`BJP's Tryst with Third Term

NA Prasad

Deccan Council, Hyderabad 

In response to my commentary on `BJP's Tryst with Third Term', an American friend of Pakistan origin, who is positively inclined toward India, expressed fears of BJP-RSS going in the Islamic State way.  I have sent a fairly detailed response to it.  I thought it would be of interest to you as well and hence posting it:                                                                                                                  

"I am aware of these concerns.  Let me give my thoughts from a purely objective analyst view:                       As I understand, such comparisons are based on IS objective of setting up Islamic State and BJP-RSS ideology of Hindu Rashtra.  That ends there and is a bit superficial statement.

We all know what the IS is and the objectives of the countries which indirectly supported it, namely Turkey. 

Narendra Modi is successful and continues to have huge popularity rate because he is trusted as a strong, patriotic leader whose mission is to provide a strong and stable government which could take India to its natural place among the top developed countries. He has no personal baggage of political scams, corruption etc. He is highly successful in his foreign policy to serve India’s interests. Economy is growing by leaps and bounds.  

His challengers are much way behind his stature.  Be Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerji, Arvind Khejrival, Akhilesh Yadav, Mayawati, or any one currently. None of them give confidence and all are parochial and looking for personal gains.  

There’s in every Indian mind that they were occupied and crushed for over 10 centuries.  With independence, they now feel to have a chance to redeem the lost glory.  It is not in a negative sense.  It is the same sense that the Chinese had or South Africans had.  Indians had had high hopes in the first decade and then got disappointed with continuous fall of political values. US-UK-Pakistan and now Chinese designs to destabilize India further added insult to injury.  

This is the context in which BJP has gained respectability and popularity, as represented first by Atal Behari Vajpayee and now Modi.  The RSS, through the ranks of which these leaders emerged, is India-centric and has no designs for outside India.  (The call for unifying Pakistan-held Kashmir is more rhetoric which is common for all parties including Congress). RSS has some idealistic view of whole India being given one identity, a Hindu dominated one, such as Uniform Civil Code, reviving the sanctity of Hindu religious/spiritual symbols like Rama Janmabhumi, Madhura Krishna Janmabhoomi and Kasi Viswanath temple. 

RSS, as I wrote, has transformed and evolved so much to realize that India is highly diversified society and it has to patiently work for the improvement and empowerment of lower social strata to gain their confidence.  Hence, from a brahmanical dominated organization, it is now more focused on social justice and development.  

Yes, there are issues like lynching cow-meat sellers and other intolerant mindset, but these are considered more of fringe elements, which are believed to be acting more on personal interests rather than on an ideological frame.  They are slowly fading away severed being imprisoned, if you have noticed.  

Yes, there are dictatorial ways in Modi’s methods and the allegation of compromising national institutions has merit.  But, majority of people believe that some amount of strong-hand methods are needed.  For example, some of the Modi’s reforms, such as those in agriculture, labour etc., were defeated by forces with vested interests with evident support from outside elements.  Khalistani elements pumping money and manpower for months-long demonstrations are a point.  Foreign NGOs funding some of these elements is a well known story for a long time.  

Arrests for some of political opponents like Arvind Kherival and his party colleagues is not liked by people, but they want to give a benefit of doubt as there is enough reason to believe of wrong doing in liquor policy.  There are so many people involved in that.  BJP may definitely using it to its advantage for its political interests.  Morally may not be correct, but who follows morals in politics. Even in the US, morally utterly corrupt.  

This is the context in which RSS-BJP continues to flourish and gain popular confidence.  To compare its ideology or methods to the most-hated organizations like IS is UNFAIR, to my mind." 

Prasad