The Administration of Certainty
Uttar Pradesh has never been short of rulers. It has simply outlived them. Ayodhya was already old when the Mughals arrived. Varanasi was conducting its rituals when empires were still learning to write their names. These cities did not acquire meaning because they were governed well. They acquired it because they refused to disappear. The present administration governs with a particular confidence: the confidence that ambiguity is not merely inconvenient, but dangerous. Its moral universe arrives pre arranged. What results is not so much a political programme as a posture, one you are meant to recognize, not examine. Consider what happened in Prayagraj in June 2022. Javed Mohammed's house was demolished within days of his alleged involvement in protests. The bulldozers came on a Sunday. There was no court order. There rarely is. His wife and children were given minutes to leave. Officials cited illegal construction. They always do. By evening, the house was rubble. By the next mor...