A mistake concerning strategy is a serious matter. All the movements which only bet on liberation, emancipation, the resurrection of the subject of history, of the group, of speech as a raising of consciousness…do not see that they are acting in accordance with the system, whose imperative today is the overproduction and regeneration of meaning and speech.
Jean Baudrillard
Neo, in the first part of Matrix Trilogy, enters Agent Smith to kill and explode him from within, only to find later (in the second part) that he is still alive with more power and potency. Perplexed Neo is told by Smith that when he entered, some part of him (Neo) got imprinted on him and he was resurrected powerfully, becoming almost invincible. Most of the recent events (opposing the system) also work likewise. They enter the system to kill, to destroy it but in fact strengthen it in their attempts. This hyperreal age of ours commodifies each and every thing even the processes challenging it and making the whole system more powerful reciprocally. The early wave of commercialism was threatened by various organizations with the claim that most of these commercial products were environment-damaging. The result of this opposition was that the system commodified the very process of opposition and produced eco-friendly products, thus strengthening it exponentially.
In a similar way, McDonaldization met with the challenge in most muslim dominated populations that its products were not Halal. McDonald’s incorporated the opposition and in return produced Halal foods – thus commodifying the very process that opposed it.
Anna Hazare ‘movement’ marks the epitome of this process locally and that was the reason it was successful (to whatever extent). It was a pure media event not because its images were bombarded 24/7, evoking an audience keen of watching reality shows. The ‘movement’ was successful because it re-produced exactly the psyche of mass-media on stage by making up spectacular images of itself. Anna’s attire evokes the image of Gandhi and on top of that Anna sitting with the portrait of Gandhi in the background – a perfect mise-en-scène. With all the drama happening in between, it ended in a hyper way, the way it was meant to end. Image of Anna with small children offering him water! Could it have been more real!
The recent ‘Harud Literary Festival’ debate is no exception. The most interesting thing about Harud was that it never came into being. The event was a virtual one – announced virtually, criticized virtually, and ending virtually. The ‘event’ is yet another such example of Neo like opposition strengthening Smith like systems. The Indian system claims itself to be the largest democracy in the world. The already strengthening points to prove it is its ‘secular’ constitution and various other laws. But the events like ‘Annas’ often apparently threaten this system, though after a series of simulations it also strengthens the system by making it more surveillent. The Harud ‘event’ was the best that could happen to this system. The apparent opposition by writers to challenge the festival was done in fact to challenge India’s (un)democratic governance in Kashmir, but the opposition paved way to a democratic debate and the merciful democratic Indian system listened coolly and logically to the opposition and postponed the event. The success of Harud’s opposition helped its successful postponement, thus brilliantly enabling the Indian system to swell on its democratic claims and at the same time strengthening it.
P.S. Does that mean we should not oppose? No! It means that the game is to be handled by tricks. Remember the old Kashmiri trick to play with snow. If you want to play with snow, let your hands get as cold as they can get to the degree that they start burning with cold and warm you up. But if you keep on warming them again and again in Kangri, you won’t be able to play at all.
Loved it sweetie !!! :)
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