The tale of India’s pride-filled cockroaches may not eventually pan out like the final acts of Satyajit Ray’s 1980 dystopian tour de force, Hirak Rajar Deshe (‘In the Land of the King of Diamonds’). But the two narratives are intertwined by comparable characteristics of political dissent, institutional arrogance, and authoritarianism — digital now and conventional-style dictatorship in the film, reflecting the time it was made.
Quite unlike Ray’s other films, Hirak Rajar Deshe is centred on a totalitarian state helmed by a leader who is partial to ‘yes’ as reply, from all those who wish to remain part of the coterie.
The character, the usparing ruler, was competently enacted by Utpal Dutt, as a gender-reversed take on Indira Gandhi during and before Emergency.
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In contemporary India, Union ministers drop Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s name endlessly in every speech, address or comment. Several of them have also made assertions paralleling Dev Kant Baruah’s famous quote: “India is Indira, and Indira is India.”
Reel and real
Ray’s 1980 classic ends with a gigantic statue of the King being symbolically pulled down by a mob led by an idealistic teacher and his young followers — children who understood that the kingdom’s schools were shut down to imprison people in ignorance. They are backed by politically awakened citizens and, more importantly, by virtually every guard, soldier, and employee of the state, who join protestors in rebellion.
Satire is often stated to be the weapon of dissenters when protest is criminalised.
Eventually, even the King and coterie join the demolition brigade, after having been ‘conditioned’ by the same washing machine (brain washing) machine the king created to ensure the servitude of all dissenters.
Also read | Why Satyajit Ray’s films continue to touch our lives even today
Nothing like that is likely in the contemporary tale centring around the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), which is already falling off the pages of most newspapers, magazines and websites believing in the straightjacket.
Yet, the two tales need to be juxtaposed, if only to underscore how authoritarian regimes share a propensity to dehumanise or minimise citizens the moment the latter begin to seek accountability.
What judiciary did
Since 2014, judges in apex positions at the Centre and in states have been miserly with their words when it came to petitions demanding a categorical stand from them. They have taken such a position now and then, but only when endorsing an official decision, like the Supreme Court Bench, headed by none else but the Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, did on May 27 by upholding the SIR exercise as an advancement of free and fair elections.
The cockroach tale too was triggered by the unambiguously opinionated CJI. He referred to the unemployed youth as ‘cockroaches’ or ‘parasites’. His ‘clarification’, following the uproar his categorisation triggered, did not express regret for referring to products of policy failure (to generate promised jobs) as repellent insects.
Instead of responding in rage, one of the ‘pests’ chose to own up their situation and the slur cast on them, by embracing the name and platform. Soon, ‘cockroaches’ were ‘crawling’ and ‘viralling’ in such large numbers that the government took the action which mirrored what the King of Diamonds did — only that, instead of shutting schools, this regime went about blocking social media handles.
The brainwashing machine
In Ray’s film, the despotic King had a gigantic brainwashing Machine. It programmed compliance and embedded state-conceptualised rhymes into citizens’ memories. Consequently, they ceaselessly chanted praises for the King, instead of asking for food or other rights.
The two tales need to be juxtaposed, if only to underscore how authoritarian regimes share a propensity to dehumanise or minimise citizens the moment they begin to seek accountability.
The parallels in today’s India are the regime’s social media army peddling out disinformation, numerous battalions churning out new textbooks for schools and colleges, a co-opted brigade of filmmakers churning out ‘right’ or ‘correct’ files and stories and numerous other committees — like the latest on so-termed ‘Unnatural Demographic Change.’
Also read: How right-wing groups are trying to crush Cockroach Janta Party
The purpose, like the Diamond King’s machine, is the same: feed an alternative and ‘true’ narrative or reality into the minds of people with the objective of preventing dissent by hollowing out minds and leaving them with zero potential to think rationally.
Social media offensive
In Ray’s film, the King believed that the brainwashing machine would be solely at his command. Eventually, he lost out when the wily lead-duo of this political allegory (filmed ostensibly as a children’s musical), in partnership with the idealist teacher, secures the support of the ‘deviant’ person who conceptualised the all-important algorithm.
The government ordered one specific ‘cockroach’ handle blocked, soon 10 more sprung up, quite often having no connection with the proscribed one, but with the identity of the cockroach.
It is well known that Modi secured a headstart over political adversaries as far as harnessing social media was concerned. For several years, with adversaries lagging behind, he thought that social-media would remain a one-way street, parading only videos posted by NRIs, desi admirers and state PR.
But, the same tools and strategies are autonomous and can get, as they have on occasions, turned around against him, his party and the government. This is what the CJP did, and thus the rage against them.
The only way to control them was to leverage laws which permit the state to issue diktats to block all handles. Yet, it failed, quite like efforts of Ray’s King in quelling the mob.
The government ordered one specific ‘cockroach’ handle blocked, soon 10 more sprung up, quite often having no connection with the proscribed one, but with the identity of the cockroach.
Satire, a weapon of dissenters
Goopi and Bagha, the two likeable minstrels blessed with three eternal boons from the King of Ghosts, turn out to slay demons whenever they subjugate ordinary citizens. In doing so, they use a language that the lowest common denominators understand.
Every vertical head of cockroach brigades who spontaneously assumed custodianship of innumerable X and Instagram handles, chose the vocabulary of India’s youth (the largest youth population in the world).
For the majority of them, estimated in the 15-29 age bracket and numbering to 367 million, there is no dignity in what they do, to move from one day to another. How can they, when making pakodas is the advice from the most powerful in the land?
Satire is often stated to be the weapon of dissenters when protest is criminalised. For years, the government has wantonly affixed the ‘anti-national’ label on those who disagree with its policies and actions.
‘National security interests’
The creator of CJP chose an image that half-mirrored the sartorial choice of Dr BR Ambedkar. The cockroach, which munched on a lotus flower, was attired in a suit and tie. Politically, this is the old conflict line, between a clique hegemonised by upper castes and the Dalits or other marginalised groups.
Despite immediate limitations of the wave of memes, toons and raps, its spontaneity and nature was enough for the Modified State to display worry by calling internet memes ‘national security threats’. Quite an antithesis of a ‘hard state’, literally.
Also read: Cockroach Janta Party: Is govt wary of Gen-Z’s protest power?
Ray’s King detested being laughed at. This present government, as underscored in recent days, cannot tolerate being mocked. Both flourish when people fear the apparatus and its leaders, and when they bow in reverence.
However, the moment just one single individual stares in ridicule they erase the fears of others. The fright then gets embossed on the face of the King. The worry for the government is that some of these satirical handles are threatening to take to the streets.
Long-held rage liberated
It will also be a challenging moment for the Opposition parties. They provide no shelter to the cockroaches, mainly because their vocabulary is different and the objectives may differ.
Furthermore, the cockroaches have raised their heads from outside the political system — no pathway for them through affiliated organisations like student, trade or farm unions.
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