Growing up from 2014, I remember a guy coming on TV on 15th August 2014 and promising bullet trains by the 75th year of Independence. I was probably in 4th or 5th class back then. Today, I sit here having completed my education, still waiting for that train. That was my first lesson on politics of distraction.
The fact that the entire last decade has been used more to radicalize youth than to build awareness is dangerous. Once people are radicalized, politics stops being a battle of ideas and becomes a war between stupidity and intellect. The intellect stays silent because it is the minority. Stupidity spreads because everybody follows trends.
The Radicalization of a Generation
Perhaps the greatest failure of the last decade is not economic, political, or administrative. It is intellectual. An entire generation that should have been encouraged to question, innovate, experiment, and think critically has instead been encouraged to choose sides, defend narratives, and participate in manufactured outrage. Scientific temper has been reduced to a constitutional footnote while symbolism dominates public discourse.
The conversation has shifted from “How do we build a better future?” to “Who can perform patriotism more loudly?” A nation does not become a global leader by replacing scientific thinking with ideological loyalty. The countries that lead the world invested in research, education, institutions, and innovation. We invested in narratives.
The fact that you cannot question the ruling establishment for anything they do is not democracy. Leaders run away from questions. Opposition leaders face ED and CBI cases, then suddenly switch parties and become “clean.” More corruption allegations exist today against sitting MLAs and Chief Ministers than ever before, yet everything gets normalized.
How the Media Normalized Everything
And this mockery of democracy was never possible without its biggest tool: the media.
The media normalized everything.
It started with portraying the opposition as incapable of leading or winning. But beyond that, the media normalized party defections, unethical decisions, rape allegations against MLAs and MPs, propaganda, distraction, and blind narrative-building.
Even the recent departures of popular Gen Z political leaders (Main naam nahi lunga, aap Google kar lena) were normalized as if they had no other option.
The recent controversy around the Women’s Bill was presented emotionally as a “women’s reservation bill,” when in reality it was deeply linked to delimitation discussions using old census frameworks. But the media of this nation cannot question those chosen to rule.
Leaders have introduced a new culture of one-way communication. They speak. The media amplifies. Citizens clap. Questions disappear.
Narratives Over Reality
Trump insults India repeatedly on Truth Social, yet the media spin makes it look like India is delivering a masterstroke response every single time. When the Strait of Hormuz crisis happened, even one oil tanker passing safely under the Indian flag was projected as some massive strategic victory.
Meanwhile, what happened to exports? What happened to farmers and traders whose fruits and goods rotted because Middle East routes were disrupted for days? These fruits and goods rot within 15 days.But who has the spine to question?
The NEET paper leak should have dominated prime-time news for weeks. Instead, many English news channels were busy discussing Pakistan on the very same day. Great priorities.
The Age of Selective Outrage
And the funniest part is that there is a guy who can find benefits in all misery (Main naam nahi lunga, aap Google kar lena, and now he has a government job). Paper leaks become “good for preparation.”
Media people who cannot tolerate basic questioning lecture the world’s number one-ranked country in the Press Freedom Index on neutrality and democracy, while India sits near the bottom of the Press Freedom Index rankings.Everything is defended. Everything is normalized. Everything is projected as a masterstroke.
People whose names appear in horrible controversies (Epstein Files) continue making policy decisions while common people simply watch. And the more youth are radicalized, the more they waste their energy fighting useless battles online while real issues disappear.
Social media has only accelerated this process. Algorithms are not designed to make people informed; they are designed to keep people engaged. Anger spreads faster than facts. Outrage travels faster than nuance. Tribal loyalty generates more clicks than accountability. The result is a generation that increasingly consumes politics as entertainment and treats governance like a cricket match.
The most dangerous form of radicalization is selective outrage. People are furious when their opponents fail but strangely silent when their own side does the same thing. Corruption becomes acceptable if it is committed by the “right” people. Institutional failure becomes forgivable if it serves the “right” narrative. Principles become flexible. Loyalty becomes permanent.
Human Capital Flight and Institutional Decay
India has become a country of human capital flight. The old elites leave, new elites replace them, and eventually they leave too.This nation should not be run by WhatsApp University graduates, 30-second reel creators, German cockroach-like propaganda accounts (Main naam nahi lunga, aap Google kar lena), or corrupt ministers who cannot conduct an exam properly.
This country belongs to every citizen born here. And citizens should question the establishment because that is the social contract of democracy.Or else democracy degrades into shit.
Why Politicians Prefer the Past and the Future
Democracy is government of the people, by the people, and for the people. But what happens when citizens surrender independent thought? What happens when loyalty becomes more important than truth? What happens when the people themselves become radicalized?
Ask yourself one fundamental question:Why does no politician want his followers to live in the present tense?Because the past can always be blamed (70 years ago).The future can always be sold (100th year of Independence).But the present demands accountability.
The Business Model Politics of Distraction
Why bring people to reality when the smokescreen of the next 30 years and blame games about the previous 30 years are enough to stay in power?
La La Land is the tool.The media normalizes the delay.Narratives protect the failure.And the mockery of democracy is not done only by politicians or political parties.It is done by citizens silently watching it happen.
History shows that societies collapse not only because leaders fail, but because people become spectators to the failure.
Democracies do not die in a single election. They die when citizens stop asking questions. They die when accountability becomes optional. They die when narratives become more important than reality.
And by the time people realize they were living in La La Land, reality has already arrived.
