“If I were asked under what sky the human mind has most fully developed some of its choicest gifts, has most deeply pondered on the greatest problems of life, and has found solutions, I should point to India” – Max Mueller
India, which is today one of the most progressive nation on earth and which promises to get back to the Golden era of prosperity, is also at its most exciting period in time. Last 15 years or so have been a revelation in terms of economic growth. This growth looks even greater when seen in terms of GDP, Foreign Direct Investment coming in and stupendous rise of stock markets not long ago. It will not be wrong to claim that public in general too has benefitted from this. You can today see Mobile phones, Cable Television, more number of pumping sets (for water) in most of the villages. That for me is a sign of development. Not long ago (in fact only some 16 years ago) – we would visit an “STD/ISD/PCO/Xerox” booth near our hostel and wait in queue to make STD calls to our Parents. It would sometimes take more than an hour to get the connection and make a call. That’s no more the case – is it? Just a few years back – we had to stand in long queues to book a railway ticket/reservation. Not anymore. We can do it using online booking facility. Not too long ago buying a car or a house was a dream. These have become much easier to acquire – thanks to some great melt down in Bank’s Interest rates. Press & Media have progressively become independent and today with so many News channels – people are generally in touch with happenings around the world. A big achievement indeed – considering it took us more than a day (again, while we were in hostel in 1991) to find out that USSR has disintegrated to become multiple nations - thanks to “Perestroika”! This was because we did not get newspaper for a day and Doordarshan (no cable TV in those times) would as usual show News bulletins only at specific times (when we would not be watching)! Our ignorance apart – it will be fair to say that the country has progressed at an enormous speed in the last 15 years. It indeed went into an overdrive in the last decade or so hastening the process of growth. It is hence not a surprise that things look much brighter for most of us reading this article – including yours truly.
It is not to say though that everything is honky dory with the country. I don’t think there ever will be a set of people who will be satisfied! What goes unnoticed in all these rosy scenarios is the gap between the rich and poor. That, according to various studies, has only grown wider. The social divide has indeed grown bigger and so has the class divide. There are inter-caste differences that have increasingly – & violently – grown larger. And then there always was and will always be the religious differences. Again, for countries which have seamless power supply, water supply, houses for majority, large areas of land to live, various employment options to chose from, government pension schemes, good age old homes for old people, relatively mature polity etc etc. – there are other important issues to think and worry about. You know – issues like homosexuality, Global warming, Changing Life styles of Prince/Princesses, strictly following a 40 hours a week work schedule (and not more), Pollution, agitating against use of mice and pig for medical experiments etc. For countries like India though homosexuality, global warming are problems of elite and problems that perhaps seem only as real and probable as seeing more than 5% of the Indian Politicians being honest. Look, the fact is – we still struggle with problems aplenty, which are basic in nature. There are power supply problems in almost all the cities, towns and villages of the country. Clean drinking water is a dream for majority of population and basic amenities like living conditions, sanitation, primary and higher education for majority of kids, sensitive bureaucrats (to understand and resolve problems of the people as per stated law) are all but non existent. Then there are issues like increase in violence and violent masses, Increase in terrorist attacks, Increase in corruption to the lowest and the highest levels.
The problems that this country faces in the backdrop of increasing international financial clout have made me think. My major area of concern is the growing number of violent activities perpetrated by increasing volume of violent political masses. These violent masses enjoy deep political patronage and hence seem to be immune to the laws that govern the common man. Sometimes in the name of religion, sometimes in the name of Caste and sometimes in the name of gaining political control – there is some or the other reason for these masses to go on a rampage. With none of them ever being punished – it has become worrisome. It is this that has made me write this column. And perhaps a look back in history is in order, for me to prove why I am worried.
I wish to draw some parallels between the state of our country today and state of another great Nation way back in history. This country was extremely prosperous (in fact it was considered a financial giant), it also was a deeply industrial and agriculture based economy. They were artistically & culturally rich and they all loved their country with a passion not common amongst citizens of other nations. They too had their own class divisions which were huge, they had problems with their form of democracy, and had their share of love and hate relationship with a particular sect of people. And to top it – they too wanted to be the world conquerors (like all we Indians) and wanted the world to acknowledge them as the leaders of the world. I am referring to the great nation of Germany that it once was at the start of 20th Century.
