indo-pak hysteria will cost bjp 2019 polls

almost every political analyst and even those common men discussing politics at tea stalls and their office spaces in indian cities are arguing that the recent india-pakistan standoff will indeed up bjp’s and modi’s chances in 2019 polls. this seems true when one switches on the television set that is filled with patriotism and praise for the ruling dispensation. this also appears true when we turn to tier-1 and tier-2 cities of india where more or less every whatsapp and facebook user has some work that keeps their household afloat.

but the truth is that these aforementioned facts do not decide electoral outcomes in a country where almost half the population still works in farm sector and the formidable dalit constituency is still aspiring for socio-economic equality, which has been long-promised, however, remains a distant dream to day.

india’s politics does not run on how well we are faring in the global scene or on the strides we make in geopolitics. indians have a range of local issues that they expect the government to resolve and this is what made narendra modi the most favoured man in 2014 lok sabha elections.

today, he is more a cult with modism as the talk of the town. his party members are rallying behind him and are still riding the modi-wave. 5 years gone and the party can only claim limited success. in fact, the ground situation remains more or less the same. a young dalit entrepreneur is still facing hurdles in securing loan for her small-scale venture even as the government is claiming lakhs of crores of rupees lent through the mudra yojana. public offices are still unconcerned with people’s pain and the business in bureaucracy has remained as usual.

in 2014, when people voted decisively in favour of modi, they expected a new india in next 5 years. only a tiny fraction of population, which is earning a regular monthly income, thanks to their domicile in urban parts, expected india to rule the world and have a world leader as its prime minister. for most, expectations were simple- equal opportunity, improvement in standard of living and respect. sadly, the modi-mongers deprived the people of these by intimidating all who criticized modi.

today, modism is a cult. one is either a member or against it, and if the latter holds true for you, you are likely to be silenced by the cult members with impunity.

for modi, however, this is no feat. his poll analysts have forgotten that indians, especially those who have the command to swing the elections, hate strongmen and like underdogs. for them, modi’s preference of a geopolitically stronger india over local expectations is a strong reason to vote the bjp out of power in 2019. the recent quarterly gdp growth rate of 6.6 percent must worry the modi regime since it establishes distress in agriculture and manufacturing sectors.

in fact, the rallying of bjp behind the india-pakistan standoff will only cost bjp since the wider electorate is viewing it as sidelining of and compromising with other promises of development, opportunity, equality and better standard of living.

rahaf al-qunun’s saudi escape has lessons for indians

qunun, a saudi woman, who fled her country to find refuge in a more liberal and welcoming society, grabbed international attention recently. her transit at a thailand airport, her barricading herself in the hotel room to prevent authorities from forcibly handing her back to her family, subsequent support from human rights activists, expeditious processing of her application by the unhcr and canada finally granting her asylum, isn’t just a plain news story.

having reached canada, qunun breathed a sigh of relief and expressed joy over new prospects in a new country where she could pursue education, have a job and live according to her will.

almost at the same time here in india we come across reports of violence against a woman who entered the sabrimala temple, escaping the eye of vigilantes. almost no mainstream political party would come out in the defence of this woman whose only ‘sin’ is that she abided by the ruling of the supreme court of india that threw open the temple to women of menstruating age, something that was banned due to age-old customs.

the president of the ruling bharatiya janta party has openly criticized the judgment of the apex court and has said that courts of law shall not rule over religious matters.

sabrimala issue is just one of many ills that have suddenly made their way into the indian society that until some time ago was treading slowly but steadily towards making an inclusive india, where all are equal, irrespective of religion, caste, class, race or gender. and there are many evidences that can establish that the bjp win in 2014 lok sabha elections and the subsequent shift of the party from development to hindu supremacy have been the driving force.

what can one expect when the president of the ruling political party publicly announces that his party shall rule the country for another 50 years, no matter the mob killed a man from minority faith over rumours of cow slaughter? but the real problem is not the politicians from this party but some sections of the electorate that are buying their arguments, despite the fact that these are making us a more intolerant and regressive society.

the bjp government had also failed to protect the human rights of a dubai princess, latifa, who a few months ago escaped her home country to lead a free life elsewhere, but the indian government forcibly sent her back, proving that we lack both astute diplomacy as well as respect for human rights of an individual. loud claims by bjp leaders that all rohingya refugees will be sent back to where they will face further oppression and violence are nothing but steps that are quietly making india more and more regressive.

for indians, if they want the nation to develop further on the lines of the west (where rule of law, human rights and democratic values are placed above anything else, and this subsequently paves way for inclusive economic development), either the bjp must mend its governance, or the electorate should act smart in 2019.

is india becoming a regressive theocracy under bjp?

aitzaz hasan bangash was a pakistani boy whose story not many in india know. he was killed in 2014 while preventing a suicide bomber from attacking his school that was being attended by 2000 students. there is another name, bibi aisha, an afghan woman. she was given to a talibani fighter by her family when she was 12 and a few years later she was found with her nose and ears cut off. but why cite these incidents when talking about india which is the world’s largest democracy and has a thriving economy?

