What negationists mean by positivity
Smiling as you look at terrible things is not positivity. It is a disgraceful capitulation in the face of tone-policing.
The ones who are intent on everyone acting in "positive" ways are not actually advocates of optimism. They're quite the reverse. Everyone can see what is wrong. They can as well. But while some want things to get better, they don't.
People being called "negative" often want things to change for the better. People advocating "positivity" in these times have essentially given up on the idea of a better future. They have decided that India cannot do better, that it must resign itself to the ills that plague it, that there is no point even expecting change.
Of course, it helps that many of them benefit from the state of affairs, given their privileges.
This is why we see people saying things like "this used to happen earlier also" and "this is bad but let's focus on other things which are not bad" and "why must you keep complaining about what is wrong". The essence of these arguments is the same - don’t expect anything better.
In truth, the positivity narrative is upside-down. The ones advocating "positivity" are the real negative ones. And the ones they call "negative" are the ones advocating true positivity. Complaining about what is bad is the first step towards a future where things are better.
Imagine if someone had asked people to be "positive" when the Congress was in power and being rightly blasted daily on national TV for multiple corruption scams. Would these same advocates of optimism have done so back then? Of course not! But now when their own pop gurus are in the stadium battling the lions of public opinion, they have suddenly discovered a new love for sakaaratmakta.
Make no mistake. "Let's be positive" is code for "don't criticise the government". The only people who will benefit from this kind of "positivity" are the irresponsible, the dastardly, and the incompetent. Being critical of the way things are being done will save us a world of trouble tomorrow. To not do so will be akin to an anesthesia injection to hide the pain instead of curing the wound.