Propaganda and Cultural Subversion - The Aesthetic Bharat

What’s up, Secular People? All good? Yeah, everything must be good right, after all, you get all right at the end of the day! Alright, no more passive aggression. But hey, I’ve got a very practical example for you folks before coming directly at the topic (which kinda happens with many people): Consider yourself as a student, a college student. There is a girl in your class who hates you just because she is very much jealous of your achievements, your nature and your overall personality.

Now, she knows that she cannot directly beat you in any aspect, be it academics, sports or even intellect. So, she opts for another way of ‘defeating’ you – she starts spreading baseless rumours about you which aim at eventually deteriorating your image and your reputation. And Boom! It works and your image does get ruined and people start cussing you, hating you and ostracising you, without knowing the ‘true you’ inside out. This trick doesn’t work on the ones who know and trust you completely.

But those who don’t fall easily into this trap (without even knowing what this is all about and without having a single clue of how they have been goofed very smoothly!).

That’s exactly how Subversion works. Now coming to the topic, let’s define the term ‘Subversion’, which can simply be defined as the undermining or the sabotaging of the power and authority of an established system or an institution. In the long run, subversion is a destructive and aggressive activity that is aimed at completely obliterating the country’s values, morale, cultural harmony and authenticity.

Cultural Subversion, particularly targets destroying a nation’s culture slowly and steadily by propagating false (or incomplete) information to the masses employing various mass media and through the internet. A successful cultural subversion doesn’t take place overnight, rather it takes years or sometimes generations to get implemented. In subtle terms, cultural subversion is not about killing in a single shot, rather it’s about killing through a thousand cuts or giving a slow & torturous death to your enemy.

Power of the Propagandas…

Propaganda is the information intended to persuade an audience to accept a particular idea or cause, often by using biased material or stirring up emotions. Propaganda can be done in many ways. It can be done through mass media, such as the TV, radio, newspapers, and billboards, it can be done via social media, online marketing and whatnot! Propaganda was one of the most powerful tools that the Nazis used to consolidate their power, demean the Jewish community and cultivate their ideas in the mid-1930s. The KGB also used propaganda as their formidable weapon to subjugate their enemies (in fact, not just enemies!).

Yuri Bezmenov a.k.a. Tomas David Schuman, a former KGB ‘Propaganda’ agent, revealed in one of his famous interviews how he was instructed to systematically change the minds of the masses regarding many different aspects, culture the most important.

He elaborated, “I was instructed to try to get into larger circulations, established conservative media, reach filthy-rich movie makers, intellectuals, so-called academic circles, cynical egocentric people who can look into your eyes with an angelic expression and tell you a lie… These are the most recruitable people – the ones who lack moral principles, who are either too greedy or suffer from self-importance and who feel that they matter a lot… There are no grassroots revolutions. Any revolution is a by-product of a highly organized group of conscientious and professional intellectuals” (what he said in the 1980s is I think the exact current scenario, regarding those who claim themselves to be ‘woke and secular’ in India). Anyways, the point here is that propaganda is also a very lethal weapon to destabilize a nation. Find the full interview Here.

In Popular Culture

And by ‘Popular Culture’, I mean the most beloved industry in India – Bollywood! There are so many other media but Bollywood has probably a huge influence on us Indians. Researchers from North America and Europe have empirically established that there are movie scripts and cognitions that increase psychological & physiological arousal and trigger an automatic tendency to imitate the exact observed behaviours.

In simple terms, whatever is shown in the movies, does have an impact on our minds in such a way that we frame our perception according to the fantasy world shown in our movies (and some of us think that girls and women really enjoy eve-teasing!). Exactly, and that’s how the culture is also getting subverted, from generations – by negatively re-framing the perception about it.

Needless to say, in their films, the Bollywood industry is heavily biased against one community and even if they don’t do it on purpose, it looks like they are running some sort of propaganda against that designated community (to impress the other). Unlike Hollywood movies, which had long been used as a harbinger of American culture abroad, Bollywood films actually do not present Indian culture well in most situations.

