The Great Plate-Banging Fiasco: How India’s Educated Were Swayed by Unreason During COVID-19

How India’s Educated Were Swayed by Unreason During COVID-19

In the spring of 2020, as the world grappled with the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, India witnessed a peculiar spectacle: millions of people, from bustling cities to remote villages, stepped onto their balconies and rooftops, banging plates, clapping hands, and clanging utensils. This was not a spontaneous outburst of collective frustration or a cultural ritual, but a response to a call from the highest echelons of power. The nation was told this act would honor frontline workers and, in some narratives, even ward off the virus. What unfolded was a striking case of how an uneducated mindset, cloaked in authority, led India’s educated masses to outsource their critical thinking to manipulators and sycophants, resulting in a moment of national folly.

The Call to Action

On March 22, 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation, urging citizens to participate in a “Janata Curfew,” a voluntary lockdown to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. As part of this, he called for a symbolic gesture at 5 p.m.: people were to clap, bang plates, or ring bells for five minutes to express gratitude to healthcare workers and essential service providers. The appeal was framed as a unifying act of solidarity, a morale booster for those battling the virus on the frontlines.

However, what could have been a simple gesture of appreciation took on a surreal dimension. Misinformation and superstition, amplified by sycophantic media and unchecked social media platforms, transformed the act into something more bizarre. Rumors swirled that the vibrations from the collective clanging would “weaken” the virus or drive it away through some mystical or scientific-sounding mechanism. These claims, devoid of any empirical basis, found fertile ground in a nation already reeling from fear and uncertainty.

The Uneducated Mindset at the Helm

The call to bang plates was not rooted in scientific reasoning but in a populist appeal that resonated with emotion rather than logic. This was not the work of an uneducated individual in the traditional sense—lacking formal schooling—but rather a calculated move by a leadership style that prioritized spectacle over substance. The propagators of this idea exploited India’s deep-seated trust in authority, a cultural tendency to follow charismatic leaders without scrutiny. This approach, often cloaked in the guise of cultural pride or national unity, revealed an intellectual laziness that bypassed critical inquiry.

The educated elite—doctors, engineers, academics, and urban professionals—did not pause to question the logic behind the act. Instead, they joined the cacophony, swayed by a narrative that conflated patriotism with compliance. The absence of skepticism was stark. Why would a virus, a microscopic entity governed by biological processes, be affected by the sound of clanging metal? Yet, the educated outsourced their reasoning to a narrative spun by manipulators who thrived on emotional appeals rather than evidence.

The Role of Sycophants and Manipulators

Sycophancy played a pivotal role in amplifying this event. Media outlets, eager to align with the government’s narrative, broadcast the plate-banging as a historic moment of national unity. Social media platforms like WhatsApp, already a hotbed for misinformation in India, were flooded with messages claiming the act had spiritual or scientific significance. One in six pieces of COVID-related information from India in 2020 was fake, making the country a global leader in pandemic misinformation.

These messages were not merely the work of fringe elements but were often endorsed or ignored by those in power, allowing them to spread unchecked. Sycophantic influencers and local leaders added fuel to the fire, framing dissent as unpatriotic. The result was a perfect storm: an uneducated narrative, propped up by manipulators, drowned out rational voices. The educated, who should have been the first to demand evidence, instead became complicit in this theater of the absurd, their critical faculties outsourced to those peddling pseudoscience and populism.

Why the Educated Fell for It

The plate-banging episode exposed a deeper malaise: the failure of education to foster critical thinking. India’s education system, often rote-based and focused on credentials over inquiry, had left even its most “educated” citizens vulnerable to manipulation. In a crisis, fear and uncertainty made people cling to any semblance of hope, no matter how illogical. The collective act of banging plates offered a sense of agency in a time of helplessness, even if that agency was illusory.

Moreover, the cultural reverence for authority played a significant role. In India, questioning those in power is often seen as disrespectful, especially when the narrative is wrapped in the language of national pride. The educated, despite their degrees, succumbed to this cultural pressure, choosing conformity over skepticism. The manipulators—be they politicians, media houses, or social media influencers—capitalized on this, turning a simple gesture into a mass delusion.

The Consequences of Outsourced Thinking

The plate-banging incident was not just a harmless quirk; it had real consequences. It distracted from the urgent need for science-based interventions like testing, contact tracing, and medical infrastructure. While the nation clanged utensils, hospitals were overwhelmed, and misinformation about COVID-19 cures proliferated. The focus on symbolic gestures delayed critical discussions about India’s unpreparedness, exacerbating the educational and digital divide that left millions without access to accurate information.

The episode also eroded trust in institutions. When the educated realized they had been swept up in a baseless act, many felt betrayed, not just by leaders but by their own lapse in judgment. This fueled cynicism, making it harder to rally public support for genuine public health measures later in the pandemic.

A Lesson in Critical Thinking

The plate-banging fiasco of 2020 stands as a cautionary tale about the dangers of outsourcing one’s thinking. It revealed how even the educated can be swayed by manipulators and sycophants when fear, cultural pressures, and a lack of critical inquiry converge. India’s educated class, armed with degrees and access to information, failed to question an uneducated narrative that defied logic. This was not about literacy but about the absence of a questioning mindset.

Moving forward, the lesson is clear: education must go beyond textbooks to cultivate skepticism and intellectual independence. The next time a call comes to bang plates or chase shadows, India’s educated must pause, think, and demand evidence. Only then can they reclaim their agency from the manipulators and sycophants who thrive on their compliance.