In fact the similarities between the society/political scene of India today and social & political life of Germans in that era are so uncanny that it does seem an exact replica. We will take a peek on the German nation of those times now and perhaps by the time you finish this article you will know what I mean. Need your patience in reading the below sections though!
Germany – The Great Nation Circa (Till) 1914/1915: Germany was (as stated above), economically, one of the most prosperous nation, with a strong monetary policies in place and inflations in check, the nation had some of the biggest and most profitable business in Auto, Iron & Steel, mines industries. The all round prosperity reflected in a healthy GDP. The Industries had strong Workers Unions; ensuring rights of workers were protected. They had a strong service-going, middle class people who had expendable money, providing the necessary impetus to maintain buoyancy in the economy. Their cities were well maintained and they enjoyed the best of the facilities comparable to any other city around the world. Germans in general were considered to be one of the brightest human beings in the world and that reflected in the path breaking Inventions carried out by some of the brightest German scientists in the world. By and large the German civic society was a tolerant lot. Though Jew “bashing” was one of the favorite past time for everyone. It had not become an intrinsic part of the thought process in general (well, not till the aftermath of World War - I). Even then I guess it was more of a political creation than anything to do with how general public felt about Jews. Just to emphasize the point – in all my reading on German History till date – I have always felt that Jews amongst the Germans (in those times) were like Muslims amongst Indians today. In the sense, we may keep discussing about insecurity of Muslims in India or about how almost 90% of all terrorists ever making news are followers of Islam etc. Irrespective of this fact, I am sure if we meet any Muslim or if we have any Muslim as a friend – we never think twice before embracing him/her and so is the case vice-versa – isn’t it? There is no prejudice in our minds, I mean “we”, the “common man”. Exactly the same was the case with Jews in Germany. You will find records of thousands and thousands of Jew/German marriages in Germany – and there was never an iota of uneasiness in inter-personal relationship between Jews & Aryan Germans. It was because Jews were perceived to be of different race that they were talked about as a separate entity. In any case, coming back to Germany as a Nation – they had an active election commission, a well respected apolitical Judiciary, hordes of variety of news papers (which were largely independent). Arts, drama and cinema were the “adrenaline pumpers” for this generation and political satire was the most common form of comic plays/drama. Though ruled by authoritarian monarchy – there was enough freedom for the citizens of the country – Freedom of speech being primary amongst them. German defense forces were one of the strongest and most disciplined of that era. They had a strong naval presence and were feared by even the British, who were supposed to be the strongest Country of those times. In summary – Germany was considered to be one of the strongest European nations – both in terms of military and economy.
End of First World War
1915-1918 – Considering the growth of the nation in previous decades – the period of First World War was, however, devastating and chaotic. Germany was involved in one of the bloodiest wars ever seen by human kind. By the end of the war – all the positives drawn over last century on the economic and military terms were lost. Germany ended up losing heavily in this war. This part of history is well chronicled and there is nothing that needs to be added. However, what we have to understand is how this affected Germany as a nation. Powers of Germany, as a nation, were clipped. Humiliation came in form of many provisions of the “Treaty of Versailles”. Primary against them were curtailing and limiting the size of German Defense forces (to not more than 100,000), disallowing the armed forces from acquiring/possessing any form of heavy artillery, tanks & conscriptions. They could not have an Air Force; they could not build any heavy ships out of Germany and so on. But perhaps the most damning and most damaging was imposition of Article 231 of the treaty, which essentially mandated that Germany as a nation paid punitive financial reparations to the French and Belgians (for damages caused by the German Armed forces during their occupation of this country for 3+ years of the war). These reparations were to be paid in gold, stretching over a number of years in future. And though these all seemed to be fair in comparison to the kind of plans Germany had in the event of them wining over the Allied Forces – they were enough to bring about radical conspiracy theories to fore within Germany. Germans felt humiliated. They were not ready to believe that a superior race and force like them could end up losing. All the political parties looked for excuses. Charges and counter charges made the whole scene messier. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that Germany had “lost” its way. It did not know which direction to take after losing the war. And in lack of any credible “external” excuse for the loss in the war – they turned “inward” to look for reasons. This search for the enemy within ultimately led to larger acrimony and destruction of the civil society of Germany – as we shall see.
