Bhakti – Symptoms, History, Transmission & Treatment

A medical guide to Bhakti, its origins, methods of diagnosis, means of transmission and its treatment.

Symptoms

You meet a relative, or a friend from your college, after several years. The discussion somehow turns to Indian politics. You criticise the current Modi government’s policies on something, he suddenly turns very aggressive. “How can you insult the Prime Minister of India? If you cannot respect the PM, how can you respect India?” he angrily demands.

You silently remember how this very person himself used to hurl the choicest of abuses at the previous PM of India , the last time you two had met.

He labels your digging up of Modi’s tainted record from 2002 as irrelevant old news, as he loudly moves “Fast-Backwards” through history, “where were you when Kashmiri Pandits were being expelled?”, “What about 1984?” He blames Nehru, Mughals and Delhi sultanate for all that is wrong with modern India; How Gandhi was a crook, How Marxist historians have distorted the achievements of ancient India, Why intellectuals are wrong, Why secularism is bad for India.

Sounds familiar?

First of all, before you get too worried about your friend’s state of mind, RELAX, you have just encountered a Bhakt.

Bhakt (noun bhak·ta \ˈbək-tə\): It is a Sanskrit word and also used in Hindi and several Indian languages. It means a devotee who believes or has faith on somebody he follows. As far as Indian political scenario is considered, this term is used for Modi supporters, who support everything that Modi does. They also like old Hindu kings and conspiracy theories about how Hindus were shortchanged in the past – they often swap such stories online on social media.

Just as a Leper is infected with Leprosy, a Bhakt (devotee) has been infected with a medical condition called Bhakti (devotion).

Diagnosis/Detection

As previously mentioned, the key characteristic of Bhakts is that they are extremely protective of Mr. Narendra Modi.

A simple test can done to identify them.
Just jokingly say something insulting like “Modi bahut bada ullu hai” (Modi is a big idiot) or something to that effect in front of a Bhakt.
Should this result in one of the following reactions,
  1. Person goes completely silent, and you can sense simmering with anger.
  2. Person goes very defensive, starts grilling you about why you said so, starts telling you some common hoaxes about Mr Modi (how hard he works, how simple he is etc)
  3. Person starts abusing either you, or some other leaders of other parties (usually Mr Arvind Kejriwal of AAP, and Mr Rahul Gandhi of INC, as per author’s own observations from numerous experiments)

then, the infection of Bhakti is confirmed.

In general, a Bhakt lacks independent thinking and follows a predictable pattern in any argument.

Origin/Prevalence

While some scientists believe that Bhakti was originally transferred to Humans from the Sheep, the accepted academic consensus is that Bhakts originated in 2002 in the western region of India, mainly in the state of Gujarat. While we have no definite information on the “patient zero”, we can safely claim that, Initially, they were limited in BJP/RSS cadres before an epidemic caused it to spread out to the wider public. These days, they are most prevalent in Cow belt states of India, and some Gujarati/North Indian communities in US, UK and Australia.

The original bhakts were Hindu chauvinists, particularly of Gujarat. After the 2002 riots in Gujarat, a large section of media was regularly exposing the failings of the Gujarat Government headed by, then a relatively unknown CM, Mr Modi. Even PM Vajpayee was giving him sermons of following the Raj Dharma, and wanted to sack him.

However, the lifetime pracharak Mr Modi had RSS behind him. The RSS propaganda machinery went full throttle, and shaped an image makeover narrative that eventually caught the Hindu bigot’s imagination more than the truth. This was an early manifestation of phenomenon we now refer to as the “post-truth” world. In this world, truth and justice are no longer relevant, strategically aroused feelings and emotions are more important.

This was also the first time Mr Modi successfully adapted the strategy of dodging an attack on himself, by diverting it towards others, who would then rise to defend him.

The media had attacked Mr Modi and his Gujarat Government for its inept handling of the riots, that had allowed several genocides to happen right under the nose of police.

Mr Modi embarked on what was termed “The Gujarat Gaurav Yatra”. He turned this criticism of his government, and his handling of the riots into an attack on Gujarat’s “Asmita” (honour). Gujaratis were distributed provocative Video CDs that showed graphic images of Godhra victims, were wrongly made to believe that any “reaction” was justified, and that the “secular” press was not criticising the Modi led administration, but all the 5 crore people of Gujarat themselves. While this was a rather silly tactic of dodging criticism, a large number of Gujarati Hindus willingly lapped this all up. Whether this was a psychological defence mechanism to fight their guilt, is beyond the scope of the current article, and we may never know. What we do know for sure is that this crude and laughable tactic actually worked. They rose in defence of their “Hindu Hriday Samrat”, fighting the evil “Seculars” tarnishing the image of Gujarat. Lo, and behold, the Modi bhakt was born!1

Modi and his bhakts continue to employ this technique to this day. When you criticise Mr Modi, it is quickly seen by them as criticising India, and you are dubbed an anti-national by his propaganda. Such is the mental level of Modi bhakts. So, saying “intolerance in India has gone up under Modi” is responded with “How dare you call India intolerant?”

