The Post-Colonial Indian

Out of the blue, there has been a massive surge in accounts with the same saffron Hanuman profile pictures posting 'Vikramaditya Empire' lore. Apparently, there was an Indian ruler named Vikramaditya who conquered all of Asia, thousands of years ago. Although historians seem to have missed the memo.

I usually don't engage with political, religious or related content on social media, but honestly, I wouldn't know how to, even if I wanted to, because what we are witnessing is a deliberate overwriting of history, an epidemic of not just misinformation, but disinformation. One could argue, a few WhatsApp graduates and feeble-minded twelve-year-olds do not pose a threat to what the nation believes in, as its foundational shared myths. However, what is alarming is how vulnerable the collective Indian psyche is to such manipulation, due to a plethora of factors.

Most important is the post-colonial mindset that almost no Indian is immune to, except maybe the most deluded kind of hypernationalist. Following the British systematic loot of the subcontinent, we have developed a begrudging respect for the West, but also, an incessant need for foreign approval. Everyone is familiar at this point with YouTubers farming views using India's name and the online chest-thumping after any sort of cross-cultural interaction takes place, but these aren't actually the consequences. The reactionary need for fake histories like that of Vikramaditya's empire to show that 'we are no less', and the absolute inability to objectively look at India through an unbiased lens are effects of this. Rabid, jingoistic calls echo in the comment sections of posts that have nothing to do with India, reflecting a deep insecurity in the hearts of millions. What is interesting is there was a similar society, blindly patriotic and desperate to gain recognition by the West as its equal, in the early 20th century: Imperial Japan.

Now, add to the mix a long culture of spirituality - something rooted in belief, faith and at its core, a willingness to accept without evidence - what our culture prides itself on, and owes so much of its rich heritage to.The reason I make this claim becomes clearer with the third feature of our society - the willingness to idealise authority.

America can be described as brash, loud and rebellious, an accurate of not just its people (stereotypically and in pop culture), but also the brand of its democracy. Swashbuckling freedom in all its red, white and blue glory is all about rejecting authority at every level and embracing individualism. Perhaps Indian democracy is of a more matured, mellowed kind. But I would be lying if I say I have never wished for Indians to adopt an American 'don't tread on me' mindset, at least at times, when privacy laws are flagrantly violated, and the name of national security is misused.

It becomes simple, it's in our upbringing to respect authority and hierarchies, as a more traditional society. So, adding all the terms of the equation from colonial trauma and tradition to the immaculate timing of the ironing out of pan-Indian differences after a few generations into the new overarching identity of being Indian, the result appears to be a society that now has finally stopped breathing and started living - because for the first time they can afford to - a society that now wants more than anything, to believe.

What's ironic is the number of people who are rejecting the conventionally accepted heroes of the tricolour and sullying their names to commemorate their very brothers-in-arms just because they wish to believe. They want to believe the truth is different - that apparently, we would have been better off if Bose became the prime minister, and that Nehru actually had him killed. This is what drives conspiracy theorists, but on a larger scale. No different, their distrust is selective - ditching verified sources of information for unverified blogs run out of basements. In the Indian context, essentially, by berating the 'sheep', they have become sheep themselves, but to a different sheepdog altogether.

Paraphrasing what someone close to me once said, "Every few generations, once the people have healed from the trauma of their tryst with an iron fist, they inevitably begin to flirt with it once again." Maybe we do not have to worry about our children having to learn about imaginary kings in history class, but if an entire country can be persuaded to despise men who dedicated their lives to the noblest struggle, targeted disinformation is doing far more damage to the foundational myths of the republic than we think.