You must have heard the good news by now. A huge treasure trove of gold deposit has just been uncovered in Sonbhadra in Uttar Pradesh.
They say it could be worth an astounding Rs 12 lakh crore. Let us hope that the discovery generates much wealth for the nation as well as jobs and development in this backward district of Uttar Pradesh.
But this news of gold deposits reminds me of a story from 2013. A story of laughable superstition from UPA government that made India the butt of jokes and ridicule across the world.
Who doesn’t want to find gold? The UPA government went digging for it as well. But how and where? Observe how it is scientists at the Geological Survey of India who have announced the discovery of gold deposits in Sonabhadra.
But the UPA didn’t use scientists to figure out where to dig for gold. They had something better.
A godman, who saw something in a dream.
In 2013, a godman by the name of Shobhan Sarkar said he saw in a dream that there was 1000 tonnes of gold buried in Daundia Khera village in Unnao in Uttar Pradesh. According to him, the gold belonged to a 19th century king by the name of Rao Rambaksh Singh.
What happened next? The rulers of India at the time did the only rational thing and promptly sent the Archeological Survey of India to dig for the buried gold. After all, the UPA rulers had come to power using the same principle of hereditary succession by divine right using which Rao Rambaksh Singh would presumably have come to the throne in the 19th century.
Such was the alacrity on part of Sonia ji’s government that even night vision cameras were installed at the site to protect the treasure. Just in case.
The digging continued for several days. Needless to say, there was nothing to find. The Archeological Survey ended their expedition after a while, having spent Rs 2.78 lakh of public money on it.
It is not the Rs 2.78 lakh figure which is significant. The significance lies in how a superstitious UPA government made a fool of India in front of the whole world.
For their part, liberals, who are convinced they are smarter than everyone else for no reason at all, insist that they are guided by belief in science and evidence. But they are not. They are merely very good at packaging their superstitions and using media narrative power to keep public attention away from their embarrassing mistakes.
Imagine if Modi sarkar today were to send a government team digging for gold after a godman’s dream. The scale of ridicule heaped on the government, the BJP as well as common Hindus would be overwhelming.
Why? Because liberals have used their media narrative power to create a stereotype of the Hindu right as superstitious and anti-intellectual. Of course, the accusation falls apart at the slightest inspection. The Hindu right has worked its way into power corridors by sheer hard work and determination. PM Modi started with selling tea.
Liberals on the other hand are convinced that the savior(s) of India can only come from one divinely chosen family. Who is superstitious?
And let’s not talk about Communism, which may be the single worst example of black magic that the world has ever seen. Fails every time, causes untold suffering everywhere. And yet, the belief in a “good Communism” some day never fades. The high priests and upholders of this superstition are hailed as intellectuals and heroes of humanity.
I’ll end with one more example. In December 2016, just before Uttar Pradesh elections, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav inaugurated an array of development projects in Noida by video conferencing.
But why video conferencing? Why wouldn’t he go to Noida, especially using the expressway he was so proud of? Why would a politician turn down a chance to connect with people, that too just before a crunch election?
Well, that’s because Akhilesh Yadav believes in the “Noida jinx,” a superstition that any UP CM who visits Noida will lose his chair briefly afterwards! Over the years, Chief Ministers of UP have gone to comical lengths to avoid entering Noida. All because of this.
Well, Akhilesh Yadav didn’t go to Noida that December, but he did lose his chair shortly after anyway, when the SP was wiped out in Uttar Pradesh elections. Perhaps the Noida jinx is so powerful that it travels even through video conferencing?
Incidentally, nobody believes the Noida jinx any more. You know why? Because in December 2017, less than a year after coming to power, Yogi Adityanath traveled to Noida. Not once but twice. And he’s doing just fine.
Take that. The liberal ecosystem has spent decades nurturing the belief that saffron stands for superstition. And it took a saffron clad Yogi to boldly reject ridiculous superstition. Something that Akhilesh Yadav, who ruled by divine right, could never dare to do.
You know why? Because Yogi started with nothing. He knows that only hard work matters. Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul Gandhi are still to figure that one out.