Anyway, coming back to the story, PM Vajpayee, who had kindly agreed to give Mr Modi a face saving exit in the form of a resignation at BJP’s meeting in Goa, became the first victim of this phenomenon. Behind Vajpayee’s back, Mr Arun Jaitley, then a relatively junior minister in Vajpayee’s cabinet, and Kushabhau Thakre, an RSS man who was BJP’s general secretary at the time, rallied Modi’s bhakts in BJP, and engineered a coup against PM Vajpayee. Vajpayee had to relent, and never again did he come in the way of Mr Modi or his bhakts from RSS. 2

Even when a planned visit to the UK, objected by diplomats of both India and the UK, threatened to sour the relations with Britain over a trivial matter of Modi’s ego over Indian interests, Vajpayee had to give in to Modi’s ego and his bhakts demands. 3 Within the next decade, this condition spread like an epidemic to large parts of India.

Spread

Bhakti is not contagious in the traditional medical sense, i.e. it does not transmit via touch, sneezing, or via blood and sexual contact. However, it is transferable, and spreads from one human to another via propaganda.

Once a person is infected beyond a certain level, he switches from being a carrier to an agent. You will find that most bhakts are actively involved in spreading Bhakti by sharing pro-Modi propaganda of all shapes and forms – photoshops about his achievements, hoaxes about his working habits, random “do you support Modi YES/NO” polls done with unusually and needlessly high frequency, using images of freedom fighters, army and many other things that typically appeals to the non-bhakt, in order to convert him, and also to increase the severity of the condition within existing bhakts.

This constant bombardment of propaganda ensures that once contracted, the condition becomes severe rapidly. Most mild cases of bhakti quickly mutate into extreme bhakti. You will notice this in your newly infected friend/relative – he will first start liking/retweeting some mild Sanghi propaganda, often disguised cleverly as something about Army or religion that even a person on the political fence may be agreeing with (“Do you support this martyr of Indian army?” from a “I love Narendra Modi” page on Facebook, for instance)

It is the same principle and techniques that had been employed by Nazis, or by Jihadis in brainwashing people. This is also the reason some converts to Islam suddenly get radicalised enough to indulge in acts of terror, by the way.

Propaganda techniques

Following standard propaganda techniques, first devised by the Nazi propaganda minister Goebbels, are still the basic ones that are used widely.

It is important to recognise these, so as to not get affected by them yourselves. I have provided examples of their usage specifically by the Sanghi propaganda pages.

  1. Glittering Generalities – Words of praise for product or person; nice words like goodness or patriotism.
    • “Hard working PM”, “True Deshbhakt”
  2. Name Calling – Trash-talking another product or person.
    • “Anti-National”, “Pseudo-Sickular”, “Presstitudes”, spreading false hoaxes about killings of Hindus in Bengal, Kerala or Kairana.
  3. Testimonial – A famous person recommends a product or a political endorsement
    • Fake Pictures of Wikileaks, or Ratan Tata endorsing Modi; Modi constantly tweeting any favourable articles (perhaps paid ones too) about himself.
  4. Plain Folks – Appeals to regular people and their values such as health, family and patriotism.
    • Now you know why Modi visits his Mother with a camera crew, and makes a big deal about it.
  5. Bandwagon –  An appeal to be part of the group that’s sure of “inevitable-victory”, attempt to persuade the target audience to join in and take the course of action that “everyone else is taking.”
    • Most fake opinion polls predicting huge win for BJP, or a 92% support for demonetisation are done for this very reason. Ever wondered why some Pages have 30,000 people voting YES/NO every week to show they are with Mr Modi ?
  6. Transfer/association – An appeal that helps a person imagine themselves as part of a picture.
    • Modi’s picture with Army, Flag, religious symbols, freedom fighters who are admired by a large number of Indians.
  7. Card-stacking – Manipulating information to make a product appear better than it is, often by unfair comparison or omitting facts.
    • Lot of false half-truths about “Gujarat Model”, GDP growth, Rural electrification, or highways construction progress under Modi etc; projecting even some old foreign contracts as a result of Modi’s foreign trips, or his “masterstroke”.

In particular, the following websites are known to be Modi propaganda mouthpieces, that often spread propaganda hoaxes and fake news:

  • swarajyamag.com/
  • indiafacts.co.in/
  • www.opindia.com/
  • www.hvk.org
  • satyavijayi.com
  • www.theLotPot.com
  • www.thefrustratedindian.com
  • DainikBharat.org
  • Shankhnaad.net
  • viralIndia.com
  • OneIndia.com
  • Postcard.news

Types

There are 2 ideological categories of Bhakts:
  1. Dharmik Bhakt (religious bhakt): This is the bhakt who thinks that he supports Hindutva (often without actually even knowing what this term means!). He supports Mr Modi because he feels Modi was responsible for the 2002 genocide in Gujarat. He feels happy that Mr Modi taught Muslims a lesson by killing them.
  2. Aarthik Bhakt (economic bhakt): This category of bhakt thinks that Mr Modi is some kind of economic messiah and a genius. He supports Mr Modi because he feels Modi was not responsible for the 2002 genocide in Gujarat. He has been brainwashed into believing that Supreme court has given some kind of “clean chit” to Mr Modi, and all of it was a huge conspiracy by “haters” to defame Modi. This category started appearing in the scene later on, primarily from year 2006-7 onward, when Mr Modi employed the services of the noted PR firm APCO to re-build his image. 4
While these 2 categories of Bhakts have a completely different stance on the 2002 Genocide in Gujarat, they actually get along well. In the presence of Dharmik Bhakts, even Arthik Modi bhakts tend to justify the 2002 actions of Modi as a “reaction”, and feel no moral compunction or repulsion whatsoever when killings are contextualised by the Dharmik bhakts.
5

Degree of Bhakti

1. Extreme

A Bhakt infected by this severity does not care about any other thing. So, when Mr Modi ridicules some scheme such as Aadhar, FDI, GST or MNREGA, he finds them abhorrent too, and ridicules them. Later, when Mr Modi praises the same schemes, his brain registers no contradiction or hypocrisy, and he blindly and vehemently, supports the new position with the same fervour he had opposed it previously.

