Ever since I read the book 'In the Garden of Beasts' by Erik Larson, I've been meaning to write a post on the similarities I see between current India and 1933 Germany. It's ironic and sad that I started writing this finally on India's 73rd Independence Day. But since the last few weeks I've been very troubled by the actions of the Indian government and the complete lack of empathy shown by fellow Indians. I know this is (sadly) not new and more the norm these days. But since the BJP was voted back to power overwhelmingly in May 2019 and Amit Shah became the Home Minister, I have become very scared for the future of the Republic of India. The UAPA Amendment Act which empowers the government to designate individuals as terrorists, the blunting of the RTI, the communication blackout in Kashmir, house arrests, use of Public Safety Act in Delhi, muzzling of debates are few of the many actions which fill me with despair.
Whenever Modi is compared with Hitler or when people talk about growing fascism in India, they are told by others (BJP sympathizers) that this is an exaggeration or hyperbole. That's because the sympathizers think it's unfair to compare Modi or BJP to a man or regime which killed 60,00,000 Jews. However Hitler's rise to power and the resultant genocide did not happen overnight. It's extremely important to notice the signs, patterns and trends which lead to the rise of fascism. Erik Larson's book is based on the career of the American Ambassador to Germany, William Dodd, particularly the years 1933 to 1937 when he and his family lived in Berlin. This was before the start of the actual world war and the mass murders. I found many parts of the book very relatable to what is happening in India in the past few years. Here are some of the sentences I highlighted and how I think they relate to India:-
"She countered that there was so much else that was good about Germany. In particular, she praised the enthusiasm of the country’s young people and the measures Hitler was taking to reduce unemployment."
This was the view of Ambassador Dood's daughter, Martha. She constantly defended the Nazis against her father who had seen the signs very early on. I see a lot of this happening in India since 2014. Since the majority is unaffected by the bigotry and injustice they keep on talking about how Modi is taking India forward from an economic and development point of view. While that aspect itself is debatable, for me it doesn't really matter. Even if India's GDP was growing at 10% right now it cannot wash over the social injustice.
"As of January 1933 only about 1 percent of Germany’s sixty-five million people were Jewish"
This is a very good example of how populist decisions and utilitarianism can affect so many people but when looked at in terms of percentage seems so little. The Nazis didn't directly kill Jews. It started with persecution and antisemitic legislation. The first major law to curtail the rights of Jewish citizens was the Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service in April 1933, which excluded Jews and the “politically unreliable” from civil service. In the same month, a law was enacted which restricted the number of Jewish students at German schools and universities. In India I see the same apathy when it comes to laws which don't affect the majority. The upper class were not affected by demonetization. The NRC is not affecting anyone outside of Assam (yet). The same happened in Germany too. Since only 1% of the people were affected, majority of Germans, tourists, observers didn't care about the laws which curtailed freedom. But even 1% of 65 million is 6,50,000.
“At a time when hundreds of men have been put to death without trial or any sort of evidence of guilt, and when the population literally trembles with fear, animals have rights guaranteed them which men and women cannot think of expecting. One might easily wish he were a horse”
This was Ambassadar Dodd's observation in 1933 Germany. This is not far from the current situation in India where it's sometimes safer to be a cow than to be Muslim.
"What most occupied the attention of the State Department was the outstanding German debt to American creditors."
The American Ambassador William Dodd kept highlighting the dangers and signs back to the American government. It's not that the international community was not aware of what was happening in Germany. Sure the world was not connected in the way it is today but still other powerful countries did have an idea of what was going on in Germany. But they had their own post World War 1 problems and were more interested in rebuilding like USA was more interested in the outstanding debt to creditors. Hence as Indians we have to remember that this is our problem. Highlighting the injustice to the global community, United Nations etc. is not going to help much.
"Throughout that first year in Germany, Dodd had been struck again and again by the strange indifference to atrocity that had settled over the nation, the willingness of the populace and of the moderate elements in the government to accept each new oppressive."
This is very true of what has happened in India since 2014. Everything is being normalized. Reactions and outrage to murder by lynching is lesser. Muzzling of debate, free speech is considered a norm. Muslim haters like Ajay Singh Bisht and Giriraj Singh are Ministers, terror accused are part of the Parliament. The BJP kept pushing the needle and were rewarded with an even bigger mandate in 2019. The sad truth is that majority of Indians just don't care about fellow human beings.
Gerda Laufer, a socialist, wrote that she felt “deeply shaken that people whom one regarded as friends, who were known for a long time, from one hour to the next transformed themselves.”
This is the saddest parallel that I have experienced. Since 2014 debates have become extremely polarized. It's been hard to see so many friends and family members defend an authoritarian regime so vociferously. So much so that I have stopped discussing politics in order to safeguard relationships. It has led me to an echo chamber which I know for a fact is not good. But at the moment it seems unavoidable.
