Pamela Philipose: If the Media Fails to Read the Farm Struggle Right, Irrelevance Awaits

By Dilip -

NB: The Greek word hubris, conveys the sense of overweening pride, arrogance before the gods. The punishment adequate to this sin derives its name from nemesis, the goddess who exacts retribution from those who succumb to hubris. It is not just defeat in an election that Mr Modi's friend (remember Howdy Modi?) the ruthless sociopath and ignoramus Donald Trump is facing, it is historic infamy and financial ruin. Worse still, the whole of American society is now paying the price for flirting with dreams of imperial greatness. 

In India's case mind you, it is not merely the media that needs to listen to the warning in this article, it is the Indian bureaucracy and above all, the upper reaches of the judiciary. They need to remember that India is not the fiefdom of the Sangh Parivar, nor Mr Modi an emperor in possession of the Divine Right of Kings. The biggest and most powerful tyrants ultimately fall victim to their own arrogance. Why should ours fare any better? DS

If the Media Fails to Read the Farm Struggle Right, Irrelevance Awaits

The year is barely two weeks old and it has already seen events that have made visible the dangers of the cling film of alternative reality that has come to wrap itself tightly around societies across the world. The Capitol Hill violence in Washington D.C., US served to highlight the hubris of a president convinced that he could upend history with his tweets. In the end, Donald Trump lost not just his “kingdom” and the key to that kingdom – his Twitter handle – but the prospect of a possible return to power given a second impeachment. 

The take-down of Trump, as a creature created by mainstream media and social media – let’s not forget his first delusions of grandeur were incubated on the sets of The Apprentice – has also provided the world with a critique of the gargantuan material presence of social media and their capacity to cultivate and drive authoritarian politicians.

The easy camaraderie between Trump and Narendra Modi, showcased in cash-fueled events like ‘Howdy Modi’ in 2019 and ‘Namaste Trump’ in February 2020, was no accident. The Wire analysis, ‘Modi, Trump and Democracy in the Age of ‘Alternative Reality’ (January 15) lists interesting commonalities of their personalities and political style: both project the image of the alpha male; target opponents as enemies of the state; promote ethnic nationalism; prey on the fears the majority population may have of minorities and migrants; and deliberately misrepresent facts.

The big difference between the two men, the writer points out, is that unlike Trump who personally tweeted several times a day, Modi is careful to confine himself to official protocol and the occasional tweet, while allowing the BJP’s IT cell to do “the heavy lifting”…

https://thewire.in/media/backstory-media-farm-struggle-capitol-building

Paul Blumenthal: Trump’s MAGA Myth Reaches Its Catastrophic Conclusion / Schwarzenegger compares Capitol riot to Kristallnacht / Bharat Bhushan: Vigilantism threatens India too

Amulya Ganguli - End of India’s “Howdy, Modi” Bonhomie with the USA

Donald Trump's gift to America: Realizing we've never been a liberal democracy. By PAUL ROSENBERG

Satarupa Chakraborty: CJI's Remarks on Women Farmers Are an Assault on Human Agency and Constitutional Rights / Pratap Bhanu Mehta: SC’s order on the farm bills is terrible constitutional precedent, bereft of judgment

Ramachandra Guha: Gandhi said RSS was ‘communal with a totalitarian outlook’ – and that’s still true

Agenda for Social Democracy

Discussion on Indian Agriculture and the ongoing Kisan agitation

Navsharan Singh: A million reasons to march

Jairus Banaji on the Indian corporate strategy of subordinating farm households and family labor

STATE OF RURAL AND AGRARIAN INDIA REPORT 2020. By the Network of Rural and Agrarian Studies

Jairus Banaji on the Indian corporatist strategy of subordinating farm households and family labor

Navsharan Singh: A million reasons to march


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