INTRODUCTION
Hero worshipping is associated with the feeling of admiration for someone, it is the assumption that they are better than anyone else or their counterparts. In the modern context, heroes are perceived as symbols and metaphors often interlinked with worshiping, fandom, and as in India, bhakti cult. Often people are seen obsessing over athletes, actors, artists, etc. These celebrities have huge fan following and worshippers which are only increasing and social media has a huge role to play in it. With social media, fans are now able to connect with these celebrities virtually and can get a glimpse into their personal life too. Also, a huge number of fan clubs are getting created in a limited time which is only leading to more popularity of a certain celebrity. These celebrities which are often looked upon as a hero in eyes of a fan are generally admired for their skills, charismatic qualities, or in some scenarios, people admire their journey of becoming an average person to a celebrity. While it might be conceived as unharmful on a surface level, it does have a larger impact and affects the mind of the general public.
Note that praising someone for their work is a different thing but perceiving them as godly creatures who cannot harm is dangerous which can often time lead to these ‘heroes’ getting away with certain things. One major example of this is in 1993 when actor Sanjay Dutt was convicted for illegal possession of weapons in the Mumbai bomb blast case. Instead of being criticized for this, his fans instead demanded his release. His image was glorified and he was compared to Mahatma Gandhi. Hero-worship is a worrisome trend and according to Retired High Court Judge CS Dharmadhikari, it destroys rule of law and is a threat to the country.
From above and many other instances, it can be rightfully said that the trend of Hero worship is more relevant in India than in any other nation. While worshipping celebrities has become a pretty common thing, especially in states like Tamil Naidu, and has been used as an advantage by big corporates to pay celebrities to endorse their products and brands, worshipping of politicians is simply inimical, a direct threat to democracy. This research paper will look into the harm that hero-worshipping can lead to and will analyze the history and instances of this type of worshipping, its relevance in today’s world, and how this problem can be solved.
HYPOTHESIS
Hero worship of Political leaders can lead to exploitation of power and leaders can get away from things without being held accountable. It also hampers democracy, a leader having a massive following and a large number of worshippers can turn democracy into a dictatorship. Journalism and Media also referred to as the fourth pillar of democracy are also becoming careless and forgetting their duty to raise their voice against injustice and question these political leaders.
LITERATURE REVIEW
‘Hero and Hero-Worship Fandom in Modern India’ is a collection of papers edited by ‘Rahul Chaturvedi, Hariom Singh & Anita Singh’ which discusses the relevance of Hero worshipping in India and the role social media and other media outlets play. Besides stating the influence politicians have, most papers talk about the power celebrities hold and how they often use it to sell commodities for the corporates as the most public is naive enough to believe that celebrities use that product too. The researcher with the help of these collections of papers studied the relationship between a fan and a hero, how these heroes are perceived in minds of their fans, and the role of social media.
The article ‘Hero-worship is a sure road to eventual dictatorship: Ambedkar’s warning for the Indian media’ written by author ‘Diwaker’. This article throws light on today’s journalism and how they fail or refuse to hold influential leaders liable and what was of views of BR Ambedkar regarding these careless press houses. The author has share instances too of journalists and news anchors having a lenient approach in interviews when it comes to certain leaders. The paper also discusses the excessive spotlight these leaders get.
‘Hero worship of politicians is unhealthy’ written by ‘The Minnesota Daily Editorial Board’ is an article which talks about how politicians shouldn’t have fanned the same way celebrities do. This is unhealthy in a political scenario. The researcher used this article to study the consequences when leaders are chosen based on their personality, not the substantive work they have done.
‘Why bhakti in politics is bad for democracy is a column written by author ‘Ramachandra Guha’ which states that Hero worship is very common in a country like India. It was at its peak in Maharashtra under the leadership of Bal Thackrey and in Tamil Naidu under Jayalalithaa. The author states that while hero worship of celebrities is nothing but silly and there is rarely any criticism against those who are widely idolized by the Indian public as it will result in the critic facing harassment and threats only, Worship of leaders is a threat to democracy.
STRUCTURE OF THE PAPER AND ANALYSIS
HISTORY OF HERO-WORSHIP OF POLITICAL LEADERS IN INDIA
Hero worship of politicians was always persistent in the Indian sub-continent. A Hero is often perceived as a symbol or a ‘messiah’ in the eyes of the general public. This can be because a hero was always had some skills that the general public often lacked, their charismatic way to talk or it was their journey or background which admired people. This pattern can be followed back to ancient India where a king was generally worshipped as a god and it is still followed today in the contemporary world where leaders have huge followings, massive rallies are conducted and their words impact a lot of people more than their work.