In the year 2015, IIM Ahmedabad Professor Dheeraj Sharma and his team conducted research on 50 random Bollywood movies from the 1960s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s and 2010s. Some of the most astounding results were – “In nearly 78 % of the movies, promiscuous women had a Christian name… 58 % of the corrupt politicians in films had a Hindu Brahmin last name… 62 % of the corrupt businessmen in films had a Vaishya last name… 74 % of the films presented Sikhs as laughable…. 18 out of 20 Bollywood movies which had a setting in Pakistan shown the Pakistanis as welcoming, courteous, open-minded and courageous!!!”. Well, the good thing is, people are getting aware of this particular fact and they are re-framing their perceptions, in a good way, about these pieces of shit (very few, but yeah they exist).

And ultimately, it’s not about freedom of expression and stuff, rather it’s all about their bias towards one community just because the people from that community are patient, they believe in law & order and justice by fair means. Read more about the research here:

Even when they are not doing any film, these ‘stars’ kinda run a campaign on their respective social media handles and accounts regarding many issues that we will face in the upcoming festivals (Hindu Festivals). At the time of Diwali, they’ll boast about how the firecrackers will pollute the entire fucking atmosphere and cause a ton of problems (such as asthma) but watch out for them bursting a thousand crackers at their weddings or any functions. At the time of Holi, they’ll rant about water shortage on earth as well as the skin problems the colours would cause but watch out for their ‘leaked pictures’ of them playing Holi while getting stoned. At the time of Navaratri, they’ll point out the ‘hypocrisy, misogyny and the extreme patriarchy’ by ranting about how ‘usually’ women are raped and they’re worshipped on this festival.

The sad part is – these hypocrites and scoundrels try to shove their campaigns up our buttocks and some people (who call themselves woke/liberals/secular/changemakers/whistle-blowers) take that up happily (so ironic, isn’t it?). See, there are flaws and limitations in the festivals and no one denies it. But FFS, why point out the flaws and limitations of the festivals of just one religion??? This obviously will be perceived as organized propaganda against that religion which will further hurt the sentiments of millions of people that are part of it.

Winning over it – Preserve the Authenticity…!

Now, we have a wide diversity of civilizations throughout the world. Throughout the beginning of time, cultures have been preserved and passed down from one generation to the next. People with similar cultural origins can interact with one another and form communities via their shared cultures. People from the same culture tend to share the same interests and moral principles. Over time, a specific cultural community’s cultural characteristics are preserved and handed on to the next generations.

Cultural characteristics endure through all eras. Knowledge, customs, linguistic scripts, clothing norms, etc. are a few examples of cultural characteristics that are peculiar to a certain place. We SHOULD value culture because it shapes our evolutionary identity. Our culture teaches us about our ancestors’ moral principles and illuminates the purpose of life. Also, it distinguishes us from other regions of the world. We learn our local culture as children through being raised in the area where we were born, and that society moulds our life into who we are now. We are linked for all time by a community’s traditional culture.

The sense of togetherness and belonging that cultural heritage fosters is what makes it important to preserve. Traditions and cultural heritage help to connect us to our ancestors, which is important and shouldn’t be lost. Our culture’s foundational values and regulations are significant and designed to improve our lives. Every aspect of a culture, from wedding customs to religious views, should be respected. Even if the times have changed and “mixed cultures” are fashionable right now, efforts are being made to preserve regional cultures, which is a good thing on a sombre note!

Thus, as a result, it is important to preserve our culture. Our cultural heritage shouldn’t be attacked or destroyed by anything or anyone. It is always a good idea to keep in mind that our cultures define who we are and how we live. It ought to be carried on from generation to generation, as it has been up to this point. We must ensure that our cultural heritage doesn’t vanish into obscurity. Without various cultures, the world would not be as vibrant as it is now. And, anyway, as far as the Indian heritage is concerned, a huge diaspora is taking this issue very seriously and they are educating other people which is a good sign. And this awareness is the only thing that could keep our Rich Indian Culture and Heritage, full of life. Hoping for the best!