This person will overlook deaths of hundreds of Indians due to Modi’s Demonetisation, and still justify the foolish whim of Mr Modi. If tomorrow it is disclosed that Mr Narendra Modi was, in fact a Pakistani ISI agent sent to destroy India, this category of bhakt will not bat an eyelid, and start shouting “Pakistan Zindabad” slogans as well.

Some researchers believe such a bhakt’s brain activity is indistinguishable from a person who has been lobotomised.

2. Mild

This is first stage of infection. This bhakt’s brain cells, sensory organs and nervous system may still notice the problems, or hypocrisy with Mr Modi’s actions. However, his infection ensures that his brain still seeks and finds justifications for such actions.

Such justifications are commonly reduced to either of:

  • Whataboutism, Others did it too.
    • Each question about 2002 is met with “what about 1984?”, each question about bad treatment of Muslims is met with “what about Kashmiri Pandits? or Aurangjeb” etc.
  • TINA (There Is No Alternative) – such a bhakt falsely believes we have a presidential system, and its just the leader of the party, and not the complete cabinet, that actually delivers the governance.
    • However, in states where BJP is reluctant to announce a CM candidate, such a bhakt still supports BJP, citing parliamentary democracy not really depending on a single leader.

If tomorrow it is disclosed that Mr Modi was, in fact a Pakistani ISI agent sent to destroy India, this bhakt may hesitate before shouting “Pakistan Zindabad” slogans.

Dangers of Bhakti

So, the question arises, why should we not simply ignore Bhakts as a joke? Why should we care what Bhakts do? Why should we be trying to engage with them, even attempt curing them?

The very reason people like Mr Modi, or Donald Trump, attained power was that a large number of people ignored them as a joke, and did not take the threat seriously. We were all too busy with our lives to bother challenging our close friends and relatives when they were posting photo-shopped propaganda about Modi during 2009-14. Perhaps, we were even agreeing with them at times.

As mentioned above, Bhakti spreads via propaganda. Even if you ignore the propaganda, and you are immune to it, if you do not challenge it, your near and dear ones may become victims. Do you want to live like the man who can see in the country of the blind? Worse still, a dangerously large percentage of Bhakts means not only a general loss of rationality amongst them, and the society in general, extreme bhakts are abusive and aggressive on social media towards any dissent. Their zealous defence of anything and everything their master does, erodes the basic foundation of our democracy – an answerable authority, that tolerates dissent and opposition.

We have already seen how many of the extreme bhakts abuse and harass people from minorities and those who are perceived to be Modi opponents, on social media. The self appointed defenders of Hinduism who killed rationalists such as Kalburgi, Dabholkar and Pansare; Cow vigilantes that killed Akhlaq on suspicion of beef eating; the lawyers who assaulted an accused inside the court of our capital city; or social media trolls who unleash the vilest of abuse on opponents and women journalists, are not just attacks on a few individuals, these are attacks on our country’s democratic traditions.

And, as Dr Ambedkar warned us when presenting the final draft of the constitution to the country, Bhakti leads to dictatorship. 6

Is Bhakti Curable?

Milder bhakts can surely still be rescued from getting further brainwashed, sometimes even saved and “deModiFied” completely.

Extreme bhakts, you have to just patiently counter and neutralise them so that they do not recruit more bhakts, but do not expect a quick clinical cure – you have to engage (with the non-abusive types only), hammer home the point, and keep at it.

This will often appear futile, you will have self-doubt.

But, trust me, you are doing a valuable service by countering his propaganda publicly, on whichever social media platforms he is spreading it – Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter:

  • this reduces the effect of propaganda, hence prevents him from creating more bhakts.
  • this may flip his recent converts back to sanity
  • your counter-propaganda is slowly chipping away at his infection too.

Keep in mind, even if you rescue just one Bhakt from his condition, it is a great service to not only your motherland, but the whole mankind.

Treatment

You need to keep countering the Bhakt’s propaganda relentlessly. For this, you need to keep reading up for rebuttals on non-bhakt sources. In most cases a simple google search often exposes the hoaxes, in other cases, use some non-bhakt social media pages to find answers. (I’d personally recommend AltNews and SMHoaxSlayer for this)

A basic helpful flowchart to counter the “usual stuff” is provided below.

Bhakt: Modi was given a clean chit by SC over Gujarat riots, proving all his haters wrong.
You: There has been no case against Modi in Supreme court, So the question of SC giving a "clean chit" does not arise. SC heard Zakia Jafri petition demanding a CBI investigation against the masterminds and ordered Gujarat Government to setup an SIT – which was dominated by officers from Gujarat Police – themselves an accused organisation. The observations SC itself made on Gujarat Government when transferring Best Bakery and Bilkis Bano cases out of the state are pretty damning.

