Post- Truth

Post- Truth

This blog is in response to a thinking activity assigned by Dilip sir.

The word post- truth was chosen as the word of the year by Oxford in the year 2016. To know the concept of post truth, it is essential to know its definition first. Post- truth is defined as it is relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotional and personal belief. 

In the modernising world, the nature, definition and universality of things keep on changing. Hence, it is unavoidable to look at things and subject matters critically and rationalise those matters. As the prefix post is strong enough to suggest the vitality of looking through and beyond the intent. Many times people consider irrelevant and irrational arguments as facts or truth. This consideration deeply damages people around them and the society they are part of. People usually take advantage of it and use it as a weapon to shape their minds through the tool called emotional beliefs. 

What are emotional beliefs? 

Emotional beliefs are certain arguments or subject matters that seem true to us just because we are emotionally or in another matter connected to it while it is completely contradictory to the truth and facts in existence. This can be proven harmful as with this tool anyone can play with your mind and make you do things. 

Difference between actual truth and emotional truth.

Emotional truth: it deals with people who have been targeted into believing something that all together is non- factual and baseless. For example there are people who believe that the increase in the number of rapists is due to clothing of women and how they have chosen freedom for themselves and the fact that they want to equally succeed in their respective careers and lead a successful life. This has hurt the sentiments of many political rulers and religion practitioners and they are against this practice. They provoke people into believing that women are solely responsible for the sexual assaults and they emotionally target audience who get entertained by such baseless arguments. There is one more example which can be taken from the movie Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl, where at first she is restricted from flying as the whole group of trainees is male dominant and she is the only female pilot. Even when she develops good relations with her senior she is doubted of her chastity. Eventually when it's the crisis of war, again she is abandoned from flying as a political ruler of that time makes a statement that our army is well equipped and we do not need the help of women to protect our nation. This statement was altogether changed after she rescued a few wounded soldiers, and how the nation was empowering the women. 

Actual truth: this truth is only fact based and does not entertain people who are looking for a comforting lie rather than a bitter truth. These facts are based on scientific research and knowledge that is universally approved of. Whatever is presented is not fake or an assumption but it is based on a reasoning which makes it evident of this realness. This truth has a greater span of life as compared to the emotional truth.

What is post-truth politics?

In the year 2016, Indian currency notes were demonetized and it was said that it will be extremely beneficial for the economy and development of the nation. During the speech it was mentioned that this will also help us eradicate the black money and now it's time when rich people will suffer for stocking up money and not paying taxes. Contradictory to it, it was the poor people standing in the line near the banks and waiting to get their currency notes exchanged. They suffered while the rich people were having all the facilities to get their notes exchanged in a comparatively easy manner. Instead of benefiting the economy of the nation, people are barely using the ₹2000 note and RBI hasn't published the new notes in a year or two. This idea was a clear failure but it worked a bit because the minds of poor people were captured in order to implement a currency that is a failure in recent times. 

Also, a rumour was spread that the ₹2000 notes had a chip which would track all the black money even if it is hidden inside the crust of the earth which had lead to the sense of fear among the civilians. Undoubtedly it was a white lie spread to scare people and to prevent them from piling up money.

Many of the political leaders allot their candidates after doing a survey about the caste in the particular city or village. They attract votes by highlighting the candidate of a particular caste. Even the speech they deliver are highly provoking and leads to the feeling of hatred among castes in the nation. Current ruling party highlights religious people and supress civilians in the name of religion and honour and even beat them to death if they disagree to agree.

Post- Truth in movies

Many a times harangues given by politicians acts as a source of depletion among the civilians. There was a recent debate about the movie Kashmir Files which is a heart wrenching and cruel portrayal of kashmiri pandits who suffer a lot. There are scenes in the movie where clothes of a mother are ripped off in front of her son, his mother is cut into halves and yet is chanting the name of a religious god. This cannot be possible rationally that a person is cut into half and she is chanting the name of god instead of screaming with pain. How people were made stand in a queue and shot dead one by one and they didn't even try to run or save themselves from the cruelty. How even children were shot mercilessly and they didn't even cry and stood strong while their parents were being killed. Government made this movie tax free and even the prime minister promoted this movie by praising it which encouraged the citizens to watch it. This movie has spread more hatred among people about a targeted community. Many of the people, belonging to that community are suffering today despite of the fact that they had no role in what happened to kashmiri pandits back then. This is a heart wrenching cruel portrayal of a community which is more based on falsehood rather than the reality of the mentioned time. Even the movie New York gives an insight how a particular caste is looked upon with a melodramatic portrayal of incidents. It is not necessary that everything that is displayed is true. It requires analysis and thinking over it critically to come down to a particular judgement about it being true or not.

Post- truth in religion.

Religion is considered to be one of the most sensitive topics of all time and how talking against the religious practitioners can put an individual behind the bars. There have been innumerous disputes and each one has just increased the fear of religion rather than increasing faith in religion. Many of the religions believe that menstruating women are impure and eating the food they made or even letting them touch the water pots will be a punishable sin.

Almost all the religions suggest that there is a cycle of rebirth or reincarnation which is naturally considered to be based on the deeds done in the previous birth. When a person is suffering it is generally said that it's the deeds of the past birth that were bad and hence you are suffering. On the other hand it is also evident that one dies only when all the karmics debts are paid off and the being rather the soul makes its journey towards salvation. Both the statements are contradictory in themselves. If the karmic debts are paid off, how is an individual suffering from the deeds from previous birth or the fact that debts are unfulfilled and death takes place. It is a very irrational argument to have belief into.

Even during lockdown there were a lot of campaign held which were believed to eradicate coronavirus but it did not and is still present till the date. Lighting of Diya was considered to burn off the virus and many of the celebrities shared image of India which was appearing enlightened from the space. Again this is a white lie as there is no chance that anything like this would happen and merely by the light of diyas the whole India would appear enlightened in the space.

Hence, it is wisely said that half truth is more dangerous than a lie.