The After Effects - General
1919/1920 – 1933: The terrible loss in the world war led to tremendous amount of chaos in this great country. Germans rightfully felt humiliated. Being humbled was not a state they were accustomed to. They considered themselves as superior race and hence any form of defeat came as a big surprise and shock to them. Very quickly, aided and abetted by senior army officials themselves, a myth gained currency that the war was lost not because the enemies beyond borders were stronger than German Army. It was lost because of the enemies within – i.e. within the borders. This myth slowly firmed to finally convince the majority that the defeat was indeed because of conspiracy from within the country. That belief eventually changed the country forever – and how!
Even after the terrible loss in the war – Democratic institutions still managed to survive. They still had elected parliament – the Reichstag, The head of Reich Ministers and Civilian Government – The Reich Chancellor, the state Assembly, the central administrative offices, the bureaucracy etc. They continued to have an active election commission, judiciary and media/press. All these institutions remained intact even as Germany was disintegrating. The bureaucracy had by and large become subservient to the political masters and had become largely corrupt. Major political parties were inclined to the principles of socialism or communism or liberalism and nationalism. After the defeat there was a huge lack of trust quotient amongst people in these main political parties. There were new parties that mushroomed for short periods and fought elections. This led to a period of coalition governments ruling the Reichstag.
Each political party created its own youth wing – which were primarily filled with rowdies and hooligans. These youth wings/ fighter units (affiliated to one or the other political party) would do a work that was not possible for the “legal” political parties to achieve. These so called “storm troopers” (called by different names for different parties) were primarily responsible for implementing the policies of the party by tactically using cohesive or coercive methods. These thugs were almost always beyond the reach of police due to political patronage. Not that they cared a damn for law of land anyways. These quasi-legal groups (storm troopers) were hence both feared by the law-abiding people and equally loathed by the social groups for their corrupt ways. Administrative personnel and Police force though could not do much – they equally detested these groups.
Police and administration were anyways subservient to the politicians in power and paying money for transfers/promotions, accepting bribes etc were common corrupt practices amongst the administrative grades. As for the Defense services, they were largely apolitical. Except for the later part of 1920s and of course 1933-45 – they had remained true to the democratic structure of the constitution of Germany. Some even thought that they remained too aloof for the first few years after the loss in war.
The After Effects: Nazis Rise
As for the political scene - the period between 1919 -1933 was a period of total confusion. This period was a period of coalition governments. This led to incompetent governance. Parties pulling each other down to gain more powers (and ministries) in the government – were common. The Reich Chancellor – though a powerful person by position – could not make rightful policies due to probable clash of interests with some or the other coalition political partner. Lack of corrective policies led to unrest among the masses. There were strikes by Unions. There were economic issues that came to the fore in form of Inflation. In fact, inflation was at record time high till the mid of 1920s. So much so that a kilo of rye bread (staple diet of Germans) that would normally cost around 16 Marks had risen to 233 billion Marks by November 1923! Stock markets had taken a “big jump” to hell! A US$ would cost 160 Billion Marks! There were other problems too – like unemployment. Some lucky people who had a job had to actually take sacks with them to their offices on payment day – to bring their Monthly Salaries. The situation however started to improve after financial reforms were implemented and reparation payments were re-negotiated with French and Belgium in and around 1923/24.
Nazi Party, which was formed in 1919/20, started gaining popular support during this chaotic period of hyper inflation and unemployment. Thanks to large unemployment there were people who were ready to join any group that would provide them security and food. Nazi party, with its powerful financial supporters (thanks to Hitler’s magnetic influence and some internal support of key defense personnel), were providing all the incentives that these group of men needed. The membership was on the rise from the moment that fiery young man – Hitler – joined the Nazi ranks. Led by Hitler, Nazi party started having a racial overtone to its propaganda. Hitler always felt that only uncompromising and revolutionary changes can help attain Germany’s supremacy in the world. He viewed Jews with suspicion and believed them to be the source of all the problems in the country. Racial Hatred and superiority complex were central to his campaign speeches. Hitler spewed venom on Jews. He repeatedly vowed to throw them away in gallows if and when Nazis came to power. For all his blistering efforts the Nazis who got only 1-2% of votes in the election of 1924 – ended up having around 42-43% votes in the election of 1933. It is to be noted that there were 5 Reichstag elections held between 1924 and 1933 (1924, 38, 30, 32 & 1933)
Another important man in the Nazi cogwheel was Joseph Goebbels – the person in charge of propaganda. He used the press and media as an effective tool to spread every piece of information about Nazis – and Hitler in particular – in such a way that the masses came upon to embrace the Nazi movement. Hitler, to his credit, never exactly lied about his intentions. He was very clear on the path he saw for Germany to gain ascendancy all over again. He was viciously critical of anyone who did not tread his line of thought. As with such good orators and vitriolic leaders – he became extremely popular. He came across as a man who could bring the lost days of glory to the Germans. He promised the Germans that he will punish the “November Criminals” (people who had negotiated Germany’s case in “Treaty of Versailles” in November 1918). He promised to make Germany a military might all over again without bothering about restrictive provisions included in Treaty of Versailles. He promised to throw away the Jews from the country as they had “impure” blood and since Jews were some of the biggest industrialists in Germany - they were portrayed as the real suppressors of the working class. He promised the return of Germany in the list of Great powers and assured his voters that he will ensure the return of all the former German states (which had got independence as a result of Germany’s loss in WW-I).
