Modi and Hitler
By Justice Markandey Katju
A comparison of Narendra Modi and Adolf Hitler would be interesting.
Neither had anything in their heads, except hatred of Muslims in the former, and hatred of Jews in the latter. Neither made any contribution to the progress of mankind, but instead did great damage, and were thorough reactionaries, coming straight out of a museum.
Then how does one explain their coming to power and ruling as a dictator for 10 years in the case of Modi, and for 12 years in the case of Hitler?
It can be explained only by knowing the desperate situation in both countries, and an iillusion created by both these leaders that they can lead their country out of the terrible condition it is in.
In India, the UPA alliance led by the Congress-ruled from 2004 to 2014. During this period corruption was at its peak, scam following scam, scams not of crores but lacs of crores of rupees, e.g. coalgate scam, 2G scam, CWG scam, etc. This disgusted the Indian public.
Moreover Modi's slogan of 'Vikas' captivated the minds of the Indian youth who thought that they would now get jobs as thousands of factories and businesses will be set up creating millions of jobs.
Also, since 80% of Indians are Hindus, many Hindus, particularly the upper castes, voted for the BJP because they believed that the BJP represents Hinduism, though it does not
.https://indicanews.com/justice-markandey-katju-to-the-hindu-upper-castes/
The result was the polarization of society, regular atrocities on the Muslim minority, and attempts to 'saffronise' all state and educational institutions.
Similarly, before Hitler came to power in January 1933 Germany was in a terrible state, with huge unemployment and rampant inflation, with the Great Depression of 1929 hitting it hardest. The German people regarded their political leaders as weak and always fighting each other instead of working for the welfare of the people. They saw in Hitler as a strong leader who alone could lead them out of their acute distress, and largely voted for him. The result was that for about 12 years almost the whole country went mad, and the world was plunged into a World War with 50 million deaths.
The mental level of the masses in most countries is low. They are gullible, and often follow a Pied Piper of Hamelin, like rats
Indira Gandhi gave the slogan 'Gharibi hatao' and Indians voted for her in droves.
Anna Hazare said 'Bhrashtachar hatao' ( abolish corruption ) and for some time they blindly followed him.
Modi said 'vikas' and they made him Prime Minister.
Now many Indians have started regarding Rahul Gandhi as the new messiah, a Moses who will lead the country into a land of milk and honey, though I doubt he has any idea of how to solve the massive problems in India of poverty, unemployment, appalling level of child malnutrition ( every second child in India is malnourished, according to Global Hunger Index ), skyrocketing prices of essential commodities, almost total lack of proper healthcare and good education for the masses, etc
The present political scenario in India is disgusting and chaotic, no one knowing what will happen next. Modi has of course been reduced to a shadow or scarecrow of what he was earlier, but I doubt 'Achche din' are coming in India for a very long time.
(Justice Katju is a retired judge of the Supreme Court. These are his personal views.)
