HVK Archives: It's time for a changed agenda
It's time for a changed agenda - The Pioneer
Naseem Naqvi
()
January 21, 1998
Title: It's time for a changed agenda
Author: Naseem Naqvi
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: January 21, 1998
We as a nation have a unique quality. We take simple facts and
turn them into something new. That this tendency has crept into
the body politic proves its versatility and significance. What
are these facts? Expediency. for one, which after conversion is
called blackmail. Whenever it is resorted to without any
forethought it becomes hideous and ruthless. With the underworld
it has an appearance not very diverse from that of the polity. If
this sounds outlandish, then all one needs is current newspapers.
Because in them lie blow-by-blow accounts of how some political
parties have perfected this into a political thought. Blackmail
that is. And interestingly enough there is no users' manual, and
neither has it struck anyone to have one. How does one study its
peculiar symptoms? Simple. Look at the intense politicking
resorted to by the UF with the Congress.
One has only to look at its genesis to cheek this. Soon after
the last general elections, taking advantage of the unclear
mandate, it was propagated that the people have rejected communal
forces and therefore the need to come together under one banner
to "keep BJP away". Soon it was made into a fetish of a kind, lip-
service to which was as obligatory as Jana Gana Mana. For reasons
known to few it was soon discovered that the people had rejected
the Congress too. So only the UF, read secular front (at that
time Laloo Yadav was on its right side), had the moral obligation
to rule.
The ones who had misgivings about it were soon provided with a
scare-scenario if the communal BJP succeeded in capturing power.
It took off. and they had power fox. 18 months between HD Deve
Gowda and IK Gujral. So what is their progress report vis-a-vis
secularism or communalism. Nothing. Secularism which has come to
mean different things to different people, has a convenient
meaning. It is minority-wooing, which in this case is Muslim-
wooing. Fear of the BJP ogre was never balanced with any anti-
communal activities. Wooing apart, public welfare never got its
due place.
At least Deve Gowda has a face. During his regime farmers and
their welfare dominated his policies. Most of the welfare
measures of his tenure had a distinct farmer slant. He went
ahead with subsidies for them. And yet the same zeal was lacking
when it came to active secularism. Or, for that matter, social
justice. After getting power no mantra matters more than
survival. And with that, one can blackmail at will. Gowda was
removed because the Congress felt he was loosing his secular
identity hobnobbing with the Hindutva forces. Surprisingly
enough, this charge was gladly accepted by almost all within the
"ruling front" as they got busy in finding a replacement. Gujral
came to power and brought with him 'helplessness". It was useless
to expect strength from him. But rule he did and the BJP was once
again kept away from ruining the country. Still no mention of
things which had actually pitchforked them into power.
All this leads to a natural point of discussion: How correct it
is to uphold "Keep BJP away" as an agenda for political survival?
Will it be really all that hazardous to have the BJP as a ruler?
If communalism is an evil then one does not need power to check
its advances surely. Isn't it equally incorrect and morally wrong
to enjoy power in the name of secularism? Secularism has, sadly
enough, been made the last resort of both fools and opportunists.
Isn't it causing harm to the system? What is the way out? Let's
give the BJP a chance to rule. Why not?
If this were to happen it will have manifold uses. To begin with,
all those used to having their piece of cake and eating it too in
the name of secularism will be exposed. Two, the Hindutva forces
will be put on the defensive. Three, political blackmail would
cease. This would be a godsend. Four, the votebank culture would
get a jolt. For long both Hindus and Muslims have played into the
hands of wily politicians.
Good enough reasons to taste the forbidden fruit!
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