trend for both Indian democracy and society.
What was more concerning was how these narratives originated and proliferated. As the election progressed, the integrity of EVMs came under further scrutiny. One must also recognise that such dangerous narratives extend beyond political slander and pose significant threats to democracy. Conditionalities in the electoral process and democracy, regardless of political affiliations, are unhealthy for democracy itself. It is imperative to address these issues and strengthen the integrity of democratic institutions to ensure free and fair elections and uphold the principles of democracy.
In a globalized world, taking on the Left-Woke ecosystem needs an intellectual battle of ideas and narratives. A Bharat that was built on the concept of holistic knowledge systems has been unable to develop alternative narratives, a counter cultural revolution in the decade that it had favourable political power. It is this vacuum of credible narrative alternatives that the electorate was convinced of the misinformation and false narratives. The Orwellian world of doublespeak and doublethink is very much here multiplied by instant social media, which denotes an attitude and a brutal policy of draconian control by propaganda, surveillance, disinformation, denial of truth (doublethink), and manipulation of the past was what was done and it nearly worked.
Prof Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit is the Vice Chancellor of JNU.