TINA is Monotheism in Disguise
Like pretty much every other regime in history, Prime minister Modi’s rule has been under criticism by various corners of the society for myriad reasons. However, the reception of this criticism, otherwise a marker of a healthy democracy in a society, has been… curious, to say the least. It has been observed for more than 5 years now that whenever fanboys of PM Modi and the current establishment that he runs within the BJP are cornered (mainly on social media, but also on TV channels and legacy media as well), their fallback argument is, “There Is No Alternative” (to Modi), often called “TINA argument” by critics of Modi within the Right Wing/Hindutva circles.
And this is deeply troubling.
For a civilization whose basis is cyclical continuity of existence of cosmos, where Ishwara’s mere whim gives rise to and dissolves infinite universes every second, to argue the lack of alternative is an Abrahamic idea at its core. If we thought on these lines in times of Ramayana, waited for the universe to first give us an alternative on a platter before we dared to do the right thing, Ānjaneya wouldn’t have left the comfortable position of Vali’s minister to follow Sugriva in exile, he wouldn’t have let his Ishta Shri Rama take Samadhi, and Rama wouldn’t have blessed Vali to kill him in next Avatara. Pandavas won’t have gone on Van-gaman after actually ruling Hastinapur, using Parikshit’s lack of experience as an excuse. Even Harishchandra won’t have walked away from fulfilling a word given in a dream. Only Dharma has no alternative or substitute; everything else is replaceable.
To say there is no alternative is not only a dismantling of democracy, in favour of tyranny and autocracy of one leader above the people, but an insult to a population of billion people- telling them that their lives are worth nothing without the dear leader holding them to earth. Also, the idea is inherently totalitarian. Once you subscribe to the TINA paradigm, the questions of delivery, accountability and answerability go out of the window.
It is projecting a faith of infallibility in a fallible human. It’s also an ego-investment notion. It basically means you are so perfect that you have chosen an ideal leader to whom there is no second. It basically says, “The leader is one with no second. Any question or act against leader is an act against society/country/religion.” If this sounds alarmingly familiar, that’s because of it is- it is the same message that Islam and Christianity deliver, that the “Chosen” Prophet/Son of God is the only source of redemption from otherwise-despicable human existence.
When Bhagwan himself says in Gita,
एकं सद्विप्रा बहुधा वदन्ति
He is providing infinite alternative paths to reach the supreme. It also means only truth has no alternative, but that truth can be arrived at through various alternative means. So to say TINA in a mundane sphere, including political is to equate the object or person with Spiritual Attainment. And to do that would be Adharmic- Asuric, in fact, equating transcendent with the mundane.
Who would have thought Vibhishana to be an alternative to Ravana himself? But, as it turned out, he was not only a better alternative but a more enduring one too! He achieved that by not taking anything else to be an alternative to Dharma.
Anyone who has watched the TV series Chanakya would recall the Shastrartha Sabha organized in Dhanananda’s durbar. The brahmin graduate from Takshashila university is asked, “What is a king according to Shastra?”
The Brahmin replied, “A salaried employee, that’s all.”
It fumes up Dhanananda, but the Brahmin stands his ground. In a democracy, a Prime Minister is at an even lower status. The world did not stop when Sri Krishna died or when Shri Rama took Jal samadhi. So is the PM even more glorious a person than them?
Even from the survival point of view, the TINA argument is an argument from a position of comfort. It is a status-quoist stand in its essence. Change is discomforting, but it is not only permanent but necessary too. Also, the discomfort that a change brings shall enable one to think, act, and organize for an optimum solution essential for survival. The frog in the slow boiling water story is all too well known. Even frog must have thought there is no alternative to water and a bit of heat is not too much to complain about. Kashi, Shaheen Baugh, Singhu border, Bangladesh, Sabrimala, West Bengal etc., are all like the incremental increase in water temperature while the frog croaks about TINA to water. It is time to lay this argument to rest and start holding the Prime Minister and his regime accountable, or else dump him in the next election if that’s what it takes!
