Bread and Circuses: IPL, Unlit Pyres and a Burning State
Has easy access to entertainment desensitised us to the issues that plague the nation? Does unholy exposure to reels diminish true, meaningful resistance? Like a diptych painting, this piece explores modern-day escapism through the Breads and Circuses theory, speaking about the IPL, our collective screentime, the ethnic clashes in Manipur and protests over the Ken Betwa Link Project.
Introduction
On a humid April night, the IPL is at its entertaining best, with Abhishek Sharma bulldozing every bowler in sight. The Sunrisers Hyderabad obliterate the Delhi Capitals, scoring 244 runs, aided by Sharma’s century. It’s peak IPL action raining fours and sixes as a sea of orange supporters increase the decibels within the stadium. As the innings get over, I involuntarily open Instagram; the modern-day equivalent of opening the fridge, desiring something delicious to quench your hunger, but that never happens. Transitioning to Threads, a video pops up on my feed.
A man stands pleading into the camera. Behind him, a procession of people holding fire-lit torches, marching across the road, demanding justice in the darkest depths of the night. He stands there tugging at the last shreds of sensitivity that humans possess. An earnest cry, he laments Indians who celebrate the success of Dhurandhar and enjoy the IPL in the summer heat but remain mute about Manipur - a state burning like a furnace, witnessing ethnic clashes turned violent for three years. As of writing, these clashes have claimed over 260 lives while displacing close to 62,000 people. I look into his eyes and see my conscience dying a slow death.
The modern-day app-hopping has us switching from Instagram to Twitter to Hinge or Netflix and beyond. The IPL, to satiate the thirst of a cricket-hungry nation, and the Premier League, for football-obsessed freaks, leave little time for meaningful resistance. Who cares about social injustice when your social life seems uneventful, your love life is DOA, leaving you no option but to submerge yourself in a sea of reels. Has prolonged exposure to digital distractions, sectarian animosity, desensitised us?
Panem et Circenses, coined by the Roman poet Juvenal, alludes to the bread and circuses theory. It suggests that the populace would forgo resistance against social injustice when provided with superficial pleasure, particularly food and entertainment. The Romans used to do it with their gladiators stepping into the arena, with the colosseum as their theatre. In modern times, this colosseum is everywhere, from TV screens to mobiles and other gadgets.
According to EY via The Economic Times, Indians collectively spent 1.1 lakh crore hours on their smartphones in 2024, with daily screen time averaging nearly 5 hours, with close to 70% of this time devoted to social media and gaming. In a country with close to half a billion active social media users, discussions about Manipur are dressed in hushed whispers. And the media - a bastion of truth in democracy did itself no favours. The Editors Guild India highlighted a substantially biased media while covering the Manipur ethnic clashes. If attention is currency, then consent legitimises it. Certain issues get amplified, thrown into your face, while others quickly fade away. A state burns while some news anchors are interested in discussing the history of Jhalmuri.
You momentarily think about the heat, the trees chopped down in the name of progress, yet know nothing about the adivasis in Madhya Pradesh protesting against the Ken-Betwa link project. This project sounds like the perfect solution on paper. India’s first major river-linking project, promising water to the drought-prone region of Bundelkhand, irrigating 10 lakh hectares of land whilst providing drinking water to 41 lakh people in Bundelkhand. But remove those rose-tinted glasses, and we get another picture. 24 villages in Chhatarpur are to be displaced due to this project, with eight villages in the submergence area. A report from Outlook suggests that protesters are opposed to the compensation earmarked in lieu of the land, instead of the project itself, resulting in a stalemate with the authorities. Subsequently, these tribals partook in protest by smearing mud on their bodies, standing in the water with nooses around their necks and lying down on unlit pyres. While the district administration heard their pleas after this raging protest, it raises the question. Should people threaten death to be heard? If that’s the case, is the system really listening? But are their homes the only things that are being killed? Is it not the collective death of our conscience? In true Nietzschean fashion, you stare into the abyss long enough, and it stares back at you.
Feeling remorse, I undertake the revolutionary act of posting one of the reels on my stories, confident about spreading awareness amongst the ignorant. The advent of the internet promised the democratisation of resources and hyper-connectedness across the globe. However, a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention, and platforms compete for the eyeballs, the minutes spent on their app. They aren’t particularly interested in creating awareness, even though it's packaged that way.
The aspiring sportswriter within me watches the IPL every day, thinking about the batter-friendly pitches; follows the Premier League closely for the Pep Guardiola – Mikel Arteta title showdown, but the fiery flames, the unlit pyres haunt my dreams at night. The sinking feeling that the ringmaster's adeptness at creating distractions has muted our resistance collides within the empty walls of my room as I finish this article at 2:00 am. Has our resistance been reduced to reposting reels on our feeds?
By Glenn Fernandes
Currently pursuing an MA in Creative Writing from Alliance University, Bangalore, Glenn loves to sleep, quote filmy dialogues and dissect football games. He’s usually reading a book, writing or questioning morality when watching films and football, or sleep eludes him.
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