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Brahmanical legacy? Spineless paratroopers leaving Congress 'shouldn't worry' party

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*
The so-called 'exodus' of spineless paratroopers from the Congress party should not worry anyone. At the moment, any such parasite who can abuse the Gandhis and the Congress would be seen by the Manuwadi Brahmin-Bania media as BJP's great achievement.
Most of these paratroopers actually enjoyed unlimited powers in the Congress because of their 'jaati' and their degrees from various universities abroad. They are great at 'arguments' and fight cases like a 'lawyer', which means whichever party funds them, they will twist their arguments accordingly.
Politics is not about being a 'great debater' or being 'argumentative', but also commitment to ideology and convictions. Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar used to call the Indian National Congress a Brahmanical party because it rarely spoke about social change, as most of the leaders were committed to varna dharma, and were not ready to fight for the annihilation of caste.
However, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was a visionary, hence India developed policies which benifitted all segments of society, particularly scheduled castes and tribes (SC and ST) and other marginalised sections. Public sector undertakings grew. India under him was largely a welfare state.
The party faced a huge crisis after Indira Gandhi came to power. She nationalised banks, ended privy purses and took the issue of SCs, STs and minorities seriously. The Congress' right-wing lobby at that time led by Morarji Desai opposed all this. Desai, a staunch opponent of nationalisation of bank, failed to read what the masses wanted.
Indira Gandhi got massive mandate and all the kshatrapas were defeated. The people who left the Congress at that time and challenged Indira Gandhi were leaders of the party, but not rootless, yet they got defeated.
Right now, the people who are leaving the Congress are mostly the backyard boys of the Brahmanical elite. Many of them can't fight elections. When they did, they lost heavily. Yet they want to preside over the party and deliberate.
Rahul Gandhi's Congress gave these people more importance than what they deserved. These people remained uncomfortable with the agenda of social justice. They sang songs of secularism and against the 'economic' policies, but as soon as Rahul Gandhi spoke so eloquently for social justice, caste census and representation, these drawing room manipulators actually felt they have no space.
There is a big reality which Rahul Gandhi needs. The Congress was an ocean where all kinds of forces had space to survive, but now time has come when such adjustment will not work. All such forces could only survive in the Congress because the Brahmanical elite had control over the party.
As long as this Brahmanical elite has control of the party and power, these people were ready to sing the song of social justice, but as soon as they realised that the marginalised were seeking representation in the power structure and the Congress party was ready to accommodate them, they get panicky and looked for green pastures.
I can understand their pain as they feel that the Congress has become 'dishahin' or directionless, but if they were really committed to ideology, they should have stayed out of the BJP. They have enough money to engage with people, do social work, or even join other secular parties. But by singing the 'sanatana' rag, they have proved that they are nothing but pure believers of the Brahmin-Bania hegemony, which is being challenged, hence they moved out.
Rahul Gandhi would need to understand that even in the past the Congress was dominated by forces which had no root. Pranab Mukherjee and Ghulam Nabi Azad and many others who presided over the fate of the leaders of the party never had the courage to face the people. Mukherjee dominated the party for long but could only enter the Lok Sabha with Mamata Banerjee's support.
He would speak on anything but could not make the Congress a force in West Bengal. In the end, he started hobnobbing with RSS and BJP to be in power. Everybody knew his relations with Reliance. It was Mukherjee who mishandled the Anna Hazare movement that benefited BJP enormously.
Similarly, Ghulam Nabi Azad enjoyed everything in the party without giving the party anything. He is now happy to join NDA. The point is, the Congress needs to understand the importance of convictions and ideology as well as mass leaders. To the credit of Rahul Gandhi, the Congress is now looking towards a categorical ideological force to fight against the Sangh Parivar's tainted vision of an exclusive India which excludes the minorities and the marginalised.
Already, Narendra Modi and the Sangh Parivar do not like rights-based politics, which they feel has destroyed India. In their scheme of things, Indians should be tied to 'duties' alone, and that too as dictated by RSS and the huge number of Manuwadi babas that would preach you to follow their view f things.
Rahul Gandhi and the Congress must focus on fighting the Lok Sabha elections seriously. There is a massive undercurrent, and the Congress and the INDIA alliance partners need to focus on the issues of the people. They must speak about a united and inclusive India, where everyone grow and prosper.
All the recent "cross overs" have happened during electioneering, but it should not hurt. The Congress is getting cleansed. It does not need those who have no trust in social justice and inclusive politics. The Congress needs to honour leaders like Digvijay Singh, who has given the Congress more than any of his contemporaries. A man who remains committed to the Congress ideals and social justice, it is the Brahmanical coterie in the Congress which vilifies him.
Let the Congress and the INDIA alliance offer committed and credible pro-people candidates and start campaigning seriously. People of India are looking for a change, and without the Congress as the central figure, this wouldn't be not possible.
The Congress should wake up and fight to provide an alternative to people. Everywhere, people are realising that the Congress had always been a better alternative than any of the other parties which replaced it. Parties do make mistakes and people teach them lessons. Now it is time for the Congress to act and fight the battle seriously as India is looking for a change.
---
*Human rights defender

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