With Hitler’s oratory skills and mesmerizing powers, with his powers to captivate his audience and with high scale propaganda run in his favor – he had become a cult figure. He was perceived to be the ultimate savior of Germany. He came across as the only “hope” of German nation. As for his radical views about Jews and the general aggressive assertions – these were thought to be just a way to gain popularity and no one ever took this with absolute seriousness. It is only when Hitler was made the Chancellor the first time in a coalition government in 1932 did the dreadfulness of the claims came to fore. People then realized that he had meant every word of what he had said in the preceding decade. But it was too late for anyone to do anything about it by then.
For all you people who thought Hitler “captured” Germany by using brutal force – this is indeed not true. He came by legitimate/democratic means, through elections held under the democratic/constitutional framework albeit using extremely complex political situations (existing at the time) to his advantage.
Establish Similarities: Some questions
Alright, to prove my point on similarities of Indian nation today with the state of Germany in the era described above – I would like to use the Q&A option. So here it is:
Do we have Coalition Governments in our country on mercy of smaller, splinter, insignificant, regional parties? Do we have Socialist, Liberal, Centrist, Communist and Nationalist parties calling the shots in most of the policy making forums? Are majority of our politicians corrupt, disgraceful and disloyal? Do we have leaders who have been convicted, have cases pending against them – but still becoming Ministers? Do we have leaders who spread hatred against certain sects of people? Do we have social/racial/religious divide amongst people that the politicians exploit? Do we have bureaucracy which is corrupt from top to bottom? Is Police force corrupt in our country? Do we have political parties who have youth wings that are perceived to be immune to the law of land in whatever they do? Do we believe that India should become a regional and a world power?
Is your answer YES to most of the above? If not – I think I probably live in Mars!
Again, is it wrong to say that we have strong rightist/nationalist parties that spread racial/religious hatred? No. Remember groups/parties like BJP, Shiv Sena, MNS, Muslim League, Simi, RSS, Bajrang Dal, VHP etc etc? To give you another example of the politician’s apathy – do you remember the excessive use of term “NATIONAL SECURITY” that NDA government used for each and every crisis that they were asked to answer and debate about in their time in power? Do you think there are no National security issues now? How many times have you heard this term in the last 4 years? Compare this with the common use of this term during NDA rule. Don’t you think it was a clear case of having pathetic attitude of the principal parties of NDA towards the nation and its people? Don’t you think they thought they could get away with giving any rubbish to the people and continue to rule forever? In fact, Germans similarly used Jews as pawns in this game. They too used the term “National Security” almost for every action that they took after coming to power. Ok – how many of you think that supposing that these “Nationalist” parties get absolute majority in parliament – they would never be able to throw away the religious/racial minorities from the country? Hypothetical? Well, thank you. But Germans felt the same about Nazis. How wrong were they proved eventually viz-a-viz German Jews! Do you think our Democratic framework is strong enough to sustain any chance of any Government using exceptional constitutional powers to ruin the Indian Democracy? Hypothetical again? Well, good. Germans felt exactly the same till 1932/33. Did they pay for their folly? They sure did. Should we learn from them? No? Ok, one more of the kind – Do we have an independent Court of Law in this country, which is seen to be bipartisan and punishes the culprits/criminals without prejudice? Oops – caught ya! The higher political “entities” never get punished – now do they? Count on your fingers and give me a list of high profile politicians who were eventually punished. For once you will regret having so many fingers! Lo behold – even Hitler was caught in one of the most violent protests during 1924-25. He was leading a march of thousands of people to Berlin with a plan to capture the Reichstag with a “bang”. There were police firings and many lost lives. Hitler was let off by the court (under pressure from the political groups) with “minor sanctions” put on his activities. Hmmm… remember they also had a respectable Judiciary. But we are better – isn’t it? Yeah – as I said – I perhaps live on Mars.
