Common thread of Modi, political Hinduism, nationalism? 'Contest' of ideas isn't over

By Salman Khurshid*
Losing the 2019 election and that too in a somewhat extreme manner has confronted us with unexpected challenges: Our leadership has naturally taken it very hard and to heart but with suggested options that we cannot imagine or contemplate. Hopefully the emotions will settle soon and give us the direction to pick up the pieces and march again.
What is more intriguing is a clear difference in perception amongst some who believe Narendra Modi trounced us for good (or bad really) with an overwhelming majority of Indians choosing Hinduism over a variety of secularists and others who give the winner his due but no more than he deserves.
In other words, there are muted complaints about machines manipulating democracy. Then why are the voters not pouring out into the streets to protest, they are asked. They respond with why is there unprecedented silence in the streets instead of great celebration?
Whatever might be deep, hidden truth inside the little chip that makes the EVM so powerful, if so many people say ‘nay’ or have reservations, why is the establishment so fixed on them? The simple proposition is not that the EVMs were fixed for Mr Modi but that they can be fixed. The world believes that. Why do we not listen?
Perhaps democracy is changing in pace with changing society. We are told repeatedly that we are unable to read that change. May be that makes sense, but what sense do results in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chattisgarh make? No explanations about bi-polar voters or successful implementation of direct cash transfers, housing grants and toilets can convince about the extent of the sweep.
The fact is that each part of the landscape had different factors, but a common thread of Modi, political Hinduism and nationalism. We might have lost in the numbers game but the likes of Amartya Sen still believe that the contest of ideas is far from lost.

Salman Khurshid

I was amazed that a commentator in a leading daily described that thesis as absurd. Wonder if she will ever discover how comforting it is for us lesser mortals to know that the brightest Indian has such little value in contemporary India for speaking his mind.
We have a long and perhaps treacherous road ahead with time enough to put our house in order and once again tell our story.
For the present, in defeat but unbroken, we do not hesitate to say that we cherish Hindu religion in its majesty and beauty; there never was and never will be any reason for a true Hindu to believe that any other religion, least of all Islam, is inimical to Hinduism; that after decades of Partition and a series of remarkable Indian Muslim leaders, there is no reason to believe that patriotism and nationalist fervour is any less their right than of their compatriots.
India’s beauty comes from diversity that is non-negotiable. On delivery and performance even the BJP skirted data or fudged it. These are issues on which the last pronouncement of the Indian people has not come, no matter the extent of the current mandate.
Our leader has done his parliamentary duty in congratulating the second term Prime Minister but he has also affirmed his resolve to fight for the idea of India. We shall wait in anxious anticipation, committed to marching behind the leader, willing to bear any hardship or pain.

What other choice do we have having been told Hindus no longer vote for non-Hindus and Muslims do not vote even for Muslims because Hindus do not vote for them? Whatever happened to patriots and true Indians in whose name the election was fought?

When we return to Indians voting for Indians it will be time to contest again. It will be sooner than many people think, the doomsayers might eat their heart out. Till then we must battle for the hearts and minds of India.
---
*Former foreign minister, senior Congress leader, Supreme Court advocate. This article has been written as a "letter from a Congress person, defeated but unbroken"

Comments

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

History, culture and literature of Fatehpur, UP, from where Maulana Hasrat Mohani hailed

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Maulana Hasrat Mohani was a member of the Constituent Assembly and an extremely important leader of our freedom movement. Born in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, Hasrat Mohani's relationship with nearby district of Fatehpur is interesting and not explored much by biographers and historians. Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri has written a book on Maulana Hasrat Mohani and Fatehpur. The book is in Urdu. He has just come out with another important book, 'Hindi kee Pratham Rachna: Chandayan' authored by Mulla Daud Dalmai.' During my recent visit to Fatehpur town, I had an opportunity to meet Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri and recorded a conversation with him on issues of history, culture and literature of Fatehpur. Sharing this conversation here with you. Kindly click this link. --- *Human rights defender. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/vbrawat , X @freetohumanity, Skype @vbrawat

India's health workers have no legal right for their protection, regrets NGO network

Counterview Desk In a letter to Union labour and employment minister Santosh Gangwar, the civil rights group Occupational and Environmental Health Network of India (OEHNI), writing against the backdrop of strike by Bhabha hospital heath care workers, has insisted that they should be given “clear legal right for their protection”.

Uttarakhand tunnel disaster: 'Question mark' on rescue plan, appraisal, construction

By Bhim Singh Rawat* As many as 40 workers were trapped inside Barkot-Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi after a portion of the 4.5 km long, supposedly completed portion of the tunnel, collapsed early morning on Sunday, Nov 12, 2023. The incident has once again raised several questions over negligence in planning, appraisal and construction, absence of emergency rescue plan, violations of labour laws and environmental norms resulting in this avoidable accident.

Women's rights leaders told to negotiate with Muslimness, as India's donor agencies shun the word Muslim

By A Representative Former vice-president Hamid Ansari has sharply criticized donor agencies engaged in nongovernmental development work, saying that they seek to "help out" marginalizes communities with their funds, but shy away from naming Muslims as the target group, something, he insisted, needs to change. Speaking at a book release function in Delhi, he said, since large sections of Muslims are poor, they need political as also social outreach.

Job opportunities decreasing, wages remain low: Delhi construction workers' plight

By Bharat Dogra* It was about 32 years back that a hut colony in posh Prashant Vihar area of Delhi was demolished. It was after a great struggle that the people evicted from here could get alternative plots that were not too far away from their earlier colony. Nirmana, an organization of construction workers, played an important role in helping the evicted people to get this alternative land. At that time it was a big relief to get this alternative land, even though the plots given to them were very small ones of 10X8 feet size. The people worked hard to construct new houses, often constructing two floors so that the family could be accommodated in the small plots. However a recent visit revealed that people are rather disheartened now by a number of adverse factors. They have not been given the proper allotment papers yet. There is still no sewer system here. They have to use public toilets constructed some distance away which can sometimes be quite messy. There is still no...

Bihar’s land at ₹1 per acre for Adani sparks outrage, NAPM calls it crony capitalism

By A Representative The National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) has strongly condemned the Bihar government’s decision to lease 1,050 acres of land in Pirpainti, Bhagalpur district, to Adani Power for a 2,400 MW coal-based thermal power project.

Sardar Patel was on Nathuram Godse's hit list: Noted Marathi writer Sadanand More

Sadanand More (right) By A Representative In a surprise revelation, well-known Gujarati journalist Hari Desai has claimed that Nathuram Godse did not just kill Mahatma Gandhi, but also intended to kill Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Citing a voluminous book authored by Sadanand More, “Lokmanya to Mahatma”, Volume II, translated from Marathi into English last year, Desai says, nowadays, there is a lot of talk about conspiracy to kill Gandhi, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, and Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, but little is known about how the Sardar was also targeted.

Counterview

Search This Blog