A tweet by this author unexpectedly went viral soon after the 2024 election results. It read: ‘Can we avoid creating another personality cult – this time around Rahul Gandhi? Is it not healthy for Indians to give up this fundamentally undemocratic tendency to make heroes or deities of political representatives?’ Some of the retweets were made by ordinary trolls to undermine Gandhiji and the politics he represented. However, there were others who were sympathetic to his politics, but were concerned that any additional dose of personality-driven politics could harm Indian democracy. Recently, some people had expressed concern over Delhi CM Atishi treating Kejriwal like a saint.
Certainly, communicating and celebrating the vision, efforts and achievements of a political leader is part of democracy. It is by mobilizing the support of various citizens to implement the socio-economic and political vision of these supporters that political representatives win elections. We are currently seeing this happening in America with Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz. But at what point does democratic support turn into undemocratic respect? And anyway, what is the harm in worship in politics? Should this be considered undemocratic?
We can connect with leaders in two ways. First, we can prioritize a political leader or representative who we think best represents our interests, goals and values, and our vision of what is good for our larger community and country. Does. Here, our commitment to issues and values precedes our support for a political representative. Our admiration for such a leader will remain democratic as long as the issues and values remain more important to us than the leader or the representative. In short, if the representative compromises the issues and values we stand for, we will demand political accountability, criticize and even withdraw support if necessary.
However, this support becomes undemocratic when we begin to connect to the leader in another way – when we become so enamored that we begin to ignore instances where the leader openly abandons the issues and values for which he or she stands. We once believed that they were necessary for the greater good. Filled with only praise, we stop questioning the leader. Instead, we make excuses and are quick to defend them from any criticism. Now, instead of democratic praise and support, there is hero-worship – a personality cult that undermines democracy.
Personality cult in politics is harmful in three ways. First, they allow citizens to entrust their independent political decision-making to one person. A citizenry that actively thinks about a range of issues and values, and holds political representatives accountable, is vital to any truly functioning democracy. Second, they hurt the representatives themselves. Since the leader around whom a cult has been built no longer faces any criticism or questions, they begin to think that they are innocent. Such leaders act arrogantly and promote selfish or narrow interests at the expense of the common good. Third, by promoting an uncritical citizenship and mediocre, unaccountable leadership, personality cults promote the neglect of important issues and values that must be actively confronted or upheld for the country to progress. Should go.
Regular elections are necessary but insufficient for a country to be considered a democracy. An essential feature is ‘deliberation’, that is, debate, discussion, listening to other people’s viewpoints and responding to their objections. By promoting immoral worship, personality cults undermine the public discussion vital to a meaningful democracy.
We saw the serious damage done by personality cults historically in the case of Hitler, Stalin and Mao. Today, the cults around Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping maintain Russia and China as autocratic regimes. Yet, while most common in autocratic regimes, personality cults are not limited to them. Multiple reports suggest that the cult surrounding Donald Trump has seriously weakened American democracy. In India in the 1970s, the cult around Indira Gandhi destroyed Indian democracy by sidelining democratic criticism, undermining democratic institutions like the legislature and the judiciary, and – self-defeatingly – the Congress itself. Recently, many Indians have participated in a strong, engineered personality cult around Prime Minister Modi that demands devotion or worship. So, it is no surprise that – whatever personality cults we may deny – the Sweden-based Varieties of Democracy Institute’s 2021 report lists India with a 23 percentage point decline in its democracy index ( Along with Brazil, Turkey and the US) it is one of the 25 ‘autocratic nations’. Given that Rahul Gandhi then expressed concern about the erosion of Indian democracy, he should also discourage mild forms of personality-based politics, which may marginalize issues and values and further damage Indian democracy. Can deliver. Similarly, Atishi should refocus people’s attention on the governance issues that brought AAP support in the first place.
Disclaimer
The views expressed above are the author’s own.
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