Bhakt: OK, But why couldn't UPA do anything to indict Modi, if he was so culpable in riots?
You: The Commissions of Inquiry act doesn't allow the central government to probe a matter that is already being investigated by another commission setup by the state government. As soon as UPA came to power, Modi changed the terms of the reference of Nanavati commission, which was merely a hogwash to push BJP's version of the events. Its conclusions on the mastermind of Godhra train burning could not even stand the trial court's scrutiny.

Bhakt: OK, but Modi is an extremely capable administrator, a great leader.
You: Capable administrators don't allow a genocide to happen under their watch. They do not then appoint the perpetrators a minister. A demagogue thrives on hatred against one community, like Modi showed in his hate speeches, while a true leader strives to take everybody together.

Bhakt: Achha, forget that period, Modi is a reformed man now, and his Gujarat Model was extremely successful in making Gujarat the top performing state in the country.
You: Actually, based on the data, Gujarat was 14th in the country amongst all states in terms of state's "GDP" growth. Even if you filter out the very small states that usually outperform, there were several large states which did better. Worse still, Gujarat's Human Development Indicator records were pretty bad compared to many of its peers. As he has already shown with his U-Turn on MNREGA and Tughlaqi firman on Demonetisation, he is no economic genius or a free-market messiah but a clueless autocrat who gets influenced by quacks of dubious repute.

Bhakt: OK, but I care about the party ideologies, and BJP is the only Deshbhakt party.
You: True Deshbhakts do deshbhakti even when they are in opposition. They do not oppose steps like Aadhar, FDI, Civil nuclear deal just for the sake of opposition. They do not block GST for 5 years if they cared for national interest. True deshbhakts also respect the tricolour flag, and respect the father of the nation, and do not glorify his murderer. A true patriot does not go about calling his compatriots traitor, thus creating disunity. Do you even know what ideology of Hindutva is, and how some of its ideologues praised Fascism and even holocaust of Jews?

Bhakt: OK, but Where were you when Kashmiri Pandits were being driven out?
You: When the Kashmiri Pandits were being driven out of the valley in early 90s, BJP supported VP Singh Government was in the power in centre; Late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was the Union Home Minister; (he was the leader of BJP ally PDP, your Mahbooba Bua's father!); and Mr Jagmohan, the BJP leader, was the governor of Jammu & Kashmir. Not only was the BJP unable to stop the exodus despite this, it has been in power for nearly a decade after this and done little to address it, apart from using it for political mileage, and polarisation of Indians.

p.s. I was (Too young/Not the Home Minister/Not yet born/Too old/) in Januray 1990. (Fill in with whatever you were doing back then)

Final words

Treat bhakts sympathetically as a normal person who is suffering from a medical condition. He is merely a victim of propaganda and brainwash. You will need patience in dealing with them. Start with the mild curable cases, do not attempt to cure an extreme case early on in this endeavour. Keep in mind, this condition already affects almost a third of the population, so fighting its spread is an utmost national imperative.

Watching his epidemic grow further silently is no longer an option. By being neutral, you are still helping the spread of the disease and darkness. The loss of rational thinking that is being created by the spread of the cult-like blind following can (and will) come after you one day.

Also, finally, remember that your objective is not to create a Bhakt of your own favourite leader! Converting a Modi bhakt into that of Kejriwal or Nehru family or Karl Marx does not solve the problem, it merely changes the problem. Your objective is to rid the Bhakt mind of the effects of the Sanghi propaganda brainwash, and make him think rationally and critically, and not support any one person blindly.

Enjoy spreading the light Mitron, each one – teach one!

References

1.
Narendra Modis Gaurav Yatra acquires sharper political edge as Gujarat polls draw near. intoday.in. http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/narendra-modi-gaurav-yatra-acquires-sharper-political-edge-as-gujarat-polls-draw-near/1/218815.html. Accessed January 3, 2017.
2.
How Gujarat riots made Vajpayee lose out to RSS. http://dailyo.in. http://www.dailyo.in/politics/atal-bihari-vajpayee-rupa-publications-india-rss-narendra-modi-2002-gujarat-riots-lk-advani/story/1/8009.html. Published December 18, 2015. Accessed January 3, 2017.
3.
Pal S. When Mr. Modi Went to London. The Wire. https://thewire.in/15802/when-mr-modi-went-to-london/. Published November 17, 2015. Accessed January 3, 2017.
4.
Modi’s image builders have dictators on client list – Times of India. The Times of India. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/specials/Modis-image-builders-have-dictators-on-client-list/articleshow/2600140.cms. Published November 18, 2007. Accessed January 3, 2017.
5.
Rise of the Cyber Hindu: An ever-growing online community of pro-Hindu, pro-BJP, pro-Narendra Modi, right-wing tweeters has taken over political discourse on the Internet. India Today. http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/social-media-internet-cyber-hindu-twitter-narendra-modi/1/321267.html. Published December 2013. Accessed October 1, 2017.
6.
Ambedkar B. Why BR Ambedkar’s three warnings in his last speech to the Constituent Assembly resonate even today. Scroll.in. https://scroll.in/article/802495/why-br-ambedkars-three-warnings-in-his-last-speech-to-the-constituent-assembly-resonate-even-today. Published December 27, 2016. Accessed January 3, 2017.
4.3 (85%) 20 votes
Share This:
  •  
  • 373
  •  
  • 1
  •  
  •  
  •  

93 comments

  • IMHO, you are simply qasting your time weiting such long articles which people dont even have time to read. Uours is a classic case of readers’ fatigue and you have ended up sounding like a brain washed, obsessive person who thinks that he and only he knows what is right and what is wrong

    • saafbaat editor

      Thanks for your concern, as the author points out, it is important to rid the country of this malaise, despite the apparent futility.