I should perhaps put questions in some other form. Ok - Has our constitution/law of land stopped political wings/hooligans from disrupting peace, destroying property during those awful numbers of Bandhs/strikes? No? Really? Well that’s nice – neither could Germany’s constitution/law stop the various storm troopers from creating havoc whenever needed. Our constitution allows freedom of expression and freedom of following any religious faith as we deem fit. A wonderful statement to make – isn’t it? Good. May I remind you about all those suppressions of followers of Islam and Christianity in this Country? Is any Muslim or a Christian reading this? Do you and your friends feel comfortable seeing these nationalist/rightist parties gaining power? These “intolerant” followers of “tolerant” Hindu religion breathe fire and if we have not been able to see the bad blood – we perhaps have gone “color” blind. Just for the records, Germany’s constitution too provided freedom to follow any religion and faith. Equal rights were bestowed on every German irrespective of the race they belonged to. That became useless when Hitler went on a rampage against anything connected to the word “Jew”
I can keep asking and responding to each of these questions. My intention is not to demean any faith or belief – this is purely to establish those uncanny similarities between the situation we find ourselves in today and what Germany was in that era.
Establish Similarities: Citizen and Government
How many of you think it is impossible for someone like Hitler taking over reins of this country sometime soon? If most of you think it is NOT POSSIBLE for a maniac like Hitler to ever get to the top of the Government in India – well you have lost the plot by now. If that seems harsh – let me tone down – perhaps you have lost powers to look beyond the most obvious. I can’t mellow down any further.
Let me ask you a few more obvious questions then – how many of you think YOU as a citizen of this country decide which party makes government, indeed what path an elected government should take in matters of making laws, making foreign policy, devising Economic/commerce strategies, making important policies which affect our lives? How many of you think you have any control over who will be the Prime Minister, who will be your Home Minister? Indeed do you have any control over “tainted” leaders being given cabinet posts?
Alright, how many of you really feel the laws of the country are fair to all? How many of you think you could control rioting that happened in Gujarat, the deplorable burning of train at Godhra? Whose job is it really? Politicians (?), Administration? Ok, what about any control over the elected leaders taking out “peaceful” demonstrations where the young party “workers” go on a destruction drive of public property? How many of you think an administration will one day punish those responsible for demolishing Babri Masjid, what about punishing people responsible for riots in Mumbai thereafter and indeed the communist cadres responsible for what happened at Nandigram or at Kunnur? Ok, how many of you think it is fine to allow Naxalites killing, looting and commit arson at will in almost all the major states of this country? Indeed, how many of you think they will ever be brought to justice and punished for all the heinous activities?
Troubled? Now c’mon – you can’t think this is just a passing phase? The above incidents are just a few from my memory of last 15-20 years! Naxalism is not an overnight phenomenon. Riots in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Agra etc are not one off cases. Burning of Train at Godhra was not as spontaneous as it may look. The atrocity brought upon by communist forces within their own state in West Bengal and in Kerala was not spontaneous by any means. Do you really think this is all a phenomenon that will just pass by as you sleep? No Sir. I for one do not think so. And I don’t think these bastards would ever have committed such crimes if there was no political patronage available to everyone of them. With these violent versions of politics slowly becoming routine, I don’t see what this country lacks in potential to bring our own version of maniac to the fore, someone, who will be looked upon by these ruling crooks as their mentor and protector. Not that he will have to do anything great to achieve supremacy. Take an example of Narendra Modi or Mayawati or Laloo Yadav or even CM of West Bengal, Budhadeb. After all, however hard the BJP’s propagandist group may want us to believe – someone like Modi cannot be as good as he is made out to be. C’mon – we are smarter than that (I shall not get into the details about Modi here. That will be taken in another forum)? He may not end up being the Indian Hitler that I see coming. But he and his success in elections after elections do firm my opinion that there is a person lurking in the shadows of power – waiting for his chance. And as in the case of Hitler – this pervert will (in all probability) be from amongst us. He will not just come suddenly and force his way to lead the