Is the coming generation the ideal dupe for Hindu Nationalist propaganda?

Chitrali | Ashoka University

| It was back in 2014. I saw a boy about 10 years old wearing the infamous Khaki shorts in the park near my home. He erected a stick in the ground, drew a circle around it, stood alone and upright. He kept his right hand, bent from the elbow, parallel to the ground as he chanted some prayers. This process of 15-20 minutes was practiced religiously by him every day in the evenings. Amusing as it was, I didn’t care enough to enquire about it with him.

Today, there is a group of 10-15 children, ageing between 8-15 years that regularly gather in the park. They stand in queues, erect a saffron flag in front and gallantly chant the RSS prayers at top of their voices. Followed by this routine they play games just like any other group of children. Except that games like ‘Ice and Water’ are often accompanied by slogans like “Jai Bhawani” and “Jai Shivaji”.

On the night of 5th August 2019 when Indian government revoked Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, a group of men and children danced on the beats of dhol and burned fire-crackers in the same park. Along with it was a song in the background. Its lyrics: “Bharat ka abhiman hai Hindu. Matrabhoomi ki shaan hai Hindu”. Which literally meant, Hindus are the pride of India and our Motherland.

Only when you see the past in a glance, you can perceive the gestalt. I can see it today. The coming of BJP in power at the centre undoubtedly gave immunity to the ideology of RSS. An ideology that propagates the formation of a Hindu Rashtra where Muslims are treated as second-class citizens. An ideology that stands in firm opposition to secular ideals of our constitution. There’s little doubt about the fact that both, BJP and RSS, are determined to transform the social fabric of India. There is a changed notion of nationalism and democracy. The propaganda has been woven like a spider’s web and is feeding on the power of the state.

Like flies caught in the web, every propaganda needs its subject. Who else could be a better prey than children? It has been argued that children are more susceptible to indoctrination due to their developing personalities and mind (Ray and Jat, 2010). Undoubtedly, children are malleable. Things taught to us in childhood often remain with us for a long time. For those children in the park, I wonder how many joined the group out of amusement. How many danced that night and bursted crackers because it was thrilling? If you ask me, for a boy who just hit puberty, shouting slogans in the middle of the night might be the most adventurous thing to do! This is similar to a “bandwagon” technique used during wartime wherein people are motivated to join an organisation, military or political party by following the crowd. This was often done by convincing people that they’ll belong to the “winning” side.

Not to mention, there is oversimplification in nationalistic and religious indoctrinations given to children. It is not just that they are being indoctrinated for a religious political agenda but it is imperative to conceive the perils of a single story. Especially, one that is filled with hate towards another community. Condensing complex ideas into a brawl between India-Pakistan or Hindu-Muslim or Mandir-Masjid surely does not empower a vibrant democracy. HG Wells once said, “Ideas and phrases can now be given an effectiveness greater than the effectiveness of any personality and stronger than any sectional interest” (Bernays). And an idea sown in the minds of children is nothing but a long term investment.

But this isn't the first time in history that children have been targets of state/religious propaganda. In Hitler’s Germany Joseph Goebbels led the indoctrination of children to hate Jews and believe in the supremacy of the Aryan race. As was seen in Taika Waititi’s Oscar winning comedy-drama, Jojo Rabbit, the systemic way of othering and stereotyping the Jews was prevalent in the Nazi Germany. Changing school syllabus in accordance with the ideology of Hitler was one of the prime manoeuvres. Consequently, it was found in a study by Voigtländer & Voth in 2015 that “individuals who attended school in Germany between 1933 and 1945 are three-times more anti-Semitic and racist than those who attended school before 1933 or after 1945” (Batrasheva).

It was similar in Stalin’s Soviet Union. The cult of Stalin as the friend of children was manufactured by various symbols and state-controlled media outlets. By 1936, an ideal image of Soviet childhood was created. Banners reading, “Thank you, Comrade Stalin, for a happy, joyful childhood!” were put outside schools, nurseries and orphanages. At the same time, there was propaganda in Japan to condition children according to the Imperialist ideology and serve the nation in its expansionist policies. This was done through Kamishibai or Japanese “Paper Theatre''.

One can argue that RSS has organised itself and functioned this way for decades. However, never in the past were mediums of propaganda this diverse and never before was BJP, the kin of RSS, in power with a huge majority at the centre. There is brainwashing at all fronts, from mainstream media to social media. ‘Fake News’ and ‘Populism’ are the buzzwords in our dictionary. The environment is conducive to instil prejudice, create biases and polarise societies. Garry Kasparov once said, “The point of modern propaganda isn't only to misinform or push an agenda. It is to exhaust your critical thinking, to annihilate truth.” As it stands, children continue to be impressionable victims of this modern propaganda.

Now when I think about 2014, the hazy image of that boy comes rushing to my mind. I wonder how different my childhood would have been had I been an 8 year old today. Edward Bernay says that there is an “invisible govt” out there which is “the true ruling power of the country”. One that “manipulates this unseen mechanism of society” (Bernays). I can’t help but think about all those invisible forces that steered my childhood.

---

References

1. Batrasheva, Yeldana. “Children and the Media: Propaganda Methods Aimed at Children during World War II.” State University of New York, Empire State College, 2016.

2. Bernays, Edward L., and Mark Crispin Miller. Propaganda. Desert Books, 2018.

3. Kelly, Catriona. “Riding the Magic Carpet: Children and Leader Cult in the Stalin Era.” The Slavic and East European Journal, vol. 49, no. 2, 2005, pp. 199–224. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/20058260. Accessed 23 July 2020.

4. McGowan, Dr. Tara M. “Gospel and War Propaganda Take to the Streets! The Rise of ‘Educational Kamishibai’ (教育紙芝居).” Cotsen Children’s Library, 2019, blogs.princeton.edu/cotsen/2019/08/educational-kamishibai/.

5. Ray, Munni, and Kana Ram Jat. “Effect of electronic media on children.” Indian pediatrics vol. 47,7 (2010): 561-8. doi:10.1007/s13312-010-0128-9