      • We are reading. We are also sharing. You efforts are not futile.

        Whether Modi is good or not, is secondary concern, one must never blindly follow anybody in world especially if it is a Politician, is our first concern.

        I can now rebuttle with much more information against Bhakts.

        Thanks for detailed analysis on Bhakts. I find it true to every word.

    • I think the article was about you. You really need to read it fully.

    • The author seems to be an ‘anti bhakt’. Just like bhakts are consumed by blind love, he is blind hater of Modi.clearly politicially motivated. This is the sad story of our times. No truly neutral platforms/channels left. Make Modi a God or a devil. No objective evaluation.

  • Great article. Good research. I too have lost friends to this bhakti virus. Good to know there is a cure. Big plus is this demonization. The virus is growing weaker.

  • This is one of the best efforts seen on Bhakt subject. Ive seen “mild bhakt” turn to “extreme bhakt” as mechanism of defending bhakti when faced with data and reasoning

  • Damn, this article is darn good. I’ve been fighting these bhakts, who are my close friends, and I’ve been branded as anti-national. Now I’ve got more points to counter them. Kudos and thanks.

  • What an article!! I wish the author would write a book about it. I will definitely forward and share this article as much as I can.

  • Yes, such type of bhakti is harming our people’s and nation.

    Its important that we all citizens of INDIA, should behave like a TRUE VOTER, rather than such bhakti which is benefiting the politicians, business entities and powerful riches, instead of the poor and middle class citizens.

    HATS OFF for such article and courage to speak out the fact, considering the present scenario in our INDIA.

  • Brilliant article! Kudos to the author/s! Very, very correct, true and accurate! Countering and resisting bhakt propaganda and saving bhakts should be the mission of every right thinking person and a true Indian patriot…..

  • Apart from all you have written there is special categories of shakts who are invisible and continuously backing materialistically morally mentally

  • Brilliant article. Only grouse the Author left untouched the New Atheist type Bhakts (read Richard Dawkins fanboys) who are drifted towards Modi by the Islamophobia in their heart.

  • Bkathi syndrom vry well described in detail and good prescription offered. Each One – Teach One is the Moral of this Story!! Well reasearched article on a new epidemia which has hit India in start of 2010 decade!

  • AAPtard hi samajh lo

    Bookmarking this straight away!

  • Wow! Excwllent. Thanks a billion for this.

  • Beautifully written article. Well researched, and with relatable facts. God save Indians from this blind bhakti syndrome!

  • The only part I don’t agree in this equating Modi and Trump. Trump is not a religious sectarian or fanatic. I rather think it is the authoritarian and strident Hillary Clinton whose persona is similar to Modi’s.

  • Agree to each word of the article, except one: bhakti. While bhakti means devotion and is supposed to denote something pure, what bhakts do is not bhakti. Just like Islamism is different from Islam and Hindutva is different from Hinduism, a new term should be coined to differentiate this phenomenon from bhakti: Bhaktism (or Bhaktitva, if the term has to transcend the English language).

    • saafbaat editor

      True, it gives Bhakt/Bhakti a bad name, and sadly, Hindutva is doing to Hinduism, what Saudi brand of Salafi/Wahabbism/Islamism has been doing to the tolerant traditions of Islam globally for the past 40 years.

      However, this unfortunate usage of the words for super-ardent Modi fans is already in wide usage, even if you google for “Bhakt Definition” it points to Modi bhakts.

  • Please ask the author to do similar thing on Naxalite and ISIS and he will be history next day and you will be condoling his demise.

    • saafbaat editor

      True, there may be similar ardent Andh-bhakts of other political figures/movements too.

      In particular, right wing Hindus appear to be importing the intolerance from some Islamist Jihadis.

    • Isis I understand. Why Naxalites?

  • Brilliant analysis. Agree with every single point.

  • Good work

  • I’ve been surfing online more than 2 hours today, yet I never found any
    interesting article like yours. It is pretty worth enough for me.

    Personally, if all site owners and bloggers made good
    content as you did, the internet will be a lot more useful than ever
    before.

  • I will right away seize your rss feed as I can’t in finding your e-mail subscription link or e-newsletter service.

    Do you have any? Please permit me realize so that I may subscribe.
    Thanks.

  • Informative article . Actually every litterate person should try to be a social scientist. So he will find out deseases of the society as an physician do .and try to practice in society .

  • Wow! This blog looks just like my old one! It’s on a totally different subject but it
    has pretty much the same page layout and design. Great choice of colors!

  • I could not resist commenting. Perfectly written!

  • Excellent analysis,very true!

  • Very good article! These are True facts and not conducive to a functioning democracy. There’s no approach to collecting data,but working on emotions.

  • Splendid work on behalf of the owner of this website,
    superb post.

  • Thanks, great article.

  • I like this website it’s a masterpiece! Delighted I found this on google.