Government. And for all who think you will not vote a party with such people to come to power – it is worth noting that 56-58% of the voters had voted against Nazis even in the peak of Nazi party popularity. It did not stop the coalition group of parties from naming Hitler as a “compromise” candidate. This is not to say that Hitler lacked in popularity in the country. He at that time was by far the most popular politician. But his party did not have numbers to force the coalition into naming him for the post of Chancellor. But he did become one – didn’t he? Are we not used to such “compromise” candidates and coalition governments in our country? Doesn’t it mean that someday we will be forced to look up to someone like a greater fanatic than Narendra Modi, or a sadist like Mayawati heading a government? After all if we can serve incompetents like Deve Gawda, IK Gujaral as Prime Ministers and then VP Singh (to some extent) – there is no reason to believe that a coalition government cannot throw up almost anyone to the coveted post. We never had a say in that respect in this country at least in last 20 years. To drive in the point – did we know that VP Singh would be the Prime Ministerial candidate in 1987 or Chandrasekhar in 1990 or PV Narsimha Rao in 1991 or for that matter, Deve Gawda, IK Gujaral and even Atal Behari Vajpayee, in his first tenure? Did we then know that Manmohan Singh will be the Prime Minister in the current Government? All these have been decided upon ONLY after the elections and only after we had voted. So there is every reason to believe that circumstances could force a coalition Government to name an extremist to the post – as a compromise formula? With so many extremist/criminal elements getting elected I can’t see why this cannot happen in India. Is it now difficult to imagine how Hitler came to power? Are we not in a similar position here?
Another point that you may want to make is, even if someone cruel did come in to be made the Head of the Government – there are enough checks and balances entrenched in our constitution, our law, to prevent someone from misusing it to his/her needs. But you have to look at how Hitler managed it and you will know why it all looks probable even here. We all know Hitler was appointed as Chancellor by President Hindenburg in 1932. Chancellor with his cabinet was constitutionally answerable to the President as is more or less the case with Indian Constitution. Though Hindenburg was a powerful President to start with – the post of President had eventually become a source of Rubber stamps meant to stamp approvals on policies made by the Chancellor or his cabinet. This is very similar to the constitutional post of Indian Presidents. Anyways, if you were to read history carefully – you will find that Hitler and his trusted lieutenants like Himmler, Goebbels etc took the opportunity in November of 1932 to take total control of the country – albeit using democratic provisions of constitution. Surprisingly, it took them less than 3 months to dismantle any and every institution that they believed would be detrimental to their success in the elections that they wanted to have in March 1933.
A brief of the methods used would be helpful here for better understanding.
Establish Similarities: Looking back at Hitler’s regime
In first 3 months (after Hitler first became Chancellor), Hitler started by forcibly disbanding all the Youth wings of Socialists, Rightist, Centrists & Communist parties. This was done in the name of “National Security” and also in the façade of maintaining law and order. He almost demolished the communist party (the most powerful enemy of Nazis) – arresting most of their leaders and sending them to ghettos built hurriedly around most of the major cities. Hitler got his Storm Troopers (SS) recognized as a pseudo-police with official powers. He let them loose on the people who were perceived to be anti-Nazis. This was done discreetly and sometimes overtly – especially in cases which would bring good propaganda. This period saw many “political” killings, too many “political” arrests in the name of “National Security” and perceived “threat to the nation” from those arrested. After the Reichstag was burnt (in Feb 1933), Hitler took the opportunity to take “official decree” powers (similar to “Emergency powers” in our Constitution) from a helpless President. This decree would allow him to override any constitutional provision (if need be). He now directly and openly started targeting other political parties and either made them an ally or put their leaders in ghettos. Government used the Presidential Decree to rake up National Security matters and seized all the funds of other political units, close almost all the offices of various political parties (in the name of them spreading anti-national ethos). He debarred many members from the Parliament for opposing his policies (and calling them anti-nationals). National press was brought under control. Most of the blossoming Newspapers were either brought in line with Nazis way of thinking or were simply forced to shut down.
