THE GREAT ESCAPE
Outlook|June 21, 2024
It’s a long way from here to an inclusive politics, but we should celebrate the fact that on the fourth of June, 2024, we, the people, avoided the abyss
- Mukul Kesavan
THE GREAT ESCAPE

THE morning of the fourth of June found India’s non-bhakt citizens curled in a fetal position. Braced against news of the four-hundred foretold by the exit polls, sapped by a decade of electoral defeats, they had decided not to suffer the drawn-out torment of a televised count. Better to get the bad news all at once when the counting was done.

Then the WhatsApp messages beeped in. “Oye, are you watching?” “Watch, na!” “Arrey, it’s mad.” For me, it was my daughter in Brooklyn. She sent me a screenshot of a docile television channel’s early leads. The pixelated numbers on my phone’s screen were so unlikely that they seemed a cross-connection to an alternate India, a leak across the metaverse. Hooked, I turned the TV on. The rest is history.

The largest effect of Narendra Modi’s comprehensive failure to win a majority for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was psychological. Over a decade, the pan-Indian invincibility of the BJP led by Modi had congealed into a given. Over an extraordinary electoral career, Modi had always won a majority for the BJP in every election he had contested, both provincial and national. This aura of an all-India juggernaut immune to both disasters like demonetisation, and defeats in provincial elections in Bihar and Karnataka, had demoralised the BJP’s opponents in politics and civil society.

It had become hard to read the daily newspaper because the political flux that livens up the news had been stifled by the BJP’s iron grip on politics and political discourse. The 24x7 ‘news channels’ had been unwatchable for years, fronted by death-eater anchors with advanced degrees in performative sycophancy. Absurd though they were, they reigned unchallenged, as the rare island of dissent like NDTV was neutered through acquisition.

この蚘事は Outlook の June 21, 2024 版に掲茉されおいたす。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トラむアルを開始しお、䜕千もの厳遞されたプレミアム ストヌリヌ、9,000 以䞊の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしおください。

この蚘事は Outlook の June 21, 2024 版に掲茉されおいたす。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トラむアルを開始しお、䜕千もの厳遞されたプレミアム ストヌリヌ、9,000 以䞊の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしおください。

OUTLOOKのその他の蚘事すべお衚瀺
Layers Of Lear
Outlook

Layers Of Lear

Director Rajat Kapoor and actor Vinay Pathak's ode to Shakespeare is an experience to behold

time-read
4 分  |
December 21, 2024
Loss and Longing
Outlook

Loss and Longing

Memories can be painful, but they also make life more meaningful

time-read
6 分  |
December 21, 2024
Suprabhatham Sub Judice
Outlook

Suprabhatham Sub Judice

M.S. Subbulakshmi decided the fate of her memorials a long time ago

time-read
8 分  |
December 21, 2024
Fortress of Desire
Outlook

Fortress of Desire

A performance titled 'A Streetcart Named Desire', featuring Indian and international artists and performers, explored different desires through an unusual act on a full moon night at the Gwalior Fort

time-read
7 分  |
December 21, 2024
Of Hope and Hopelessness
Outlook

Of Hope and Hopelessness

The body appears as light in Payal Kapadia's film

time-read
3 分  |
December 21, 2024
Ruptured Lives
Outlook

Ruptured Lives

A visit to Bangladesh in 2010 shaped the author's novel, a sensitively sketched tale of migrants' struggles

time-read
5 分  |
December 21, 2024
The Big Book
Outlook

The Big Book

The Big Book of Odia Literature is a groundbreaking work that provides readers with a comprehensive introduction to the rich and varied literary traditions of Odisha

time-read
4 分  |
December 21, 2024
How to Refuse the Generous Thief
Outlook

How to Refuse the Generous Thief

The poet uses all the available arsenal in English to write the most anti-colonial poetry

time-read
4 分  |
December 21, 2024
The Freedom Compartment
Outlook

The Freedom Compartment

#traindiaries is a photo journal shot in the ladies coaches of Mumbai locals. It explores how women engage and familiarise themselves with spaces by building relationships with complete strangers

time-read
1 min  |
December 21, 2024
Love, Up in the Clouds
Outlook

Love, Up in the Clouds

Manikbabur Megh is an unusual love story about a man falling for a cloud. Amborish Roychoudhury discusses the process of Manikbabu's creation with actor Chandan Sen and director Abhinandan Banerjee

time-read
5 分  |
December 21, 2024