Inside a WhatsApp group where no fact is sacrosanct and history only material for convenient memes. Target - PMModi2019

Mamata Banerjee

Vande Mataram

Rajiv Gandhi

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Sonia Gandhi

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Priyanka Gandhi

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A Mirror correspondent joins the group where party propaganda, in the form of photos and videos, ranges from riotously funny to downright ridiculous.All four have been proved fake by fact-checking websites.The number of doctored videos and photographs, or those accompanied by false captions, point to a planned propaganda effort aimed at projecting the Opposition Congress — particularly Sonia and Rahul Gandhi — as both anti-national and anti-Hindu.The singular and malignant obsession with the Gandhi family, starting with Nehru, is not surprising. The most serious allegation made is that the Gandhis are licentious Muslims masquerading as Hindus. Before the advent of social media, this slander was often buried in certain Hindutva websites. Now, a so-called family tree, that starts with Jawaharlal Nehru’s grandfather, has made its way to every phone.This fake family tree turns Nehru’s father, the noted freedom fighter and lawyer Motilal Nehru, into another Genghis Khan, the medieval marauder whose progeny are spread across the world. Motilal’s descendants are shown to be scattered all over India, and appear to include almost every famous Indian Muslim,especially Kashmir’s Abdullah family and even Mohammed Ali Jinnah. Mirror knows of at least two highly-educated women — a professor and a management consultant — who believe this.A recent addition to this ‘ostensibly-Hindu-but-actually-Muslim’ family is Feroze Gandhi. Banking on the fact that youngsters are more hooked on WhatsApp than knowledgeable older people, these groups call Indira Gandhi’s husband Feroze ‘Khan’, and post lurid stories in pornographic Hindi of why the couple separated.is referred to as ‘bar-bala’. Does this have anything to do with the video of Subramanian Swamy asking an (unseen) audience, “Do you know where Sonia Gandhi worked as a young woman?” And then responding with: “I can’t tell you”? A famous picture of a young Sonia seated close to Rajiv is doing the rounds with some clever morphing; she is now seen seated next to a hunky Latino.But the person most reviled is Jawaharlal Nehru, nicknamed ‘Rangila Nehru’, based on the allegation that while he made policies which ruined the country, he was also living it up with the ladies, especially White women. The photograph showing him lighting Edwina Mountbatten’s cigarette has become legendary, thanks to bhakts. But there is another one of him with Jackie Kennedy which ostensibly shows Nehru with his arm (which is many shades darker than what Nehru’s would have been) around her neck. There are also doctored pictures of women clinging to him.To the WhatsApp generation, with perhaps limited knowledge of Nehru’s role in the freedom struggle or in moulding a newly-independent India, our first Prime Minister must appear as a libertine who cared little for his country.In complete contrast to all this, is the image being projected of Narendra Modi as an ascetic; a workaholic devoted to the nation; a person who would not fall prey to corruption and greed since he has no family to bequeath his wealth to; someone who is macho and unafraid to take political risks and military measures. In sum, a man driven by the determination to make India a superpower. If the Opposition’s mahagatbandhan is made up of people with nothing in common but a desire to dethrone him, our PM’s mahagatbandhan is made up of world leaders. A photograph of him at the centre of a circle made up of global heads of state, accompanies this post.This cult of Modi is both amusing and frightening. One post provides his daily routine: he supposedly adheres to a lifestyle prescribed by Ayurveda. Another describes the endless, arduous toil he goes through, only in the service of the nation. He campaigns in all corners of the country, but unfailingly heads home every night. To what? An empty house, with no one to welcome him, give him hot food or press his feet. And yet we curse this man, says the post.In another video, a woman cradling her pet dog is shown asking him in Gujarati: `Will Modi win?’ The dog shakes his paws. When she asks, `Will Rahul win?’ the dog remains motionless or looks away. She repeats this once, but when she says this a third time, she changes the order of the two questions. The dog then ends up shaking his paws to the question: “will Rahul win?”Yet another video shows a shoe shop owner telling his persistently-haggling customer: “I’ll give you the shoes at the rate you want if you promise to vote for Modi.” When the pushy customer asks: “Will you give me two at an even bigger discount if I promise to make my wife vote for Modi as well?”, the shopkeeper nods in assent.In a more far-fetched video an elderly man, ostensibly on his deathbed, makes his sons promise that they will vote for Modi. In a macabre twist, the moment they agree, he dies, and when they start wailing, he comes back to life saying: “I’m not going to die till I vote for Modi.” There’s also a Modi diamond ring.While these posts are just ridiculous, others are disturbing. There’s one with a room full of men singing a bhajan about ‘Natwar Modi’ under whom ‘lehrayega apna tiranga poorey Pakistan mein’ (the Indian flag will be found fluttering in Pakistan). The same bhajan is also shown being sung in a crowded train, with the singers closing their eyes, swaying and clapping. Young men sing ‘Modi waapas aayega, ghar ghar bhagwa chhayega (Modi will come back, the Saffron flag will be seen everywhere)’, interspersed with cries of ‘Jai Sri Ram’. A cricket stadium erupts with chants of ‘Modi, Modi’; as do audiences no matter whether the speaker addressing the crowd is N. Ram or Rahul Gandhi.Rahul is, expectedly, the butt of many jokes, all designed to project him as brainless. Some of these jokes, especially a series called ‘Rag Darbari’, are indeed funny. A PhD student tells Mirror that such jokes used to do the rounds even during his undergraduate days, as far back as 2012. Is it any wonder that middle class urbanites roll their eyes at the mention of the Congress president?Ridicule could be considered harmless, but the latest video shows a Rahul-like figure being slapped by a Modi-like figure, then kicked by figures made to resemble Abhinandan and others dressed in khaki. The accompanying comment says: “Is b****e ki yehi aukat hai (This p**p deserves no better).” Similarly violent is the advice given to members while voting: “When you press the EVM button, imagine that you are pressing the throats of anti-nationals.”Rahul’s Wayanad choice has brought forth posts falsely linking the green flag of the Indian Union Muslim League — the Congress’ electoral ally in Kerala — to the Pakistani flag. Two ISI men attended’s wedding, says Subramanian Swamy in a video. Actor Aamir Khan, supposedly on Haj, is shown flanked by two bearded men alleged to be from the insurgency group Lashkar-e-Toiba.This constant linking of the Congress and other BJP critics with Pakistan is matched by another thread: the alleged treatment by the Opposition, especially the Congress, of Muslims as first-class citizens, and the relegation of Hindus to second-class status. It is only under Modi that Hindus are getting their due, is the proud claim repeated ad nauseum, and Lutyen’s Delhi’s ‘Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb ka ganda naala — the gutter-level Hindu-Muslim composite culture — is drying up. No more iftaars by Presidents, no more taking foreign dignitaries to the Taj. Instead, they are taken to temples and given the Gita, and Modi has made International Yoga Day a rival to Christmas.The level of hatred towards Muslims -- and to a lesser degree, Christians -- shakes you. Apart from the Gandhi family, 80 per cent of Congress leaders have converted to Islam or Christianity, says one post, naming them. In one video, Modi tells a fawning interviewer in Surat who wonders why people continue to oppose him, that there is one “jamaat” who just doesn’t like his face.Yet, constant approval is sought from Muslims. Traditionally-dressed Muslims are shown praising Modi and abusing the Congress; a Muslim woman slams the door on two Muslim canvassers saying she will vote for Modi who brought in a law against triple talaq. Then there’s the long description of an old chacha who refuses to vote against Modi because thanks to this ‘farishta’, he finally has a house of his own. The post ends with the old man kissing the stone on which is written Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna. There are even clips of Pakistani anchors praising Modi, and one series of videos where an Afghan Pathan heaps abuse on Pakistan and praise on India and Modi.What could be the effects of months of such propaganda relayed 24/7? Only May 23 will tell. One effect is evident in the constant stream of members leaving the group — though not in droves.