What does the victory of Donald Trump signify to the world and us? There will be many theories spun over the course of coming weeks to show the reasons of his success. There are already justificatory reasons being adduced, one of them being that the neo-liberal agenda spurred by the Washington Consensus is not working because it keeps a large chunk of population away from the wealth gained through free trade — a trade that has turned Washington and New York into London of the 19th century with a substantial bite of the wealth concentrated with only a small fraction of the population, while leaving vast numbers without access to the benefits of globalisation. It has been argued that Trump used the inherent imbalances of neo-liberal economics to convert himself into a messiah for the poor people of the United States, especially those who live away from the urban centres. He sold the dreams of an America that evenly distributes the riches coming inside her borders. The working class toiling away from the larger-than-life personas of the billionaires sought their revenge in the form of Trump against the negligence inflicted on them. Second, Trump succeeded in connecting the growing presence of multi-ethnic and multi-coloured immigrants with the woes of common Americans who are concerned about their jobs, college tuition fees and wages. Immigrants were portrayed as thieves who are stealing the livelihood of the white people. The idea of construction of a wall along the Mexican border symbolises that dread of immigrants. Thirdly, Trump has capitalised on what Juan Cole, a professor at the University of Michigan, has termed as the “Islam anxiety” in the US and in the West in general. This anxiety is almost all-pervasive, and is used to galvanise the population into one block. Khizr Khan, in the Clinton camp, did try to dent that by invoking the death of his soldier son for America. However, his claims on American dream did not seem to have met with success. The electorate threw up what he wished to be evicted from the scene. What is common to these factors is the absence of date and verification. Until the latter are projected for proof, and to collapse reality into something tangible, these claims of injustice, marginalsation and theft of jobs remain what can be called the Schrodinger’s cat. You simply do not know whether what is being played up is based on anything that can be believed. For example, the bluster that immigrants are stealing jobs and increasing crime in the USA simply goes against observation. These immigrants mostly constitute the good talent that has been stolen with financial temptation to work in the USA. They create brain drain in their native countries but are, ironically, accused of leaving the ‘native’ Americans jobless. Regarding Mexican immigrants, Leslie Marmon Silko in Almanac of the Dead explains the meaning of border between Mexico and the US, and the ‘truth’ behind Trump’s swaggering statements. If it is common understanding that proof must be provided to back up extravagant claims, why is it that citizens of a developed country have so easily fallen for the rhetoric of being overwhelmed by the non-white aliens? The reasons are multifarious, but the easier one is that a large number of these people are uneducated and unexposed to the complicated global realities, and ensconced in their immediate realities, and vulnerable to the emotional demagoguery that gives cut-and-dry solutions to very complex problems. To an average worker it will be mind-spinning to go into the debate of neo-liberalism and free trade, but to find a non-white person in his neighbourhood getting a fat salary makes him prone to the rhetoric of people like Trump. Because Trump’s solution is to drive that non-white guy out of the country, or cut him to size so that the on-looking white man can get what he desires, if not deserves. These kinds of solutions and the popular support for them have heralded us into what Angela Merkel called the “post-fact” world. It is no longer considered worthwhile to spend some quality time to check the statement for its factual value. What rules is the perception, and judgments are made on the given template of perception. So the perception that Muslims are all ISIS type is not subjected to some investigation. This trend of relying on perception for making decisions is not limited to the USA. BREXIT has part of the roots in the perception that the European Union (EU) is flooding the ‘unique’ British economy with decisions that are not favourable to her social and economic climate. Similarly, there is perception in the EU that Muslim immigrants from war-torn countries in the Middle East are fuelling the rise of far-right parties in many European countries, including the forthcoming possible rise of Marine Le Penn of the nationalist political conservative party, National Front, in France. Why should we go far to test the post-fact hypothesis? We here in Kashmir know all too well the mind-numbing facts yet the perception in the rest of India is the exact opposite. According to that perception, almost every Muslim in Kashmir is an Al-Baghdadi clone, and needs to be bludgeoned in order to merge his mind with India. Narendra Modi’s rise in India is also to a great extent rooted in the perception of Muslims being pampered at the cost of the majority Hindus. That Hindus have been short-changed after the exit of the British, or starting from even before, probably from the day Muhammad bin Qasim landed in the ancient port of Debal, and the time has come to take revenge. A perception that was punctured many years ago by the report submitted in the Indian parliament in 2006 by Justice Rajinder Sachar. In spite of the revealing details provided by the report about the condition of Muslims in India, the theory of appeasement of Muslims continues to be peddled. The elections continue to be won on the plank of appeasement of Muslims mocking the information given by the comprehensive report. A handsome number of factual contradictions were provided from Trump’s statements, including his denial of climate change, yet he will be moving into the White House. His misogynistic statements are there for the whole world to listen to, yet the female Republican voters have given a thumps-up to him. Because for them only Trump can do something to remove the perception that is haunting them. However, that is easier said than done, unless of course, water can flow uphill or pigs can fly. The writer is a columnist, author, and lecturer at the University of Kashmir, Srinagar. He can be reached at javjnu@gmail.com