Indian Americans give rock star welcome to Narendra Modi! This hype is indicative of naïveté

We have seen this before: Is all the hype over Narendra Modi both in India and America justified? We have seen such hype when Indira Gandhi declared Emergency in 1975, and when Rajiv Gandhi became the prime minister in 1985. Both were disasters, to say the least. Both were corrupt to the core, and both surrounded themselves with corrupt people who looted the country for decades.

Corruption is in the genes: No doubt Narendra Modi is an incorruptible man with high ideals, impeccable credentials and great administrative ability. However, who are all the people he has surrounded himself with? Most of them are first class rascals. Did he have a choice? No. Why? Well, in India, one must be thoroughly corrupt to be a politician. It is in their genes, passed on by father to son. Charan Singh to Ajit Singh; Indiara Gandhi to Rajiv Gandhi, etc. So, Modi has no choice but to surround himself with dirty politicians and bureaucrats.

Cutting balls off: Modi knows this fact well. How is he handling these rascals so far? His style is to emasculate them and concentrate all powers with himself. He is simply going directly to the people. This system works well in India. Indians, like Arabs, like strong leaders to “tame” the corrupt people stifling their aspirations.

Serious problem: However, this creates a serious problem. Corrupt people are always corrupt. They cannot be changed. It is in their blood. It is in their genes. They merely bend with the wind. Gandhi could not change a single politician of Congress Party. Once he died, they paid lip service to him by invoking his name in speeches and wearing Gandhi cap and Khaddar clothes. They practiced corruption with finesses, and lived lavish lifestyles.

Indian politicians and bureaucrats are incorrigible: Only people who are naïve about human nature and about almost total lack of character in people in power in India are hyping Modi phenomenon. These politicians are incorrigible. They have neither the ability to changes for the better, nor any self-awareness of their inherent wicked nature. Once the wind is gone, they go back to their original shape. They don’t even think they are wicked. Look at Ajit Singh, son of Charan Singh, as an example. He simply refused to vacate his government-given home, as if it was his right to stay there even after losing power. To them, it is a way of life. Their excuse is, “Everybody does it. Look at Jayalalitha! She made hundreds of crores of rupees abusing her power. Why can't I?" This is true of just about every minister in India.

What after Modi? The question is, what happens if Modi disappears from the political scene. Well, you guessed it. All the corrupt politicians will go back to their nefarious ways, and India will be back to square one: run by corrupt and inefficient politicians and bureaucrats.

No remedy: Is there no remedy for this? Well, the answer is resounding NO. Why? Well, most Indians are fearful of politicians and bureaucrats. This fear is in their blood. It is in their genes. When it comes to asserting their rights with them, and demanding explanation for their misbehavior, Indians are first class cowards. They look upon these corrupt politicians and bureaucrats as their masters, not as their servants. This idea has been drummed-up into their heads for generations. They would rather pay bribes to get the job done than demand that they serve the people without extorting bribes.

One-Man-Show: In other words, Modi is just a One-Man Show. A passing phenomenon. India has seen such leaders in droves over the centuries. We are putting all our eggs in Modi basket. Once he is gone, India will be taken over by rascals and goons as usual. I know few Indians who are capable of thinking along this line. Everyone is mesmerized by Modi’s charisma, and expects him to perform miracles. The truth is Modi cannot change incorrigible Indians. That has been shown again and again over the centuries. Ashoka the Great could not change them; Akbar the Great could not change them; Mahatma Gandhi could not change them; Swami Vivekananda could not change them; Rabindranath Tagore could not change them. Today's Indians are the same as those who lived two thousand years ago. They have not changed at all. There are few Indians who put the welfare their country over their own welfare, a mentality they cultivated over the centuries. There are even fewer Indians who are willing to make even small sacrifice for their country. That, my dear friends, is an irrefutable fact.

What is at the root of Modi hype?

For over two thousand years, generation after generation, Indians desperately looked for knight in the shining armor to rescue them from their misery. Modi is the newest of these knights.

What is at the root of this hunger for someone else to rescue them from their misery? Well, the roots go into India’s history.

Despotic rule: Over two thousand years, emperors, kings, and chieftains ruled India. Their rule was absolute. There was no room for dissent or rebellion. Subservience to the rulers and their administrators was mandatory. Rebels were punished by torture and death.

Fear: Over the centuries, common people always lived in fear of the rulers and their henchmen. The only way to survive and thrive was to appease the rulers and their bureaucrats with bribes. This fear of the ruling class, passed on from generation to generation, has gotten deep into the psyche of Indians, regardless of how educated and rich they are.

Passivity: Kings and their administrators decided what amenities and services were rendered to the public. The public had no say in the matter. The kings knew what was best for the public. People developed a mentality that people in the ruling class knew what was best for them. Gradually, passivity –the mentality that someone else should do things for them- took deep roots into the psyche of Indians. Thus the “ma baap sarkar” mentality came into being.

Mindset did not change: In 1947, India became a democracy –the rule of the people. Suddenly, masters became servants of the people. However, the mindset of people did not change. Fear and passivity continued to reflect in people’s behavior.

Frustration: Post-Independence, most Indians knew at some level in their mind that services by the government should be delivered promptly and courteously. They felt frustrated when this did not happen. However, their fear and passivity prevented them from taking any action against the errant rulers.

Looking for the rescuers: During the medieval times they waited for Lord Krishna and Har Har Mahadeva to rescue them from Islamic invasion. During the Mughal rule, they looked up to Shivaji and other rag tag rebels to rescue them from the tyranny of the Mughals. During the British rule, they looked to great leaders such as Rani of Jhansi, Gandhi, Patel, Nehru, etc. to rescue them from the British rule. After Independence, they looked to Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, etc. The problem was that the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty became the perpetrator of the misery rather than the rescuer.

Now it is Modi's turn to rescue comatose Indians:  Now Indians have a new hero. Now they want Modi to do things for them. When Modi said that he would eliminate red tape from the visa hassles, he got a rousing ovation. However, if you ask the 20,000 people if they had done anything to tackle the visa problem all these years, you won’t find one person who has done a damn thing to protest the fiasco. Not one. The Madison Garden was jam packed with “who is who” of Indian-Americans. I assure you, not one of them lifted the little finger of his left hand to tackle the visa problem.

The Old Saying: In Kannada there is an old saying: If someone is there to carry me, I will pretend to be dead. We see the same phenomenon in India. Everyone wants someone else to carry his dead weight. None of them has time, money or energy to do one simple thing for his country. There is a sense of hopelessness even among the educated people. When I pointed out to a group of highly educated youngsters in Bangalore how filthy their city had become, they all asked in chorus: “What can we do?”

This hopeless attitude is what ails India. They look at Modi for that hope. The tragedy is that they always want someone else to give them hope.