February started off on a somber note for the Indian right wing. One of its key online platforms, NitiCentral, was ‘retired’. NitiCentral is supposed to have played a role in shaping the narrative during the 2014 elections. Some important right wing faces of the mainstream were involved with this project. But what seemed like an upward trajectory at one time, something destined for great things, slated to bring about online revolutions, was brought to an abrupt halt.
Niticentral Retired: Key Takeaways
There are two takeaways from this ‘retirement’. One is of course the extent to which the leftist cartel of our country has monopolized mainstream narrative. The other is that the right wing has a long way to go in neutralizing this menace. Almost two years after the political tide turned, intellectualism in India is yet to make this tectonic shift. In fact, in order that the status quo be preserved, the narrative of our monopolized mainstream is at its strongest. Loyalties and links which we never knew about are coming to the fore. Leftist sleeper cells like the award-wapsi brigade are being activated, unprecedented cooperation and mutual backscratching are becoming the norm.
Niticentral Retired: The idea of India distorted by people with vested interests
The British, during their occupation, spread ideas about there being no ‘India’ before their arrival. Back in the day, London was plague-ridden and possessed no sewage system. But we, who ran universities like Nalanda and Takshashila, were told that they had come to civilize us. Our education system and our history prior to the Mughal era, were systematically distorted for their political ends. The Congress Party was quite happy with this arrangement, and continued to perpetuate these distortions post- independence. This was convenient for them, because no prior legacy of our own meant that the Congress had no standards to abide by. The artificial void was perfect for the dynasty to carve out a legacy. Western interests that understood India’s potential and were wary of it, gladly supported these distortions for they led to adverse consequences.
Niticentral Retired: Congress’s perpetuation of untruths about India
Under Congress rule, institutions perpetuating this distortion flourished. A mentality emerged, which made people perceive their own roots with mockery and disdain. The paragons of this mentality were funded so that they may peddle their lies, by ill-gotten or ulteriorly motivated money both from India and abroad. They were given national awards for these rather anti-national deeds, and they soon donned the tags of ‘eminent thinkers’, ‘intellectuals’, or ‘credible opinion-makers’. Those with alternate, usually more accurate points of view, were systematically kept at bay by the establishment, the media, and even prominent printing presses it is believed. Thus, uniformity in the mainstream was achieved.
A majority of the literate mass has relied, often due to lack of options, on the mainstream to shape their thinking. And so, despite religion and rationality, a sense of shame about our Indianness has prevailed. Western approval and attestation has been the one constant standard. Leftist ideals, which are always in conflict with nationalism, have been adopted. Under this large and rather ironic umbrella of anti-nationalism within the framework of a fully functional nation, several entities have flourished: a pseudo-secular political class, a bias media, a Marxist intelligentsia, radical mullahs, moneyed missionaries, and five star activists to name a few. Most of them are self-serving spin doctors, devoid of any idealism. They function in a collaborated manner, committed to maintain the bluffs that put food on their tables. This is the cartelization, or the ‘mafiafication’ of the Indian mainstream.
Niticentral Retired: But the Right Wing Intellectualism mustn’t stop
The rot came into being during the British era, and so it runs very deep. Therefore, a complete overhaul in discourse and thought could never have happened in two years. History will have to be perceived in perspective and institutionalized mentalities will have to be replaced by more sensible ones. Many right wing intellectuals, not pseudos but intellectuals in the true sense of the word, may be rejected for not meeting certain nonsensical criteria. Many NitiCentral may shut down in the process. But the left wing’s desperation is palpable, and this is a good sign in itself. It is just the beginning of a battle, a long drawn one. At the end of it, truth will prevail