It is observed that sometimes to gain public attention and administration, leaders often indulge in self-promotion activities. For instance, Pandit Nehru once published an essay in 1937 under the pen-name ‘Chanakya’, and in the essay, he mentioned all the traits he has for becoming a dictator even though he won’t become one. 12 years later that, BR Ambedkar gave a remarkable speech (his last constituent assembly speech), in which he addressed the Indian public and warned them about Hero-worshipping as it is the road to the end of democracy. His speech, as one may believe, uncannily anticipated the emergency imposed under the leadership of Indira Gandhi.
In the essay written by Jawaharlal Nehru, he has addressed himself from a third person’s perspective which Prime minister Modi often does too. Besides that, PM Modi, back in 2005 when he was the CM of Gujarat, launched what is called ‘self-publicity drive’. Calendars, booklets, posters, etc. were published where his achievements were mentioned (what he has done for the state) along with his photographs. This as journalists have speculated was a mere attempt to wash away the memories of or divert the topic of Gujarat riots that took place in 2002.
Another incident of self-promotion by a leader is of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s time. Even before censorship on the press was imposed, the government’s publicity wing and media outlets like AIR and Doordarshan used to work overtime to broadcast PM’s achievements and her image.
Sometimes the extent of hero-worshipping can go as far as treating the political leaders as demigods. This instance is of Tamil Naidu where four major leaders- CN Annadurai, MG Ramachandran, J Jayalalithaa, and Karunanidhi had unmatched power and massive emotional and uncontrollable crowds. These leaders and Bal Thackrey in Maharashtra are famously known and remembered for their progressive social reforms, promoting equality and giving emphasis to individual rights. MG Ramachandran is known as the man who made cult worship the theme of Tamil Naidu politics. He never lost any assembly elections and neither depended on tools like caste, religion, etc., to gain votes. He was the one who introduced J Jayalalithaa to politics who carried forward MGR’s legacy after his demise. She won assembly elections six times. She was so popular that she became a brand in herself. Popularly known as ‘Amma’, soon there were ‘Amma vegetable markets’, ‘Amma theatres’, canteens, and even mineral water bottles. When she was arrested in 2014 on corruption charges, many of her followers died by suicide and 470 died of shock when the news of her death was made official. Such was the power she held and such was the extreme form of hero-worshiping in India.
Today’s scenario- PM Modi has successfully managed to gain the attention of Indian citizens through his speeches and his social media handle. BJP was able to win the 2014 elections with a massive number of votes because of PM Modi and nowadays the party is mostly represented and known by a single individual only. Many ruling politicians have even gone so far as to demand the citizens not to see the PM just as a party or a government but as a whole nation. A senior cabinet minister called PM Modi a ‘messiah’ and one CM protested that anyone who criticizes the PM should be called an anti-national. Many people especially on social media and quite a few journalists too have succumbed to the hero-worshipping of the PM.
THE ROLE OF MEDIA
Journalism and Media referred to as the fourth pillar of democracy should be protecting democracy. The journalists should be fearless and bold enough to question the power of a leader, demand the reason behind a certain action, and provide unbiased news to its citizens. However, this is not always the attitude of the press especially nowadays where many famous journalists and anchors shy away or are afraid of asking tough questions to the political leaders of the ruling party. They do not care to cross-question influential ministers like PM Modi nor ask questions regarding the controversies that surround them like the infamous ‘Rafale aircraft controversy and corruption surrounding it . Instead of writing or talking about things that matter, what nowadays the press houses publish are their lifestyle and routines of this minister. These are the topics that usually surround celebrities- their fitness routine, lifestyle, etc., and should not be given preference when it comes to political leaders.
It is not only the ruling party that gets the benefit of getting away without being held liable or questionable, many media houses follow the same pattern with the influential leaders of opposite parties too like many might argue that Rahul Gandhi gets unnecessary limelight with barely having any experience in the field. If political leaders have huge cult in India and are often idolized by the citizens, it is not solely the fault of these blind worshippers and leaders, but the media is greatly responsible for that. Most often media choose to talk about only the achievements and choose to remain quiet when it comes to allegations and controversies. Like Atal Bihari Vajpayee is often highly praised and referred to as a ‘great statesman’ but no one talks about his communal statements. Similarly, PM Manmohan Singh is always referred to as an honest and clean politician despite various corruption allegations against him, and Delhi’s CM Arvind Kejriwal too often presumed as a victorious leader has allegations against him of being dictatorial.