Once he had done the above in first 2-3 months after he became Chancellor in November, 1932 – he called for another general election in Germany. Nazis were sure that they would now get a simple majority in the elections. Though the election was not free and fair (as we can imagine) – the Nazi party still could not get more than 41-42% of votes. This, the Nazis realized, was the maximum they would ever get. With all the major political figures in Ghettos and many in exile – the party still could not manage a simple majority in the Parliament. Though Nazis came on top as the single largest party and Hitler continued as the Chancellor. Remember the point I was making (in one of my earlier articles) about how the view of majority is not the necessary parameter for a party to form government? It was clearly witnessed in Germany. In what would be remembered as the most cruel phase of German history – the Nazis started targeting arts & cultural society, sports, bureaucracy and people in general. The targets were either Jews (who were some of the globally respected musicians, painters, sports personnel) or anyone with inclination to other political parties. They ensured that no one would buy anything from an outlet/shop owned by Jews. Anyone who dared – would be harassed and embarrassed in front of everyone. Some arrested in worst cases. They started forcing Jews to close down the shops/businesses. SS troops started taking over Worker Unions by either dissolving them by force or removing the leaders who were not ready to tow the line. These were replaced by Nazi sympathizers. All the University Chancellors were changed, to replace them with Nazi Sympathizers. All the teachers who were independent minded and who propagated more freedom in spreading education and knowledge (in contradiction to what Nazis believed) were either removed from service or were jailed for “anti national” activity. All the government officials were “unofficially” expected to “willingly” join Nazi party. In 3-6 months after the final elections (March, 1933) – most of the Press, Political parties, bureaucrats, major associations, labor unions, social groups, pubs, clubs, drama companies, Musical groups, heads of education institutions were either put behind bars/ killed or institutions closed down. Only the ones that agreed to blind submission to Hitler’s and his minister’s directives were allowed to retain their places. All this was being done in front of the same public who had voted for them or was a part of the process that led to Nazis gaining power. As stated earlier – this was the same set of people who helped Germany grow into an economic powerhouse with a forward looking society. Germans in general felt helpless. They were now able to see the draconian intentions of this pocket sized individual they all so dearly loved. But they just could do nothing, absolutely nothing. That’s not a good feeling to have as a citizen. Trust me.
To summarize, it took Hitler’s Nazi party just 6-8 months to take almost total control of the institutions of the country. This was by no means a small achievement. Especially when we realize that everything was done in front of public without them realizing that their ground was being eroded in front of their own eyes. It was thanks also to some impressive “positive propaganda” movement led by that great man Goebbels. As he was to observe much latter in 1939: “Tell a lie a hundred times and it becomes the truth”. That is today one of the principal philosophies of propaganda.
Coming back to the similarities – how many of you still feel this is not possible in India? If you still think it is not possible in India and that none of the above is even remotely imaginable here and is moreover too hypothetical. I withdraw my case. But if by now you do feel we are in close resemblance with the German state of those times – I say we need to remain cautious. Instead of blindly believing what you see in those cleverly documented propaganda drives – you should use your own brains. I cannot expect all of you to take to streets and protest – we are too polished for such acts – but we should spread the word of caution around and educate the people around us of the dangers of their voting for crooks/maniacs/fanatics/extremists.
Conclusion
In all fairness and after having read whatever part of history of Germany that I could – I do feel, if ever there was a country that was similar to Germany of 1900 to 1933 – it is India. Given that we are increasingly witnessing the cruel side of human kind every given day, given that politics in this country has touched an all time low, given that majority of masses have lost hope on the political entities of this nation and given that there is no light seen at the end of this dark tunnel - I have had this sinking feeling that we may somehow be responsible for propping our own nemesis, our very own Hitler to the high seat someday. On current state of evidence - we may not even require a world war to start the process of ruin.
For all who believe in someone called God – do pray. As what I see is perhaps not a doomsday scenario – but it definitely is bloodcurdling to think of. India is shaking Friends; tremors are felt across all walks of life. Is this the beginning of the end of the dream-run? Or is it just a passing phase? No easy answers really. But when the dogs start jumping, snakes pull themselves out of their adobe – it is time we humans acted, lest we end up sitting on the ruins of our beloveds in the maze of hindsight knowledge.
Despite all my assertions above – I do hope I am proved wrong and that all these indeed turn out to be supremely hypothetical, coming out of infected imagination of a mad man. For, being proved wrong “in this case too” would be sweet.
Here is some interesting thought about India from Mark Twain: “So far as I am able to judge, nothing has been left undone, either by man or nature, to make India the most extraordinary country that the sun visits on his rounds. Nothing seems to have been forgotten, nothing overlooked. India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grand mother of tradition. Our most valuable and most astrictive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only! In religion, India is the only millionaire - the “One” land that all men desire to see, and having seen once, by even a glimpse, would not give that glimpse for all the shows of all the rest of the globe combined.”
Lets’ keep it that way.
Do think about it.
Its Montoo..
17th Apr 2008’