  • Excellent site you have got here.. It’s difficult to find good
    quality writing like yours nowadays. I truly appreciate people like you!
    Take care!!

  • Pingback: URL

  • Hiya, I am really glad I have found this information. Today bloggers publish just about gossips and web and this is really annoying. A good web site with interesting content, that’s what I need. Thanks for keeping this site, I’ll be visiting it. Do you do newsletters? Can’t find it.

  • A very good and thought provoking article….

  • First of all thanks for detail analysis on Bhakts which I did not find even in mythology text! after reading hard!
    Much pain took to demean, degrade @Modi, show his supporters in bad light calling different name and type of Bhakts much to sarcastic desire of writer to the core.
    Let’s us assume all bad things @Modi, @RSS@ Bhakts. Tell me what alternative HAD for governance in absence of #Modi. You have @Kejriwal@Bhushan@Yechury, @Lalu@Rahul@Mulayam@Akhilesh@Gowda@Karat and others. @ of criticising Bhakts for devotion why don’t you increase follower of your demi gods and bring an alternative in place of #Modi. Simply raising rhetoric @ Bhakts will not serve the purpose. Have the support of people then contest the election and prove your popularity. if not do so then why waste of time!!!! with REGARD from Aam Nagarik neither Bhakt nor left or right! for your perusal…

    • This is the flawed TINA argument the article talks about. We do not have a presidential system, it is the whole cabinet that delivers.

      We do not need a single Messiah to solve our problems, but a group of good leaders who can work together and deliver.

      p.s. Personally, I feel Modi is not even the best PM candidate within BJP, he is a authoritarian and divisive figure, who has now sidelined many intelligent, experienced and capable people from Vajpayee era purely for his ego.

  • I am not BJP worker but I am inching towards BJP due to following reasons. 1.I have seen lakhs of Muslims with Hindu names(nothing unusual in secular society) but have not seen any Hindu with Muslim name in TV debates. 2.Knowing well that India is over populated country, Muslims failed the population control program started by Govt.If Muslims had supported this,our population would have been 60 crores today.Due to Muslims,Govt withdrew this program 3.

  • Well researched article.

  • The article proves that the writer is an Anti Indhu Chrostitute suffering from Modiphobia and is Indhu Allergic.!

    He doesnt care for killings of Kashmiri Pandits, killings of Indhus and Indhu leaders in kerala, Bengal, Godhra, etc.,

    He carefully avoids any mention of chrishitians but keeps mentioning about muslims to subtly instigate muslims against Indhus and utilise them as his tools..!

    He has no problem being Gandhi bhakt Ambedkar Bhakt etc., but is allergic to ModiDeshBhakts..!

    He doesnt care if congress opposes GST etc and delays it but is worried only if BJP talked anything against any anomalies in congress GST..!

    • saafbaat editor

      Added a section on Kashmiri Pandits too:

      When the Kashmiri Pandits were being driven out of the valley in early 90s, BJP supported VP Singh Government was in the power in centre; Late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was the Union Home Minister; (he was the leader of BJP ally PDP, your Mahbooba Bua’s father!); and Mr Jagmohan, the BJP leader, was the governor of Jammu & Kashmir. Not only was the BJP unable to stop the exodus despite this, it has been in power for nearly a decade after this and done little to address it, apart from using it for political mileage, and polarisation of Indians.

    • saafbaat editor

      We already have an extensive article on Godhra, please read.

      It was one of the few cases from Gujarat in 2002 where Hindus had been killed. Yet, the state administration did not investigate it with honesty, resorted to bribing the witnesses, and presented such a poor and dodgy case that 60 out 90 accused, including the alleged mastermind, according to the police, were acquitted by a trial court that was very sympathetic to the Police’s case.

      https://saafbaat.com/gujarat-genocide/godhra-fire

    • saafbaat editor

      “He has no problem being Gandhi bhakt Ambedkar Bhakt etc., but is allergic to ModiDeshBhakts..!”

      Not true, read our article, we have clearly stated all bhakti needs to be opposed.

    • saafbaat editor

      “He doesnt care if congress opposes GST etc and delays it but is worried only if BJP talked anything against any anomalies in congress GST..!”

      This is covered in greater detail in our other article on the issue.

      https://saafbaat.com/economy/gst-deshbhakti-while-in-opposition

  • Excellent analysis of bhakts. Each & every word true to perfection. I now realize that every bhakt I have come across have exactly the same symptoms. Only bhakts wont find this article worth. Hence, need to ignore them.

  • Brilliant analysis and very well written and informative. I am sharing this with my friends. I too have lots of ex-colleagues who are total Bhaktis.

  • Brilliantly researched article though in lighter vain but malaise of maladjusted RegressiveStupid Shameless people is definitely there using every technique to divide and rule and destroy Unity of citizens to have entire Indian cake for themselves.

  • yashpal suwansia

    Khishiyaani billi hai akhir khambha to nochna hi padega. 🙂

  • Salutes to the person or tran who have written this important item. More than 100000% true! I wish people read it across the country and realise the danger to democracy. There cannot be a better scientific analysis and approach to this growing cancer in India. Thanks once again.

  • Very well written with detailed information and good citations. Especially loved the satirical approach on the topic.
    Don’t know why i missed this until now. Not very active online, so could have missed this.
    But, good writing. Was very engaging.