The heroic treatment of leaders by the press can be observed in previous decades too. When press censorship was imposed during the time of Indira Gandhi, even though publication houses like The Indian Express and The Statesman choose to silently protest against the emergency, some other publications gave up to the censorship and choose to glorify leaders like Sanjay Gandhi and showed him as a hero and a strong leader. This heroic treatment was given to him and other leaders of the ruling party even after the emergency. BR Ambedkar has raised his voice against this type of treatment in many of his speeches. His speech addressed the heroic treatment which Gandhi and Jinnah used to get. He expressed his dismay by stating that – “they (leaders like Gandhi and Jinnah) have made half their followers fools and other half hypocrites by their domination.” Ambedkar had launched his publications which used to condemn media bhakti.
IMPACT OF HERO-WORSHIP
Blindly supporting a politician, a leader is an unhealthy and unproductive dynamic. Worshipping them doesn’t do anyone any good. The concerning thing is that this blind faith is mostly based on their personality rather than the work they have done to prove themselves. Supporting a leader or admiring their work should never be a blanket endorsement of everything they have ever done or will do in the future. This hero-worshipping culture fails to hold these leaders accountable as they are idolized so much in one’s mind or masses that they are perceived as perfect human beings who can never do any wrong. The biggest problem associated with it is that it has created a huge divide between the followers and the non-followers. Take for instance the massive following of PM Modi, the country has been divided amongst nationals and anti-nationals with PM’s following referred to as ‘nationalist’ and ‘bhakti. The problem lies that both the sides assume that they are enemies of each other’s with the bhakts often assuming that the other side is ‘anti-nationalist simply because they disagree with a certain policy of the government. A very famous quote by Mark Twain which is relevant to today’s times is “Loyalty to the Nation all the time, loyalty to the Government when it deserves it” which simply many fail to understand.
Social Media besides these publications and media houses are also largely responsible for creating this rift/divide between the followers and the non-followers. People through social media are now free to express their political views which are sometimes filled with rage regarding a community or a certain party creating a further divide. Posting half the information or wrong information is also very harmful and fake news spreads like fire. Knowing very well about this, many politicians or their followers, share this fake news, therefore, using social media as a tool to manipulate the masses. Also, the algorithm plays a part here too. If someone is lately reading news on social media filled with hatred towards certain communities, the algorithm will work in such a way that the person will receive more and more similar news like this, therefore, strengthening his beliefs and hatred towards certain sections.
These Political leaders too know fully well regarding the power they hold. They know about their following, the presence that they hold, and how to use them to their advantage. The finest example of this was US President Trump who claimed that he could shoot anyone and yet not lose any voters.
Conclusion
The only way to handle this problem is to understand that one can be praised but not worshipped. Media should take an initiative first as these are press and publications houses only which first creates a heroic image in minds of the general public. By choosing not to talk about criticism and controversies surrounding a certain leader, the media is unknowingly idolizing that leader. A government is made for people only, to work for people and if the government is not working efficiently, it is the full responsibility of the public and media to hold them accountable. Also making movies on political leaders only to white-wash their image should be stopped too. This is further adding to their glorification. Political leaders are servants of people and the government, treating them like celebrities are not adding to any good. It is high time that we should realize this.
Bibliography
• The Minnesota Daily Editorial Board, Hero worship of politicians is unhealthy, THE MINNESOTA DAILY, December 2, 2019 https://mndaily.com/189170/opinion/op-celebritypoliticians/
• Diwakar, hero-worship is a sure road to eventual dictatorship: Ambedkar’s warning for the Indian media, THE CARAVAN, 02 June 2019, https://caravanmagazine.in/media/hero-worship-is-a-sure-road-to-eventual-dictatorship-ambedkars-warning
• Ramachandra Guha, Why bhakti in politics is bad for democracy, HT, DEC 04, 2016 12:49 AM IST, https://www.hindustantimes.com/columns/why-bhakti-in-politics-is-bad-for-democracy/story-wiZUVhmmY9exCStaATBSqK.html
• WION Web Team, When leaders become demi-gods: A history of hero-worshipping in Tamil Nadu, WION, Aug 08, 2018, 12:32 PM(IST) https://www.wionews.com/india-news/when-leaders-became-demi-gods-history-of-hero-worshipping-in-tamil-nadu-157796
• Vasundhara Sanger, The culture of hero worship, TOI, Aug 24, 2007, 23:26 IST, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2308787.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
• Rahul Chaturvedi, Hariom Singh & Anita Singh, HERO AND HERO-WORSHIP 9 (1ed. Vernon Press 2020) (supra)
WRITER:
NAME: VIDHI SHARMA
COLLEGE: SYMBIOSIS LAW
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