The ‘Teeka Utsav’ and the dance of death and democracy

If you want some sure-shot green shoot trillion tonne trillion-dollar V-shaped money in these times, take a bet on India’s top journalists jumping into to “praise Narendra Modi” mode when the PM makes an even one percent responsible statement. When the PM is 99 percent irresponsible, they remain silent. Or, they find someone else to blame.

Thus, after thousands have tested positive at the massive Kumbh Mela festival in Haridwar, and several have died, Modi takes a break from campaigning to suggest that perhaps, maybe, if possible, it might be time to end the Hindu festival early. All over Uttarakhand, by the way, there are massive hoardings announcing the Kumbh Mela and they all have Modi’s face on them. On April 15, some 14-lakh people bathed in the Ganga at Haridwar. Let’s not discuss the dangers there. Modi might feel bad, and our esteemed journalists may be denied their selfies and birthday cards.

Journalists worth their salt would have called out Modi when the Kumbh began. Because by April 1, we knew that the second wave of Covid19 was upon us and tourists pouring in to Haridwar were testing positive. But at the time, Modi and his cohort Amit Shah were deep into election campaigning, mocking and jeering at Mamata Banerjee and escalating communal tensions in Assam. Should we mention that they held huge election rallies, with no concern for Covid 19? Should we mention both Modi and Shah exhorting people to come to their rallies?

And while we’re dying of excitement that Modi has suggested that the Kumbh Mela become “symbolic”, at the same time he has also asked people to come out in large numbers to vote for the “festival of democracy”. I can hear selfie journalists crying at the unfairness of such accusers as myself. How can they face reality like this?

Unpalatable as it may sound to some, the Centre’s strategy to combat Covid has been criminally incompetent. That’s all there is to it.

The focus for 2021 has been to win state elections. What’s a few deaths here and there when the objective is so noble? How else can criminal incompetence be spread across India? Did you not see how happy our honourable journalist friends are, as they interview various BJP candidates across India, all of whom are open about their sectarian hatred and misogyny? The same glee is missing when the less divisive are interviewed, in fact such meek candidates get the full glare and ferocity of a proper cross-examination.

How can one not notice how we glide over our extreme vaccine shortages and hail the late decision to allow the import of vaccines? Modi’s grand “vaccine festival” of last week saw a 25 percent decline in vaccinated numbers because there were no vaccines. That’s the level of incompetence. Maybe it was supposed to be a symbolic festival and we misunderstood.

I’m waiting for someone to explain this to us because we are too dim to understand semantics, the underlying intelligence of Modi’s festival. That we were not supposed to actually get vaccinated. We were supposed to dream of vaccinations. The vaccines not available, the vaccines meant to be ordered, the vaccines an irresponsible government did not order. Although to be fair, our distinguished media dignitaries did ooh-and-aah when we finally, four months late, decide to let “foreign” vaccines into India.

The great love for Modi is not limited to the media as we have learnt over the past seven years. When politicians of other parties begged the revered Election Commission of India to reduce the number of phases in the Bengal election, given the Covid situation, the EC of course refused. Instead, it generously announced a curfew for election rallies: none between 7 pm and 10 am. As we have learnt from these night curfews, the virus is a vampire. And it allows Modi and Shah to invite people to even more daytime rallies.

Across India, we are faced with images of burning bodies, state administrations trying to cover up the number of dead, Covid tests taking days, more and more people testing positive, ambulances on non-stop runs, hospitals getting full, oxygen and medication running out, doctors and health workers stretched to capacity. We went through this last year. And what did we learn? Nothing, because there were elections to be won and self-praise to be done.

India is now the most positive nation in the world.

There, my dear fellow bits of tripe, I give you something to praise your dear hero about. We’re number one at Covid. No one does it better. Yaay.

Happy now?

(The writer is a Dehradun-based commentator. Views are personal)