  • Great! I am looking forward to make graphic illustration about the reality of our history, incident wise, topic wise ( giving a very short graphic novel kind of treatment) Need your help in content. Indian History, Political, social, cultural….everything that is being dug up today and being tainted by fakism…please let me know.

    • saafbaat editor

      We had been thinking of doing a “Mythbusters” section, but haven’t been able to. Several of our “history” section articles actually do try to explore the misconceptions about a few key historical events in detail.

      Would gladly welcome any contribution on this!

      • saafbaat editor

        if you are on twitter, pls follow our handle (@Saaf_Baat), and we could discuss further.

  • Superb hilarious article. Loved it

  • Very good article

  • HAHAHAHA!! Amazing stuff. Hilarious and true at the same time!

    Kudos@

  • Well crafted commentary to guard against the craving for dictatorship by 57% of Indians per one recent opinion poll. Kindly remove the unparliamentary word “Ch**ya”.

    Very unfortunate to note Modiji’s role models are not UNIFIERs like Vivekananda, Tagore and Gandhiji

    The role models of Modiji are the great DIVIDERs like

    DD Upadhyaya who said Muslims are deficient and unreliable especially in groups unlike Hindus who are always reliable and trustworthy as a group.

    MSGolwalker who said Muslim and Christian minorities must not expect voting rights and must be subservient to the whims of the majority.

    VDSavarkar who starts by saying Hindus have only one homeland unlike Muslim and Christian who have many homelands – so Hindustan must be for Hindus. But in the very same book he later says Hinduism must spread and dominate the planet and also the Universe.

    These are Modiji’s role models !

    • saafbaat editor

      Thanks for pointing out, we have changed.

      We have an article on the ideology of Hindutva, its history, and background plus thoughts of these “heros”

  • My Dear Pappu Bhakts, (I am also sure now also bua bhakts (for the way her 13 Mall Avenue government bungalow overnight became “kanshiram Yaadgaar Sthal”)

    You should start a website as IndianCrabs.com to enable like minded fellow Indian crabs to channelise their energies pulling each other down (a la I K Gujral, Chandrashekhar, Charan Singh, Devegowda……)

    I like folks (whose name probably is not in the voter list and they do not even care) always “vehemently” fighting a pitched battle against Modi without betraying any idea of what to replace him with (of course Bau Mayawati is always around but her loving Bhanja’s father, in her own words, tried to get her raped) For all you know …. Aur Rahul bhaiyya unkaa Janam angootha choosnay ke liye Hua thha, politics ke Chakar mein Naa jaane kya kya choosnaa pad raha hai?.

    So far Modi is concerned it is Har Har Modi, Ghar Ghar Modi.

    Regarding bypoll results which has put a temporary spring under the feet of the lumpens (who lost individually but were quick to lick the spit off the ground to form a whorehouse of a coalition) one just has to wait to see them rip their lungis off in full downtown view. They have done it earlier when Sitaram Kesri, an icon of ethics & morality in Congress, sent HD Devegowda, father of the latest apple of the eye In Karnataka, packing after supporting him for a few months).

    In words of Ramdhari Singh Dinkar author of “Rashmirathi” biopic on the life and sacrifice of Karna- the eternal “outsider” who actually never “claimed” (like Pappu) the throne but only served it (like Modi).

    समर शेष है, नहीं पाप का भागी केवल व्याघ्र,
    जो तटस्थ हैं, समय लिखेगा उनका भी अपराध

    Pappu please google to get some clue as to who the hell were Karna and Bhishma.

    ???

    • saafbaat editor

      1. Check the “diagnosis” section, it is my duty to inform you that you exhibit some classic symptoms. (#2 & #3)

      2. You should read the full text of the Dinkar poem, it is also our tag line for our hindi version.

      समर शेष है, अभी मनुज भक्षी हुंकार रहे हैं
      गांधी का पी रुधिर जवाहर पर फुंकार रहे हैं
      समर शेष है, अहंकार इनका हरना बाकी है
      वृक को दंतहीन, अहि को निर्विष करना बाकी है

      समर शेष है, शपथ धर्म की लाना है वह काल
      विचरें अभय देश में गाँधी और जवाहर लाल

      तिमिर पुत्र ये दस्यु कहीं कोई दुष्काण्ड रचें ना
      सावधान हो खडी देश भर में गाँधी की सेना
      बलि देकर भी बलि! स्नेह का यह मृदु व्रत साधो रे
      मंदिर औ’ मस्जिद दोनों पर एक तार बाँधो रे

      समर शेष है, नहीं पाप का भागी केवल व्याध
      जो तटस्थ हैं, समय लिखेगा उनके भी अपराध

  • Brilliant article which brings out the facts of the malaise affecting the common Indian citizen. Never has India ever been so sharply polarized and divided. Never has the common man ever been so politically inclined that common sense is replaced with religious and idolatrous bigotry.

    Bhakti is an epidemic with no known simple prevention or cure. Life is now unnecessarily complicated and survivors are forced to tread carefully. We have lost the idyllic simplicity of our halcyon past and are heading into darkness and toward oblivion.

  • Great article and pointed directly at bhakts who make a huge “Kirtan Mandali”..I have lost relationships with many bhakts amongst friends and family, people are fierce to the extent of physical hurt

    NaMo is vindictive and can cause physical damage to his citizens.

    It’s a fact you got to hate Muslims to be a BJP voter, that’s so sad.

