A dispassionate person is confounded by right wing extremism. It’s not what they say, but their overall behavior. Whether it’s in India (with Saffron, or Hindutva right wingers), or the US (with Republicans and crazies like Glenn Beck), they all share a few common traits that the rest of us simply can’t comprehend. IP had written a brilliant post on this, but I want to go further. I want to understand why people who are intelligent, educated, and economically well off indulge in this kind of behavior and why they’re so different from the rest of us. But first, here are a few common characteristics:
1. Racism. Saffron right wingers in India claim that Hindus are the most tolerant and peaceful people – and then smoothly go on to proclaim that all other religions are are evil, especially the “Abrahamic Religions”. They also vent their fury on Atheists and “Intellectuals”. Muslims become evil slime balls with green goo for blood and “Urban Elites” are weak-kneed party goers who’ve lost touch with reality and only get knowledge by thinking in armchairs. The “West” is also a favorite whipping boy.
2. Conspiracy theories: Right wingers have a talent for picking “clues” here and there which betray a “larger scheme”. When the rest of us see coincidence, or at best incompetence, Hindutva types behold a diabolic ganging up of media, politicians, Muslims and corporations to suppress Hindus who make up over 80% of the population and to destroy “Indian culture.”
3. Vitriol, Hatred, and Innuendos: By themselves, the first two points are not really damning. We all associate ourselves with certain groups (For example I club myself with Atheists), and we’re all worried about threats (such as threats to Freedom of speech and expression). But Right wingers have an additional quality. They’re shrill. They happily use ad hominem arguments and sling mud at even those who speak politely to them in order to understand where they’re coming from. My disastrous experiment in talking to them resulted in a kind of witch hunt that left me dumbfounded.
It’s actually an amplification of the last two points. If you’re racist enough and fearful enough you start believing that everyone who doesn’t agree with you is an evil threat. But what causes this? Why are these people so different from those of us who, though we may disagree with each other, manage to keep a clear head and avoid abuses? What makes educated and economically sound individuals go over the top? I’m not sure, but I think I can identify a few underlying causes.
The need to feel superior
There’s clearly a huge need for the right wingers to feel special about themselves. That’s what racism really is after all. When someone feels worthless, they can get back their worth by identifying with a group and then deifying that group or demeaning the others.
This is also why they “demonize” other groups. Recently, this is what Narendra Modi said:
“The war between nationalists and anti-nationalist demons has started in Gujarat”. — Narendra Modi.
I couldn’t have found a better example. QED.
This makes sense because if you view everyone as equal human beings, then you can’t be racist anymore. One can’t view Muslims as regular humans like you and me and claim that Hindus are superior to all others. So it’s easy to view them as less than human. As demons. As “the evil ones.” Not as people who have feelings and who love their children.
The problem occurs when the rest of us don’t agree with the right winger’s view of themselves. So when we don’t treat them as anything special, they take offense the way Murali Manohar Joshi reacts in this 30 second clip.
The Interviewer is asking him why the BJP supports Sai Baba in spite of the allegations of crimes. Instead of answering the question, he exhibits classic paranoia and the feeling of privilege described above.
When people sense this fake superiority, they respond by mocking them and attempting to pull them back to earth. It’s human nature. And so their paranoia becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. But right wingers are unable to see how they themselves play a role in worsening their situation.
This constant strain to be “dignified” and “superior” renders right wingers utterly incapable of humor. After all, a dignified person can never be seen laughing at a joke or at themselves. I’ve said before that India needs more comedians and this is exactly why. If you can’t laugh at yourself, there’s something wrong with your outlook in life.
Because of the tendency to separate the world into “us” and “them”, right wingers are unable to empathize with anyone not in their group. When you ask them to put themselves in another’s shoes, they either ignore the question or explode.
Watch how 3 mins into this video, Glenn Beck explodes after being asked “What would you do?”
But what causes the complex? A false superiority complex (and it is false because no human is “superior” to another) usually has the reverse at the heart of it. So right wingers in their passionate attempts to feel special betray a strong inferiority complex. I don’t know what causes it.
