The politics of enmity (Group membership and hostilities)

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 The politics of enmity (Group membership and hostilities)

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• Less violence, More violence : While the physical violence in Indian elections has reduced a lot in past 30 years (thanks to ECI and our Parties), but the mental violence of viewing the political opponent as "an enemy to be annihilated" has grown. The tone in speeches indicates so.
• Carl Schmitt, pro-Nazi theorist : He built a simple theory of politics - if you are not one of us, you are one of them. If you are not a friend, you are an enemy, a disloyal one. Thus, no conversation is possible with the "other". Internal dissent also is anathema. So, either be expunged, or be converted.
• Europe paid the price : These traditions over the centuries have bled Europe to near-death, via the Crusades, the inquisitions, the Jews' expulsions and the Nazi concentration camps. In the Americas, the liquidation of native Americans was carried out.
• Then came the 20th century : This thought made its way into Stalinism too, and then into ultra-nationalism in many nations - Indonesia, Cambodia, Rwanada. The Chinese Han nationalism nearly eradicated the Tibetan culture, and now the Uighur Muslim culture. Then the ethnic cleansing of Tamils in SL, or the expulsion of Rohingyas from Myanmar was done.
• Adversaries are not enemies : In a democracy, it is crucial to differentiate properly. The one you wish to defeat in a temporary combat - cricket or elections - is an adversary. An enemy is to be destroyed permanently. Enemies cannot be won over or converted to your camp.
• No zero-sum game in a democracy : No one loses anything for ever in a democracy. If rules of fairness are followed, then there are no permanent enemies winners or losers.
• Indian civilisational values : Our strong values of humanity, plural ethos, acceptance and accommodation have stood the test of time through centuries. We have been attacked by the British colonisers, by Afghan and Turk invaders (and close-minded practices), by multinational firms turning everything into a commodity.
• Group membership rule : We should not surrender to the idea that membership of any political group automatically brings with it a permanent enemy. If we continue doing it, the whole soul of the Indian civilisation will be destroyed.
• Summary : If we start viewing politics as a zero-sum game, where adversaries are enemies to be annihilated, we are setting the stage for total destruction of our civilisational values.

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