More than having a political idea that strongly sticks to a particular wing, I imagine myself to be a psychologist. I believe that the group psychology of a nation or a peoples is very closely linked to how a nation progresses. Therefore to understand it and steer it to a particular mode of operation should be the ability of a good leading politician. Propagandas have existed all through history of politics actually - it is the effect of state rule. Today, it becomes more easy to spread by the state, through media and other means. What your history textbooks, media including TV news, newspapers and movies, and even what your elders thought to you may have well been propagandas. The bottom point being that propagandas aren’t necessarily wrong. But they are information that spread like wild fire among a group, they are generally propagated in a manner to be accepted, and are an account accepted by the state or a poltical party (or parties).
Furthur, what make people’s thinking sensitive to propaganda is that they are an account on peoples of the past and present and thus deal with early history’s clashes, empires, conquest, genocide, war of culturally varied groups (communities). Using such an account, which may be true, false or a truth bloated up beyond proportion, a party uses it as a psychological weapon to justify the need of current biased policies, they wish to push. Propagandas have existed perhaps since the dawn of state rule, even in the times of yore when kings and queens used to reign. But today with the media spreading them they spread quickly.
Propagandas may be factual accounts, but they may at times also be an over-exaggeration of wrongs or even a complete set of fabricated, intentionally misinterpretted lies, perpetuated and propagated by the state or a political entity. In particular cases, where the general education of the masses is low, the spread of propagandas is easier. One way to navigate across propagandas and see if they are correct in their accounts, especially when speaking of Propaganda of History is to debate and reason with their arguments, and also do the same with contrary propagandas.
Classification of Propagandas
Propagandas may be classifed in a variety of ways, but one way I would do it for the convenience of my explaination, is as follows:
1. Propaganda of History (or Propaganda of Past)
2. Propaganda of Present
3. Propaganda of Majority Identity
1. Propaganda of History: In my above mention of Propaganda of History (POH), I have said that to navigate through these types of Propagandas on needs to reason with them and even seek evidences of the contrary, debate with contrary propagandas and be as unbiased as possible to either. In short actually, one needs to take a knowledge quest to understand what the truth of the matter may be. However, that knowledge quest may not be as easy as it may sound, and it could even involve certain information being hidden by a state, its defenitely a possibility. Furthur, from what I have see, not many take the interest and some may not be in a position to understand the cultural (including religious) and historical knowledge in order to verify the factuality of the propaganda, on whether it is a lie or the truth. Due to that, it leaves them to accept the propaganda of their political wing or cultural affliation and stand by it as the truth. Rather, their complete knowledge of that history will be a thing fed from their political party or an association. Propaganda of History is played a great deal in India and is part of identity politics. Even in the world, like the Black Supremacist ideology of Nation of Islam (NOI), propagandas come as a lash to what has happened in History. The potency of these propagandas is that they take a past episode, which can’t be erased and use them viciously against another community to seek an advantage. The NOI claims no relation to Islam’s present day interprettations, but are closely associated with Black Nationalism and quiet obviously an event like Slavery in US history provides them a stepping pad, or a moral authority of some sort to spread their propaganda successfully.
2. Propaganda of Present: This type of propaganda is most popular and is used especially in times of political tension, adversity, struggle, revolution, war etc in present time. A simple example of this is a state telling its people how righteous it is in a present war, or in a policy towards another nation and that its people need to stand by that righteous cause. Again, as in case of all propagandas it could be true, it could be false. Rather, when it comes to propagandas, what this writter of this article (myself) regards as right and what the reader may regard as right could themselves find differences due to political opinions. Today, that media exists, Propaganda of Present (POP) is easy to spread. The news channels for example, obviously give us an account accepted by the state in many places. In places like China, the media is heavily controlled, in other countries it is less controlled. Ideally, it shouldn’t be controlled, but being established in the state, it is likely that atleast a small amount of influence of the state exists on the media in many places. An example of this is watching the news of Hamas, the Israel war crimes in countries like Saudi Arabia, and then the same in Israel. They would quiet surely contradict! I was in Saudi Arabia recently, I had gone to visit my dad who works there, and the media attention on the Palestine issue was huge. But that is obvious because the issue is a sensitive one for the Arabs. And though, I (an Indian) sympathize for the Arabs and their struggle for a homeland, I won’t feel as closely to it as they probably do. However, now imagine watching the news on the same issue in Israel – it would be a totally different story of terrorist Hamas being destroyed and justice being brought through war.
All that is just today. Propaganda during war is especially effective, like the lies the Japanese Empire was selling its people against the US government in the Second World War. Or the very famous “I Want You” posture of Uncle Sam, who is a personification of USA. In time, as the lies of a government come out they may even turn to jokes, like the present Iraq War in which USA is involved. Hence ’spoofs’ of earlier propaganda postures come out from some, like the one below, which is a spoof of the original “I Want You” posture for military recruitment in USA, used since the War of 1812.
However, as said before, what is right and wrong are lost in different political ideas. So, the posture above could be politically offensive to some. The Propaganda of Present when not used in present war situation also includes those of nations like China or North Korea, which have Communist Propaganda against “Imperialism”. This moves into something like Anti-Westernism or Anti-Americanism, by viewing the Western nations, especially USA as Imperialist. This is because of the way these governments see the West, particularly USA today - in its foreign policy. Again, for the truth of it, like in the case of any propaganda, right or not moves into varying political ideologies and wings. For now, this kind of propaganda is especially active in North Korea. Propagandas of Anti-Americanism, which is closely associated with Anti-Westernism is also popular in many Islamic nations due to the present political scenario concerning Al-Qaeda, USA’s support for Israel as the Palestinians are homeless, and Western intervention in the M.East and other Islamic nations like Iran. Again, the truth of it and what is right or wrong is lost in political views and wings.