Maybe our society which denies the worth of individuals and makes them subservient to the family is the cause. It’s very easy then to simply submerge your identity into a group – a nation, a religion, or even family. No wonder “Honor killings” are still prevalent. When you yourself have no honor, you need to manufacture it through your family using excuses like this.
It’s futile to calmly use logic when talking to right wingers. If they listened to logic, they would be forced to admit there’s nothing special about them, their religion, and even their nation. And after that, there’s no escape from the feelings of helplessness and despair against which they’ve built up the defense of superiority.
So what can be done? This is tricky. Psychologists usually treat paranoid or narcissistic patients not by using logic, but by addressing insecurities. This can’t be done en mass and it certainly can’t be done by you and me. If we tried, they would think we’re threatening their identity and the walls will come up so hard and fast that our heads will spin. Things will just get worse.
I think one can only hope that such people are in a small and shrill minority. One has to hope that the average Indian doesn’t feel greatly threatened in any way. From what I’ve seen so far in the blogosphere, this is more or less true. And it gives me hope.
Very well put…Right wing loons are like horses with blinders – they refuse to entertain another point of view…These wackos do everything and anything to distort and twist facts including science to agree with their ideology, in particular their religion…
Also, a lot of the old right wingers try to solve todays problems with yesterdays solutions because their brains aren’t capable of absorbing new information…
In reply to Sraboney
I don’t know about the brains part :) – most of them are capable of thinking clearly once their prejudices are removed. But if those are deeply ingrained, then I’m not sure anything can help…
Great post.
Well written.
“It’s futile to calmly use logic when talking to right wingers”
Their attitude is something like :- “Dont confuse me with facts and logic…….my mind is already made up”
In reply to Indian Pundit
People tend to keep systems of belief that serve an emotional need. Hardliners seem to derive some comfort from their vitriol. I just hope there aren’t too many of them.
Hindu radicalism and ultra-nationalist extremism are nothing new to Indian politics, but such right-wing activism has now taken a turn for the dangerous.
Sadly, right wing extremism which goes around as “Hindutva” is being conveniently pushed under the carpet.
In reply to Purba
Let’s see how it plays out. If we’re lucky, it will fizzle out to nothing. Most people just want to go about their business in peace…
Great blog and a voice of reason. There is no question that intolerance among certain sections of the Hindu society is on the rise. Anyone who has a differing opinion is labeled a Hindu hater or as Western influenced (as if this is a bad thing).
In reply to Hari
Thanks Hari – the name calling can get quite bad. One of the differences between hardliner dialog and regular discussions…
Park… I don’t understand why are you posting your rubbishes on India when you live and earn your bread and butter in USA. Hasn’t my country given refuge to you and fed you to make you fat as a pig you are now? Why don’t you suck the sausage and bulla of Padres and Mullas and be happy? You two pint traitors are worse than Muslim Jehadis.
you have no idea on how the world has worked till date for you to be able to sit there comfortably and regurgitate what you have been taught in school…or you listen in media. these institutions have a world view of 200 years. they dont see anything beyond this time frame. there is a need for hindus to be united…not just today but the need existed even centuries ago. now that thankfully we are a nation,we need a strong country..and .there would be no india without its hindu values…without them idea of India would be inconceivable. the reason why a right wing is needed is to represent a majority interest…in this case a so called "majority" (wich is very fast changing) hindu people, who seem to be getting a rough end of the stick politically because they are not united and they dont constitute a vote bank.inspite of facing the same hardships as the other religious groups. So essentially you cannot expect saintly reactions anymore, especially so that there is no example anymore for it. rather than attacking the existence of right wing which is crucial for india's existence as a nation we know it, you should instead work towards how can we unite the society more and thereby reducing the pervasive corruption
In reply to Preet
What do you mean by "Unite the society?"
In reply to Preet
Good for you. Jal park seems an opinionated ass. Thinks he understands violent people. Somehow he thinks it will change. You get older and you start to umderstand
Some peoples and beliefs are evil. They only understand strenght and they lie. It is easy for them to trick good people as good people cannot conveive how someone could be like that
dont take the easy way out…dont let a lazy analysis and its conclusions based on your education (as taught to you education system that was developed as early as 100 years ago, and your complete reliance on history as taught by your history text books, which in many case censors out confrontational aspects of history and current prevalent media ) make you blind to the way world has worked and has been working for last 100 years . Be happy that imperialsm as we know it is over. we are fortunately out of 1000 years of imperial rule. And while i agree with you that the some incidents have been dirty and unfortunate…lets not give them a historical status. On a comparative scale they still are far insignificant than what my population has seen. I feel utterly pained that you have no interest in reading the plight of hindus in these 1000 years. and yes without a land to command your own, you can never live a certain life you call your own. History of this land has proven it..you have to belong to a community and a society at the end of the day. and while we sleep comfortably in our homes there are soldiers fighting everyday to protect the boundaries and our land so that we live a certain way of life peacefully.
In reply to Preet
What happened in the past is over and forgotten. Why don't you look at the present and future instead?
First let me point out that hindutva is a word meant to denote a nationalist identity not a religious one. Also hindutva has some major differences to right wing in the american context {for eg: they are not free market fanatics (you can read the writings of the swadeshi jagran manch)} . I agree with you that a large number of people who claim to be speaking for hindutva are basically nutjobs . I will try here , to present a more balanced picture from the other -side . Please bear with me , this will be fairly long.
Let me take you on point by point :
1) Racism : I do not agree with your choice of word , as even in the worst riot of 1993 I did not hear any talk of races , as in the indian context it does not make much sense. It is a religious conflict between people of the same race. Now coming to the substance , I will now claim that Hinduism is actually the most tolerant . To substantiate this all one needs to do is to look at history {and no you cannot forget history}. The Abrahmic religions have done a lot of good in the world but it is a fact that they annihilated all pagan and tribal religions . In the Indian context , the rule of Aurangzeb is still remebered in the hindi heartland for its brutality and mass forced conversions. Hinduism existed with jainism , buddhism and several tribal and other sects.
Are hindus the most tolerant ? Well they constitute one of the few secular countries with a vast majority of one religion , I can think of some christian majority nations but no muslim majority nation {Please correct me if I am wrong} . Infact such is the inherent secularism that even the RSS had to backtrack from its goal of a ” hindu rashtra”.
Are there hindu terrorists ? Yes there are . The LTTE is an example . In the Indian context the jury is still out. But I dont remember reading about hindus blowing themselves up shouting Jai shri ram in markets of indonesia or even india for that matter.
BTW the word hindutva was coined by an atheist :) {Savarkar was a self proclaimed proud atheist} Infact hinduism has a great tradition of atheist philosophers , infact being an atheist does not prevent you from being a hindu .
2) Conspiracy Theories : This is definitely not the preserve of the right wingers alone. You will find the liberal left wing doing the same and your logic applies equally well to all. In the Indian context it should be remembered that the muslim vote constitutes a significant proportion { not because of population} , because the community leaders get into deals with political parties , so there is some fire behind the smoke :)
3)Hatred etc: The trouble is that a right winger is not treated with respect as most intellectuals are left liberals , so when pushed in a corner they push back ,and, with some force !! :) Hindutva actually is meant to allay fears and push everyone to excel in whatever it is that you do. Swami Vivekananda {who actually was quite far right and an inspirational figure for some hindutvavadis} told people to be fearless in most of his writings.
4)Superiority : All groups that try to create an identity end up giving an appearance of a superiority complex. Hindutva is about a kind of cultural pride which might be viewed by some as arrogance . It does not mean demeaning others , it means you acknowledge that your present existence owes something to the past inhabitants of the sub-continent . This does lead to a significant portion of the conflict , as large sections of muslim population in india wants to identify itself with arabs and this hurts a lot of the nationalists.
I agree with you that a hidden inferiority complex drives this attempt to inculcate this kind of cultural pride. The reason is simple India was ruled by invaders for almost a thousand years !!
5)Demonizing : A quote out of context , is an old media trick :) But assuming that Mr.Modi meant exactly what is written , i don’t find anything objectionable unless you add to it the innuendo of what and who is meant by anti nationals !!
As hindutva takes pride in the cultural heritage so it should also take responsibility for the social wrongs and try to correct them. But honor killings has more to do with the patriarchal society , which is actually one of the gifts of invaders :)
In the end you become very patronizing as most liberals do, all right-wingers are not lunatics and dont need psychiatric intervention and I hope the same is the case with the liberals :)
In reply to shashank
Thanks for the thoughtful reply Shashank. This may sound strange to you, but it really is refreshing to see a comment supporting Hindutva without being dominated by abuse and vitriol. I’m glad you gave me the chance to see that not everyone is like that.
1. I think Hindutva in it’s current form can’t be separated from Hinduism. After all, words like “Ram raj”, the whole Ayodhya issue etc enforce that connection. I agree that in it’s original form it might indeed have been non religious but in practice today, just about all Hindutva people are Hindus and proclaim the superiority of Hinduism.
2. About conspiracies, I’m referring to a general atmosphere of paranoia – Media is run by Jews, Sonia Gandhi is a Christian conspiracy, US is taking over India, Media is owned by Congress etc etc.
3. Well, you may be right but it’s a self propagating effect then. I’ve been abused too many times to feel comfortable in a completely pro Hindutva atmosphere. Which is why your current comment is so pleasing. Believe me I don’t want anyone to abuse me!
4. I personally don’t think anyone cares anymore about what happened hundreds of years ago. The age was different then. So may cultures have died out. The Phonecians, Sumerians, Egyptians, Akkadians, all the Gallic civilizations etc (taken over by Rome before Christianity) have all been wiped out. That was expected in those days. I don’t think India and Hindus can claim a special victim status. The times were like this and it’s about time we moved on don’t you think?
I am glad we can actually discuss things like sensible people without getting worked up.
1) I agree with you that hindutva can’t be separated from hinduism , but that is so because what we call hinduism is a syncretism of various religions of the sub continent over a period of thousands of years. It is just too intricately woven into the nations fabric. Infact had sufism been allowed to flower, Islam would probably have been ‘co opted’ as well :) . It is true that almost all hindutvavadis are hindus and it is unfortunate, the legacy of the vedic culture is not of the hindus alone, it belongs to all whose ancestors lived in this land.
2)I think the right wing can legitimately claim media bias against them especially in english media , almost all our ‘national’ newspapers have a liberal bias . The balance actually does shift when you go to vernacular media but not much. Ofcourse some of the conspiracy theory business is good old fashioned propaganda to mobilise people.
3) I agree with you that abuse has no place in a discussion .
4)It is true that on a day-to-day basis no one cares about the past . I also agree that hindus cannot claim ‘special’ victim status . But please note that all civilizations you pointed out above were completely wiped out, the civilization of the subcontinent {you may want to call it ‘hindu’ civilization ,but I wouldn’t} has somehow managed to survive . It is a weird beast with various faces for various people, but it is not going anywhere. The point is how do you deal with it. The idea of hindutva is actually a romantic one , where one wants the links that we have with that civilization to be strengthened.
Yes , I agree with you the time has come to move on . The question is where do we move to and how ?
Hindutva offers an ideal of excellence both to the individual and the nation, and it attempts to motivate you using the past. Economic development in India will happen but its social and spiritual progress also are important .
One only has to look at corruption everywhere in India to realise that we have become a morally bankrupt nation, what is the cause for it? { Here I dont mean corruption in politics but just in everyday life}
For the right wing the answer to this question is simply a lack of pride in oneself and in what one represents.
Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd. (Voltaire)
Dear Bhagwad and Shashank,
Excellent points, by both of you.
I myself recently checked out and tried to engage the same people on the same website mentioned by BJP and predictably, with similar results. ;-) .
Rightwing ideology is an interesting phenomenon and shares some features the world over. As by definition, the right wingers are conservative and thus exclusivists in their world view; for them outsiders (even with different POVs) are looked upon with suspicion.
Liberals, in contrast have an inclusive viewpoint by definition; thus they tend to see everyone (including the right wingers) as a part of one big human family. It is then not surprising then that while the liberals will try to engage anyone and everyone; the right wingers will try to push away anyone who does not validate them.
While Shashank is right that there are left wing conspiracy theorists too, the right wingers in general are more prone to this and distrust the mainstream media especially in the Indian context. Interestingly they universally make use of selective data to back their POV and yet universally use the ad hominem attacks as a defense when challenged with opposing data by dismissing the sources as ‘left wing media’. I have noticed this is the only argument they have (or feel is needed) to dismiss papers and data coming out of academia that they don’t like to see.
There was a paper that came out of Oxford not too long ago titled ‘Engineering of Jihad’ (www.nuff.ox.ac.uk/users/gambetta/engineers%20of%20jihad.pdf) that suggested that the Muslim (and perhaps other) rightwing terrorists are more likely to come from a science background while the leftists ones from a liberal arts studies.
A friend of mine has a similar theory that the Indian right wing is made up of professionals from a science background; especially engineers due to our education system that focuses more on the technical aspect of education and thus leaves many professionals lacking in a liberal arts grounding. It may have some truth in it. Most right wingers tend to dismiss prestigious history papers from even the non political academic and tend to trust selective free lance sources and can’t seem to understand the difference between the quality of rigorously peer reviewed papers and those published online by amateurs.
Finally, I agree in general with BJP that right wingers are more likely to be fixed in their beliefs, become defensive and abusive\sarcastically quickly when challenged. Interestingly they flout the liberal Indian ethos when comparing themselves to others (especially Pakistan) even as they bash the Indian liberals themselves who made India liberal (Nehru for example).
Shashank glosses over the dark heart of the RW agenda. It is not just a romantic notion of the past civilization melded with the present; it is to replace the Indian tolerance with intolerance. You will never find an Indian right winger saying one good thing about Islam or the Muslims; ever! That is the bottom line.
They want Kashmir but would love to throw out the Kashmiri Muslims; (and perhaps others too). Indian Muslims are never countrymen they are only fifth columnists; to be grudgingly tolerated. There lies the dark heart of the Indian right wing; and it is this on obduracy that scares me, for left to simmer for long, it has the capacity to tear my country apart into a thousand pieces…..
Regards.
In reply to Gorki
Very perceptive remarks Gorki. Especially the part about liberals viewing everyone as unified and right wingers viewing people as isolated.
Also, the right wing is much more passionate and vocal than the liberals. And I tend to see the same people very often. It might mean that only a small number of people are making all the noise. I certainly hope so…
In reply to Gorki
I would beg to differ . It appears to me that liberals are the exclusivists {or elitists to borrow a tea party term :) } . The hindutvavadis infact see all inhabitants of india is a single whole , with one composite cullture where as the left either imports secularism from europe or look for differences {celebrating diversity is how they like to see it } .
The whole debate on history is a slippery slope , as a lot of it has to do with interpretation of physical evidence . You will have to accept that the political inclinations of a historian do influence the inferences he or she draws from a given set of facts .
The “dark heart ” of the RW agenda , I think that smells of prejudice :) . We on the right wing would like to believe that we love our nation just as much {if not more} as you do . Hindutvavadis have no problems with muslims , all we want is for the muslim community in india {actually all communities not just the muslims} to acknowledge their heritage , which does not begin only with the arabs arriving in kerala. Since you have never heard any hindutvavadi say anything good about muslims , let me say that Muslim population in India is a great asset , we enjoy their cuisine , their contribution to art , urdu poetry .
For the many Muthaliks you hear of on the right wing , there is a Vajpayee and Jaswant singh as well .