It’s a scientific and biological fact that we produce lesser tears as we grow older. After the age of 40, tears reduce. Doctors then recommend eye-drops for lack of tears as tears are important for the eyes. However, that does not mean that older people don’t cry. In the movies, we have seen AK Hangal and Meena Kumari mostly crying. Their characters were often in distress, were never in powerful positions or were eternal underdogs.
But what explains PM Narendra Modi crying so frequently in public? He is the most powerful man in India since May 2014 and has so far cried seven times. On February 9, in his farewell address for Ghulam Nabi Azad, Modi again broke into “Blink back” tears in the RS. It’s called blink-back because tears don’t really roll down the cheeks but the eyes get moist and the voice chokes and the person manages to recover poise in a few seconds. Not only Modi but Azad also broke down in tears. Apparently, Modi was reminiscing about the 2007 terrorist attack when Gujaratis were killed and Azad had called Modi during late night to offer help. While that is sentimental, Indian CMs are not strangers to terror attacks and tear-jerking over it after 13 years is rather unusual. Still, many people see that as a “human” side of Modi and applaud it.
Sporting events frequently give us instances of choking and even crying for a multiple of reasons. Former Australian Cricket captain Kim Hughes faced such defeats that he tendered his resignation in tears. So much that he didn’t even fully read his resignation statement and someone else had to complete it. Vijay Amritraj didn’t cry but choked often. He was twice up 2 sets in the 1970-80s, once against Jimmy Connors and once against Bjorn Borg (the eventual champion) and still lost the match. Players choke because of high pressure expectations, fear of severe criticism or non-acceptance in certain quarters or too worried about their performance and legacy in history. But Modi isn’t the only one, history is full of big leaders who have cried in public:
Strangely, there hasn’t been a serious study on why these big-time politicians and leaders have to cry. They are naturally highly emotional people who are under constant demand of performance, stress and round the clock scrutiny by everyone around them. Some cry in pain, some cry in shame, some cry over losses and some cry for terrorists:
But we will make an attempt to understand why Modi cries – he is currently the most popular politician in India and has the support of a vast majority despite his bungling on many fronts. Modi does suffer from some of the problems afflicting sportsmen and many politicians. We will try and understand why he chokes and cries so often. Modi craves for acceptance by his adversaries. It is a serious pursuit for him. He once blurted out to ANI’s Smita Prakash that he couldn’t win over the Lutyens mob. It rankles that despite all his attempts, certain groups in India and abroad simply do not accept Modi as a leader. And Modi constantly craves their attention, approval and recognition. This was just before the LS2019 elections:
As with many political leaders across the world, crying is a tremendous emotional tactic to cover up for any drawbacks and shortcomings in character. Seriously, of all the person Azad is not one you would cry for. Just because he was moved by a terrorist attack doesn’t cover up many of his other sins. Modi simply is a drama actor. His need for drama in front of the camera is now well known. This is a man who didn’t cry over 2002 riots. This is a man who didn’t cry over terrorist attacks on Akshardham that killed over 30 people. This is a man that didn’t cry over the lynching of Palghar Sadhus. The need for drama when many things are in a mess is the standard trick of many politicians who can fake it at the drop of a hat. Mind you, it’s not that the tears are fake but such politicians have the ability to create those tears at will that has fakery at the root:
Be it the playing around with peacocks in his PMO-garden or meditating in a cave or watching Covid vaccine progress on a giant screen all alone or doing a video-conference with ministers and political parties, Modi does not work without a cameraman around him. Every movement of his is recorded by a cameraman. There is a desperate desire and need for self-promotion. This runs contradictory to his claims that he is just a “Fakir” and has no desires in life. Modi loves to play victim – whether it’s an ordinary forum or an election rally or in response to opponents. He never forgets to claim “They abuse me because I am a Chaiwallah, because I am from a poor background, they abuse my mother, my family”. Modi’s victimhood swells up when he speaks of his life and that of his mother doing household chores, working on the “Choola”, filling water, washing dishes and so on. Watch this video (4.50 mins):
Add to this victimhood the great act of claiming that his opponents are all “enemies” out to kill him. This is another aspect of being emotionally charged in reinforcing the belief that “everyone is my enemy out to get me” although Modi forgets that a vast majority are his well-wishers. In the video a woman calls him the “image of Ishwar”. Other Bhajan Mandli players call him avatar of “Lord Vishnu” or King Vikram. A saree-saleswoman even peddles the superpower of his laser-gaze. But despite all this, Modi still feels like a handicapped victim all of his life because he claims his childhood was spent in poverty although not all of it may be true.
Modi is also aging. He is now 70 and, obviously, his reflexes are not going to be as strong as, say, some 10 years ago. It is also a fact that as people grow older and “lonely” their emotions may swing a bit more than before. We do not know all of Modi’s emotions but in an interview to Sudhir Chaudhary of Zee (check the video in this post), Modi did admit that all the abuses and taunts do hurt but he has to carry on with his job. The suppression of pain and hurt at all times can any day cause a dam to burst and at any unconnected event. It is human nature when pent up hurt and anger don’t find any other release. Sudden bursts of tears and choking can also have underlying neurological problems that we may not be aware of:
There are many other psychological aspects but I wouldn’t venture there on the PM of the country. But lastly, there is a sense of failure with hurdles with whatever mission Modi has undertaken. Be it CAA or Farm Laws, the hurdles seem to mount. Worldwide trolling seems to mount. Meaningless agitations confront ModiSarkar frequently, often accompanied by violence. Add to this a confrontational Supreme Court and the frustration is natural to mount. This frustration shows up in some other manner by an emotional breakdown. Such frustrations in failure to implement an agenda can cause severe emotional bursts of tears in unconnected situations. What is required is not tears but toughness of will to combat and confront anti-nationals without any procrastination. Tears cannot wipe out the damage caused. If you are still wondering why Modi cries – all the lines marked in Red in this post are the reasons.
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