The Invisible Driver, ft. Indian Democracy

Imagine you are imprisoned in a panopticon: every action of yours is seen, every movement is observed, and you see a humongous horde of prisoners all around you, governed by a central, powerful figure who decides your choices and your behavior.

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Today, theoretically, democracy is that form of government where the subjects are the numero uno of a nation and their choices dictate the entire trajectory of a political landscape. However, the most horrific state for a nation is when the electorate loses its sense of right and wrong because their ethics and perspectives are being subtly manipulated by an invisible driver. What makes this matter more fearsome is that these methods are so subtle that we hardly notice them in the daily hustle of our lives.

If we pause for a moment and turn the pages of history, we can find strong similarities between the fascist states of Italy and Germany and present-day India. It is an undeniable fact that Indian media is significantly deteriorating in its delivery of content to the general public—content that should highlight the shortcomings of policies devised for the governance and well-being of citizens. If we conduct a thorough observation of contemporary media channels, we eventually reach the conclusion that they have failed to live up to the principle of serving as the "fourth pillar of democracy."

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Benito Mussooni(leader of the Italian Fascist regime)

Drawing parallels to pre-war Germany, when Hitler came to power, he gradually destroyed the spirit of the media by filtering content and suppressing freedom of speech and expression. The ideal of "Palingenetic Nationalism" was used to brainwash the minds of citizens, portraying the supreme leader as the ultimate changemaker.

Hitler strangled the originality of journalism and orchestrated a well-structured campaign to deliver a narrative of a perfect ruler. By controlling all forms of media, he converted the entire population into a herd of sheep who would follow their leader mindlessly.

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A similar trend is visible in modern-day India. The media has evidently been misused to glorify the charisma of a single man and a single ideology. Both historical and contemporary parallels show the use of a narrative centered on an "internal enemy" and the "ill-governance of past rulers" to strengthen a political stand and propagate hostility toward specific ethnicities.

Thankfully, the modern world is blessed by feats of human intelligence: the gifts of Social Media and AI. While party "IT cells" receive large sums of funding for the sole purpose of preaching the leader’s virtues and diluting the public’s political perspective, we also have content creators. In this moment of absolute pandemonium, these creators use modern technology in a righteous way to highlight the problems that actually matter: poverty, the lack of accountability for degrading public infrastructure, and the quality of basic resources essential for a healthy life.

Traditional journalists have largely forgotten their duty to address the plight of citizens due to heavy commercialization and the accumulation of media power in the hands of large business conglomerates. These business houses are the "big guns" who receive favors from the ruling government in the form of tenders and contracts; in return, they ensure that the media worships the central authority and portrays leaders as figures of hyper-nationalism

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The spirit of content creators in this moment of turmoil—when many are trading their integrity for cash—is indeed commendable. They play a critical role in helping the electorate realize that they bear the power of adjudication. The system has reached a point of great concern where the roles have reversed: journalists often perform the job of comedians, and vice versa. This occurs even as the middle class bears a heavy tax burden while still breathing toxic air and drinking water that lacks basic sanitation.

Content creators have successfully built a front that fights against the surge of silent autocracy and totalitarianism. Though they lack a budget of crores to popularize themselves, educated netizens have given them the requisite impetus to build a narrative that connects the common man from every nook and corner of the country. Alongside them, a handful of independent journalists are doing a yeoman’s service to the nation by conducting on-ground surveys and providing unbiased reality. They reveal the sufferings of the people and the failures of the legislative and bureaucratic machinery that are often kept hidden.

The government has left no stone unturned in its attempts to suppress this front by mobilizing the public to dismantle these voices, often portraying activists as "anti-national." These political leaders fit the analogy of wolves in sheep’s clothing. Weaponizing the emotional vulnerability of citizens and using hate-mongering to garner votes is a nail in the coffin of democracy. It is high time the Indian electorate wakes up from its deep slumber to create an active, well-educated stand—one where choices are made for national progress rather than the validation of a supreme leader.