  • Brilliant. One of the best analysis with details that I have seen recently. Hats off to the author.

  • @Sriniv, Why Isis and Naxalites and fictional characters? What about our very own Gauri Langesh? She is for real victim of Bhakt.

  • Thank you for articulating so clearly. I have personally lost many friends and stopped talking to lots of relatives & neighbours due to this diseases which is spreading very fast. Not just among the uneducated but also among mature individuals whom I used to respect earlier.
    I am personally not very optimistic and not sure how long will I tolerate this shit.

  • Kudos to you for calling a spade a spade. Have bookmarked this page for further reference and for sharing. Thank you.

  • venkat abhiram

    The amount of time & energy that people try to paint Modi and BJP supporters black is amazing!

    Though I risk being called a Bhakt, I wish to ask a question – can the author suggest a better alternate leader whom the country can repose it’s faith on?

    People prefer weak leadership so that they keep committing offense without being caught. Please explain the phenomenon of Manmohan Singh otherwise.

    I demand an article be written by the author on these points I have raised.

  • Naresh Pathak

    Thought provoking piece on Bhakts differntiating Bhakti attributing logic of one being modified* which eventually failed on all parameters of governance! Hwever @saafbaat must attempt an piece of decoding Ghulami & Pidi culture in grand old party of Congress how in Darbari party 1C governors; CMs were changed whimsically and plum Cabinet post were dolled out to inapt Gulams in that party at a time bringing governance to brink at one point in the country!! Moreover Its irony of Indian politics; either 1 amongst us either end up Bhakt OR Pidi at one point of time with the virtue of supporting lesser sinner among the devils.. Meanwhile those dare to stand different for clean governance supporting parties like AAP end up with writing aplology letter & those dare to support TDP, RJD, JDS, BJD, TMC etc have to bite their own tongue for supporting dynastic rule ultimately end up supporting the corruption & this is how people love to move against tide were force to live with short dream which could never see light of day in present circumstances….????

  • Wow, one of the most funniest yet true to the core article written like a research paper. Great genius, great article.. Kudos..

  • Hard-core nationalist are always pseudo nationalists.they do all types of malpractices to hold the economy on the name of religion.spread hate among people,mislead on the name of religion racial superiority n false propaganda.these r there tools in sustaining power.

  • Any analysis is only worth as much as the neutrality in its content. As I read through the narrative, it kept becoming more n more biased, with only one vision in mind. So it’s hardly an analysis that’s worth reading through in its entirety.
    Just as an opinion, may I suggest that it would have been a better reading had the facts been laid bare on both ends of the spectrum, and allowed the readers to make their own opinion. In conclusion I feel the author knowingly or unknowingly desires to have a group of bhakts to praise his biased prejudices.
    Call it Modibhakti or Modiphobia, both end of the personalities have their own logic to either support him or hate him. Such articles are only going to bring out anguish of the bhakts and acclaim from the haters. If that’s what the objective of this narrative, then I’m certain you have nailed it. But I’m not sure if that’s what the author wanted in the first place. So hopefully would find better perspective, worth reading the full text, next time.

    • saafbaat editor

      Our article cautions against blind bhakti of anyone, Nehru family, Kejriwal, or Karl Marx.

      Any analysis is just that, analysis, nothing less, nothing more. To force yourself to sit on the fence on every issue is itself prejudiced. If one writes an article on Hitler, listing 20 negative points, one shouldn’t be forced to list 20 positives just to placate the possible fascists in the audience.

  • Good for laughs… not much else

  • God!! I’ve lost so many friends to the epidemic. Thank you. Now I know that they have not simply become insufferable intolerant Nazis (or Sanghis). Poor things are sick.

  • I liked your article. Only one cringe moment. The comparison to leprosy patients ( please don’t call them lepers, so stigmatic) was unnecessary. Plus, would like to know your name

    • saafbaat editor

      Apologies, our author used “leper” just as an example of a disease, did not intend to perpetuate any stigma associated with it.

  • I am so happy for this article and thanks
    a lot for sharing it with us.

  • Wonderful, what a web site it is! This web site
    presents valuable information to us, keep it up.

  • Awesome! One of the best political websites I have seen.

  • Doesn’t matter

    Really great article , one of my close friend has got trapped in this . I am so afraid and worried about him . I tried to counter his all queries , but he gets very aggressive . What has happened to our country . What politics has done to INDIA , really worried . Not sure when will this all end !

  • Fantabulous Analysis of ABs !! 🙂

  • So you think you know everything. Or you congress mourhpiece

  • Great Article, Every sentence has a perfect meaning. The Modi Bhakt is a parasite to the Nation.

  • Great and perfect analysis

  • Lot of comments by Bhakts displaying exactly the symptoms the author has pointed out.

  • Pradeep Ghumare

    Fantastic article, a research paper…. Hats off! It is 100% FACTUAL like any medical (allopathic) research paper. Surely it will pain them

  • while i agree with almost everything here in this article, i do not think the bhakths can be reformed. they are gone for good in my opinion. they are beyond redemption at this stage. how can u help someone who sees and hears only what he wants to hear and see?they are easily swayed by emotion and propaganda and all that matters to them is perception and not facts or reality. i personally wud prefer to stay out of their suicidal path and live my life peacefully. i however wish people like u well in ur endeavor to knock some wisdom in to their heads.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *