Turkey and India – Haunting Parallels

The world seems to detest history. Yet it forgets that causes for conflict can be found in history, is history and is driven by one of mankind’s most powerful desires – to become history. Hidden between the pages is solace, a certain sense of importance and unimportance, both at once. What is also hidden between these pages are ticking time bombs, but thankfully, instruction manuals on how to defuse them as well, only that they were written in blood by martyrs. Turkey and India are both nations steeped in immensely rich history. The similarities are uncanny, both in a supremely elegant overlapping of history and chilling likenesses.

In 1924, a charismatic leader shook the boot of the allies off the Turkish state, now in a state of shambles, the once-mighty Ottoman Empire all but faded and most importantly, seized by a sense of fundamentalism – a yearning to return to those medieval days when European states dared not to touch the empire’s vast lands, and Turkey had been the spiritual leader of the Islamic world. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk managed to do something extraordinary – he not only inspired his nation to rally behind him, but also enforced strict, progressive laws to inhibit the power of the ultra-conservative clergy and made his people follow a European way of life, foreseeing that Westernisation would in their context, lead to modernisation and progressivisation. Such laws were characterised by the ban of Sharia law and the establishment of equal rights for women. This paid off incredibly well, awakening the people of the Turkish Republic to the primitive state their nation had been in, and for a long time, was one of the few Middle Eastern nations where development was rapid; religion was separated from governance, and isn’t torn by strife. Today, Atatürk is revered as one of the most important figures in Turkish history; a global champion for the cause of laïcité.

Twenty-three years later, a few thousand miles away, a long and indomitable struggle had resulted in the unshackling of 340 million dreams, through an inspiring display of courage, nobility and ahimsa by leaders like Gandhiji and Nehru, who gave their lives for the cause that was India. A nation that was held hostage by crippling poverty, religious violence and appallingly low literacy rates after two centuries of systemic looting by the British, now had to be resurrected. Interestingly, the striking resemblances begin here, for Turkey too had to overcome these very initial conditions. Nehru and Atatürk worked tirelessly to rid their people of these demonic entities, with both having a distinctly secular and modern outlook, which were vital in the states staying in one piece in the volatile political climate of the Cold War that was to follow.

However, half a century later, we find that that once again history has begun to “rhyme” borrowing from Mark Twain, but certainly not for the better. Majoritarianism has taken root in Turkey and India and the leaders of these countries seem to lead the world in a global conservative shift. Although India and Turkey find themselves locking horns on a variety of different topics including Kashmir and the NRC-CAA, the irony is Modi and Erdogan are really not that different in terms of domestic policies pursued. Erdogan was elected mayor of Istanbul in 1994 before having his position stripped and thrown in jail for having incited communal hatred. Of course, 2002 is not a faded memory. The former has to his name the repeated denial of the Armenian genocide and even the demolition a monument erected to better relations between the two nations. Two artists who opposed the move were subsequently stabbed.

Dog-whistles too, seem to be a talent these men share. Religious fundamentalism has increased steadily over the past few years in Turkey, with the military power that threatened the state and attempted a coup in 2016 tied down by public support for Erdogan’s dangerous rhetoric using hard-line Islamism which threatens to tear the country apart. Internet freedom has been curbed along with that of the media, imprisoning journalists writing about corruption. At home, riots are the trend, for frenzied mobs do the job better. Lynching, BJP leaders’ unchecked contempt for secular ideals, democratic backsliding; all are unbridled here, matching Erdogan’s intensity.

One can observe a pattern here – the creeping pull of majoritarianism growing stronger over the decades, overpowering secular-progressive principles and finally resulting in a colossal victory for a religious, conservative, right–wing party, and now it goes about dismantling the foundation of the nation. The seductive power the promise of authoritarianism holds is immense. The challenge lies in opening the eyes of the masses and steering the ship away from the jingoistic call of the Sirens.

- Abhinav.