it is because the aforementioned cases can be juxtaposed with many recent happenings in india, although one can term this as extrapolation. mobs all across the country have inhumanly killed members of a minority faith on suspicion of cow slaughter. not only this, members from the backward caste were brutally thrashed when performing their job of skinning dead cows. and in yet another incident in uttar pradesh’s ghaziabad, a team of municipal contractors was beaten up while they were transporting dead cattle. in all cases, the perpetrators were motivated by religious fundamentalism and were found raising religious slogans.

but wait. this isn’t the sole issue. what exacerbates the problem is the ruling bjp’s unwillingness to cleanse indian politics. after coming to power in 2014, the party also went on to win many state polls but in the course they admitted virtually every aspirant who wanted a career in politics, for self-service. this has led to a new brass at the bottom level that comprises of young leaders who feel religious conservatism and evoking of faith is the easiest way to garner support of the electorate.

take another case of the recently held science congress. the speakers, who hold prominent positions in state institutions, did not shy away from disregarding proven scientific principles and making a case for ancient indian scientific prowess. sadly, their assertions were totally unfounded and were made only to find some patronage from the ruling party. this trend now exists in almost every sphere, from rbi to niti aayog.

next, the party is adopting an all new style of propagating its ideology and personality cult. a recently released motion picture that depicts the former prime minister, manmohan singh, as a mere puppet controlled by the nehru-gandhi family is not a film but a political propaganda and even film critics have admitted this. a short film based on narendra modi’s struggle during childhood days was also released some time back and a new commercial-style film is being produced with modi as the central character.

from disregarding the supreme court’s verdict in the sabrimala temple case to bringing amendments to the citizenship act where non-muslim minorities of some neighbouring countries are to be naturalized as indian citizens, the bjp government is not only subverting the ‘rule of law’ but is also destroying india’s liberalism and secularism. sadly, they call others’ secularism as pseudo-secularism.

the case of aitzaz hasan bangash and bibi aisha must be studied in depth to understand what religious orthodoxy and impunity of communal elements can produce, and how they can plunge a nation into crisis. for this, one must also study soviet invasion of afghanistan, the rise of taliban and the roots of terrorism in pakistan.

for india to become a cosmopolitan, developed economy, much like the west where almost every indian aspires to settle. and where rule of law shall prevail, religion has to be separated from politics, else we may unwantedly and unknowingly tread into a dark future as is the case today with iran, afghanistan pakistan and many others.

from modi-wave to ‘modism’

politics is an unethical job. one may be completely honest towards his office, but political compulsions, more so in a democracy where one fears a defeat in subsequent polls, rarely allow politicians to abide by the virtuous code of conduct. in india, a leader has to manage different quarters with dissimilar demands and yet must make sure that all these conflicting interests are taken care of.

so, even if we disapprove of these facts, the reality would not change- a strictly uncompromising leader still remains a distant dream.

but when it comes to compromises, there are legitimate boundaries that shall never be breached. in the past 4 years, the modi-led bjp government not only breached these boundaries but they treaded so violently into unethical zones that the once seemingly invincible modi now stands vulnerable to electoral defeats. but where did he go so wrong?

politicians in a country like india, where much of the population still faces various socio-economic impediments in everyday life, quite often tend to make a similar mistake. from indira gandhi to mayawati and now narendra modi, all these politicians when they were at the peak of their respective careers, overvalued their stocks. similar to the stock markets where corrections occur after regular intervals to bring back stocks to their legitimate value, politics is no different.

in modi’s case, his party men are leaving no stone unturned in propagating a neo-political ideology that we can term ‘modism’. modism may not comprise of express intolerance against minority groups but since it relies on popular majority support to stay relevant, a silence on atrocities on minorities is an indispensable part of it. for example, the bjp stance on the sabrimala verdict is a clear manifestation of what identity politics can lead to- violation of the principle of rule of law.

and prime minister modi cannot help but accept the state of affairs to ensure continuity of his office, something akin to manmohan singh’s silence on corruption by coalition parties during his second term. what this has led to is the rise of self-seeking elements within the bjp, which is welcoming people of all sorts given that they can command support from the electorate. the call for decriminalization of politics is nowhere to be found.

although, as stated earlier, politics may be an unethical job, one cannot disregard ethics only to hold on to power. in case modi believes he has lost the command over unethical elements within his party and that he can no longer deliver inclusive development, he can and should vacate his office, or at least trigger some sort of political cleansing so that india of 21^st century is rid of its long-standing demerits.

else, similar to the fall of maoism and other such political ideologies, modism too would fall, sooner or later, leaving modi as a failed politician in political history of india. what may survive his legacy may be the right-wing extremism that will seen as a threat to country’s stability, just like maoism-inspired left-wing insurgency.