The conflict between the Left and the Right is not new to the global spectrum of politics. For an extensive span in global politics, far Left-wing ideologies have had their hegemony on the mindset of the people.
However, in the last decade, it has been witnessed that the Right-wing ideology across the globe has been successfully leaving its imprints in the mindset of the people. If the elections, which have taken place post 2010, were to be analysed globally, the changing pattern of voting around the world is evident.
This change can be attributed to the echoes of nationalism having grown stronger gradually. Nationalism has always been a significant feature of politics everywhere. However, the recent boom of the political parties, which have been propagating the ethos of nationalism as part of their politics, is unprecedented.
There are several examples that bear testimony to this fact. One of the examples is the case of the European Parliament where nine far-right parties have formed a new bloc, called Identity and Democracy (ID). In countries like Italy, Spain, Germany, France, Austria, Sweden, Finland, etc, the political outfits with the issue of nationalism in the supreme focus have been garnering a significant amount of vote share to virtually disrupt the hegemony of the left-wing ideological parties.
United States President Donald Trump is a classic example of growing acceptance to the policy of the ‘nation first’ which led him to become one of the most powerful individuals in the free world.
The strong transitional bond between Trump and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro marks the union of the two-right wing populists on the global platform which translated into securing millions of dollars of assistance to Brazil which served its interests.
In India as well, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was instrumental in getting this transitional shift in the pattern of India politics. For a considerable period of time, Indian voter psyche had a huge propensity towards the left-wing ideological parties with the Indian National Congress being the torch-bearer of it.
However, various instances since 2014 and the rise of the BJP across the country are testimony to the fact that policy of nationalism marking the only concept of ‘Nation Above All’ has the greatest acceptance among Indians.
All the opposition parties in India came together with the sole intent of keeping PM Modi away from power. However, the result was extremely stunning, and was something that dashed the expectations of the opposition parties.
While all these opposition parties were saying “Modi Hatao”, the Prime Minister echoed the common sentiments of the nation through his speeches stating, “Nation Above All”.
If the saying “Politics is an instrument of Social Change” were to be analyzed in the perspective of the current scenario of the country, one can easily identify that nationalism through the route of politics has percolated to the deepest corners of the society in the country. Most importantly, in all the sectors, which are examined from the prism of the public domain, nationalism has been spreading its roots quite prominently.
Bollywood for instance is a classic example in this case. Many actors and directors have started making films on the Indian Army, Navy, Air Force and Prime Minister Modiji to reach the core emotional segment of audience and the nation.
Films like Kesari, Uri, MS Dhoni, Airlift and many more are based on true and nationalist stories to glorify the image of India on a bigger scale. Such films and the love of their makers towards the nation have created a wall between the left-wing and right-wing political ideology of Bollywood people.
This division of Bollywood leads the revolution of new cinema. A cinema of elite vs normal class of artists. The content for films has been changed as well as the perspective to look at the nation and its glorious elements.
The elite class propagating nepotism along with their proclivity towards the anti-national elements, continues to make films which, to a huge extent, tarnish the image of India serving the interest of a particularly small section of the society influenced by left-wing ideology.
While, the normal class of artist, with its sheer talent and the scripts that glorify the history of the nation, continues to surprise people garnering their accolades.
The latest example of the death mystery of actor Sushant Singh Rajput is again a testimony to the divided film fraternity over the issue of nepotism and identified by nationalism.
The elite class of Bollywood, whose ideological inclination is well-known, is alleged under the legal framework of abetment by the majority of the nation.
While the CBI is currently investigating the matter, it is out in the public domain as to how this case went to CBI and which were the political outfits trying to defend a few elements allegedly involved in the death of the actor Sushant.
Elite’s strong propagation of nepotism combined with their anti-national instances over the last few years only strengthens their unproven allegations by building a certain and a subtle perception.
Sushant’s death has led to various artists coming ahead and speaking up against a strong syndicate in Bollywood which represents the biases based on religion. Kangana Ranaut is one of these stars speaking their mind out.
Kangana has gone on record saying that she is being targeted for speaking up for nationalism, which is perhaps the evidence of the divide in the film industry on ideological and sentimental lines.
Moreover, the Indian audience has not only acknowledged these kinds of narratives but has also supported strongly by responding to the films either propagating nationalism or the artists who are raising their voices against the ills affecting film industry.
The country is certainly in a phase where the wall of a pseudo-nationalism being practiced under the garb of secularism is now on the verge of collapse as the echoes of nationalism are rising strongly.
The writer is media in-charge, BJP Maharashtra. The views expressed are personal.