3. Propaganda of Majority Identity: The Propaganda of Majority Identity (POMI) is quiet lethal for society, especially for some sections of society in a nation. It is like a perversion of the nationalist identity, that segragates a majority group and builds a nationalism, defining their identity as being the only one that is suited for rule in that domain and for holding previlages. It is closely associated with a message of that majority group’s supremacy and thus their right to rule and have other privliages of society and governance. It is extremely lethal too, because it psychologically fragments a country, even leading to occassional clashes between communities and nation-wide conflicts, which is defenitely not the sigh of a stable nation. From the propaganda of Nordic supremacy, which started from the ideology of the German Nazi Party (Nazism), present day propagandas like White Nationalism in places like USA, UK, other European nations had risen, even if they are not very popular. Another example is that of Islamic Nationalism (which has also been established) in places like Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran. It is also like the Hindu Nationalism (Hindutva) in India or Jewish Nationalism (Zionism) in Israel. Basically, it is the propaganda that gives the message that the majority identity (or community) in a nation be put to power, have previlages in order for the nation to develop. There are also reasons cited for these surrounded aroung supremacist ideologies.
Nativity Propaganda
With the above fundamentally common classification, there is one strong type of propaganda that is what I call the Nativity Propaganda. It is the most appealling and also a dangerous one, I should add. The Nativity Propaganda is when a body, representing an early culture or religion, who also happen to be the majority at the present time, use the testimony of history to gain political advantage. It includes a history, which may be true, but also very likely bloated, including events of their suppression, genocide, injustice etc. It basically comes out as “This was our home before it was yours, who came as invaders”. The ‘yours’ being the other populations, some of which may have ruled in that domain once. Through this historical testimony that they present, they justify present unjust treatment of groups and at times, even violence against them.
It is what has taken place in Israel in the form of Zionism and in India in the form of Hindutva. The very life of success of the Nativity Propaganda comes from the fact that it is a combination of the Propaganda of History (1) and the Propaganda of Majority Identity (3). If you are an American reading this, imagine what would happen if the Native American communities in USA grew to majority and were made to suddenly feel deeply, through a propaganda for the past Indian Wars in which their lands were usurped? It becomes a danger quiet obviously, to other groups, especially the whites. Now, USA’s present condition is much varied, the native American populations aren’t even in politics actively. Infact, there have been numerous invasions throughout history. However, a propaganda of conquest, genocide, destruction is layed to a people of a particular native culture (ie. earliest identified) in a nation who now form the majority.
Now this is where these ideologies get their strength, the fact that history testifies a group as having supressed them in the past. Both India, and Israel were conquested by Islamic rulers once. But so was Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan once. But in nations like Israel and India, the earlier religious populations, to say Jews in Israel and Hindus in India have become a majority, hence a body representing the majority, not necessarily by popularity, but by self-claim arise. The Jews do have a scarred history as a community, and have faced atrocities even as recently as in World War 2. However, in no case does it justify, to me, their treatment of the Palestine people. In India again, there are historical accounts of temple destruction, iconolasm by Islamic rulers. The Hindutva, in many cases twists history, exaggerates it to present a demonic image of Islamic rulers. The point we need to understand is that, in India at that time, Islamic empires of various origins were already actively part of politics and the idea they have of Islamic people coming as hoards of invaders solely against Hindus is wrong, there are numerous wars of Muslim rulers against Muslim rulers too in India. In any case, I don’t deny that there were many anomosities, injustices, but still to move as a nation we need to get over this past to face the future. Divisive politics is something someone like Hitler tried, and he failed – its not a formula to success for a nation. Now these majority populations have youths who are especially vulnerable to this Nativity Propaganda which uses history like a weapon, to emulate the past injustices by reflecting them to the smaller communities in the country. To come to the truth of the propaganda they spread, it could well be highly biased accounts and in some cases like the earlier British Empire Propaganda of Aryan Invasion Theory, a completely fabricated.
In India, there are two nested Nativity Propagandas. The first is of the Hindutva, claiming previlages for Hindus against groups like Muslims and the second is of the Dravidian Movement Propaganda, claiming privilages for Non-Brahmins by a supposed and exaggerated account of suppression by Brahmins, and they also support the Aryan Invasion Theory, claiming Brahmins and other upper castes of the varna system as invaders. While, I can see in history that casteism did exist and was wrong, DMK uses it like the hot iron to smash and get the best shape of. I have typed about this in detail in my article When does Discrimination become Right?
To be frank, India or any nation for that matter can only get to succeed in my opinion by getting out of the hate-shell that some propagandas trap them into. The Dravidian Anti-Brahminism propaganda is getting weaker, as people have started seeing nonsense in it. The Aryan Invasion Theory, which was a serious study matter in the colonial, has been toppled and there are even innumerous questions with new (contrary) finds. Its purpose was to divide India as a native and invader population, for the British Empire’s strategy of Divide and Rule.
While I agree that all have to be proud of their nationality, identity and all, we need to be reminded of more universal challenges we face. The potency of propagandas has been seen throughout history, it is the mark of a leader to establish a Propaganda that make the people undertand in inclusivness. The mind is a powerful weapon, the way an idea sways a mass is propaganda. Its upto leaders in power to understand this, and steer people to be united.
