UBT’s yelping before the defeat and Dr. Freud’s hypothesis

UBT group chief Uddhav Thackeray’s frustration and vulnerability has reached Raigad’s ‘takmak tok’. When Uddhav Thackeray declared that he would not allow the hoisting of Sangh’s faded flag, he lost what little political sense remained with him. His demeanour, including his language shows his intense irritation at the prospect of maybe facing a significant setback and his dread of losing the very existence of his party. And on June 4, his pre-defeat howl is probably going to get worse.

I wonder why Uddhav Thackeray must have felt the need to isolate himself to this extreme level. Uddhav Thackeray’s attempt to involve the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in the Lok Sabha election campaign has exposed the lack of political understanding on his part. In the 75 years since independence, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has faced a lot of criticism. And thinkers, journalists and artists that espouse socialist, communist and Congress ideologies have had a significant role to play.

Sangh’s swayamsevaks were imprisoned by Indira Gandhi during the Emergency in 1975. Following the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh was banned. It was also outlawed after the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992. Eventually, the ban was lifted. The Congress leadership never spoke about the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in this manner. I wonder why Uddhav Thackeray even used such a language that neither the Owaisi brothers nor Shahi Imam or Syed Shahabuddin ever did. I don’t know if political analysts will ever go into the causes for it, given their deep infatuation for Uddhav Thackeray.

These people are always looking for a haughty individual who can say anything they want to about the Bharatiya Janata Party, Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. This congregation is willing to put their ideologies in the hands of a person they perceive to be their sole hope, notwithstanding his dull intelligence. If we conduct a psychological analysis of Uddhav Thackeray’s actions over the past 21-22 months, we will be able to comprehend his inevitable nature. I have intentionally used the word psychology at this juncture. A devoted adherent of the revered Balasaheb Thackeray’s ideologies – Eknath Shinde – seized the chief minister’s chair that Uddhav Thackeray had won by backstabbing. Uddhav Thackeray’s primary motive for creating the Maha Vikas Aghadi by betrayal was his desire to become the chief minister. It was on this solid foundation of chief ministership that Uddhav Thackeray and his son established a strong position in the alliance with the Congress against the BJP.

The moment he lost his position and a loyal Shiv Sainik, who genuinely valued the ideologies of late Balasaheb, abandoned him, UBT had no option but to emulate the Congress and Sharad Pawar. Today, even after criticizing the Bharatiya Janata Party and Narendra Modi, he stands no chance or even the slightest possibility of garnering any kind of public support. Uddhav Thackeray is left at the helm of the devoted allies of Sharad Pawar and the Congress now that the party organization that his father had built with the help of his loyal companions has got destroyed. And no sooner has he realized that even this won’t help him and his party organization sustain, his vulnerability is coming to the fore.

In English, there is a phrase ‘Method in Madness’ which refers to an action that, although initially perceived as odd or eccentric, ultimately serves a useful purpose. And hence, there is no harm in evaluating UBT’s behaviour using this thesis. In 1879, the first psychology laboratory was opened in Germany. It was during the same time that modern psychiatry also came to being. Many novel ideas were offered by Dr. Sigmund Freud in his attempt to describe this discipline. It was in accordance with Dr. Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic methodology that behaviour therapy and cognitive therapy came into practice as recommended therapies. The ‘Theory of the Unconscious Mind’ was also put out by Dr. Freud. He created a psychoanalytic method, that analyses a person’s dreams by getting him to talk more and by encouraging him to think back on the past.

To assess the rationale behind UBT’s current statements, we will require the assistance of Dr. Sigmund Freud’s ‘behaviour therapy’ and ‘cognitive therapy’. UBT, who is fearing the party’s existence, seems to have made up his mind that he will have to outperform the Congress and Sharad Pawar in order to survive. At present, the BJP is facing opposition from all quarters, thus he is resorting to making outrageous claims to distinguish himself. Based on Sigmund Freud’s cognitive theory, we can conclude that UBT likely holds a psychological belief that by making such statements, he will emerge as the ‘messiah’ of the Muslims across the country. In fact, UBT will never, ever believe that he is solely to blame for everything that is going on with him. And hence, the only option left is to keep yelping. A convert always lets forth a loud wail. And Uddhav Thackeray has forgotten that he has gone too far in the attempt to show just how intense and bitter his opposition to the BJP and Hindutva is in comparison to the others. I won’t be overstating things if I claim that he has arrived at Raigad Fort’s ‘takmak tok’.

 

(Article Pre-Published in Times of India -20 May  2024)

Keshav Upadhye, Chief Spokesperson