Clash of ideologies and India

Is the rise of Hindu Right in India a consequence of the Soviet Union’s disintegration, or the failure of liberal ideology in meeting the aspirations of the people in India? Why did the voters boot out the UPA even as India was well on the road to prosperity? Were lax governance and rampant corruption the deciding factors, or did the Hindu majority’s increasing impatience with the UPA’s appeasement of the minorities, especially Muslims spell the doom of liberal dispensation in India? Perhaps, all these factors melded with the sweeping global trends that favoured the rise of the Right-Wing forces.

Let us take a look.

When the Berlin Wall fell on 09 November 1989, it started the end of one of the most transforming phases in human history. Let us not forget that socialism, with all its drawbacks had a humanising effect on capitalist systems in the West. Egalitarianism became a byword in western democracies thanks to the socialist impulses introduced in Europe after the second world war. 

The end of one phase marked the beginning of another. By October 1990 Germany was unified. However, the Berlin wall’s destruction had far reaching effects beyond its borders. The Soviet Union disintegrated and Communism disappeared from the face of the earth barring Cuba and North Korea. China had already gone into revisionist mode and could no longer be called a truly communist state. It turned into a capitalist totalitarian state with socialism as a mere fig leaf. Its export-oriented economy depended on western capital until its indigenous private sector developed into a powerhouse. 

Socialism could not develop to its full potential because of several factors. Its emphasis on equality rather than equity created festering resentment among the more productive sections of the society. The rise of oligarchy in the garb of politburos, and increasing exploitation of the proletariat by the privileged few, bad economic management and poor justice system sowed the seeds of Soviet Union’s disintegration.

The fall of Soviet Union had unpredictable consequences elsewhere too. The Nazi ideology, which survived the post-World War 2 global revulsion, survived on the fringes of political spaces in the West. The likes of Skinheads in Britain, National Socialists in Denmark, the Russia for Russians movement, Free German Workers Party and many more lit the flames of xenophobia and ultra-nationalism. Strikingly, the rise of Islamic extremist organisations like Al Qaeda, ISIS etc fuelled xenophobia in the West as well as India. Consequently, today there are rightist governments in many countries. If Russia has a faux fascist in Putin, UK’s Boris Johnson has become the face of Brexit, and USA’s Donald Trump has started rolling back globalisation. Turkey’s Erdogan, Switzerland’s Albert Rosti, Israel’s Netanyahu, India’s Narendra Modi and Japan’s Shinzo Abe are other prominent faces of rightist resurgence around the globe.

LK Advani’s countrywide Rath Yatra received unprecedented support among Hindus throughout India giving a huge boost to the profile of Hindu right-wing forces. This culminated in the destruction of Babri Masjid in 1992. By 1998 the BJP became a force to reckon with in parliamentary politics. Today it is the most powerful political entity in India. 

Often, the Modi regime is compared to the Nazi Party of Hitlerian times. Various small-time right-wing outfits like VHP, Bajrang Dal etc formulated Hindu victimology targeting Muslims. Many considered it similar to the Nazi victimology targeting Jews. If Jews were damned as exploiters and interlopers in Hitler’s Germany, Muslims are being vilified as invaders and mass murderers. But BJP’s comparison with Nazis is unfair because there is no Himmler style Final Solution on BJP’s agenda. Moreover, Muslim leadership in India is not helping the community’s cause by being mealy mouthed while censuring the dangerous games being played by fundamentalist Muslim outfits in India who are importing alien ideology into India. The subcontinental Islam is vastly different from Saudi and Iranian Islamic templates. The Tablighi Jamaat is not the only one that has been resorting to provocations that give a handle to the Hindutva forces against liberals. There are small but proactive outfits throughout India that do not hesitate in stoking fires of communalism. With the waning influence of Congress Party, the RSS and other Hindu outfits have been retaliating and often initiating these dangerous games. 

Can liberals ever make a comeback in India? Will the Modi Magic loosen its hold on the masses? One may feel optimistic by the fact that quite a few of Modi government’s decisions like demonetisation have backfired leading to a sense of dissatisfaction among the poor and the aspiring middle classes. Moreover, the business community detests the undermining of law and order. Then there are blatantly regressive elements in and outside the government who make the educated classes extremely uncomfortable.

However, despite these negatives there is no danger to the Modi government for the simple reason that liberals are in disarray. Since, Modi has cleverly blended economic populism with majoritarianism, the feckless opposition is not in a position to capitalise on Modi government’s blunders. Instead of presenting a credible vision of a progressive and united India, they are busy playing copycat or surly losers. Instead of flaunting his Hindu credentials Rahul Gandhi could have done much better by talking putting together economic and developmental programs. Frankly, the Congress Party needs to either reinvent itself as a 21^st century political entity or suffocate in the feudal quagmire created by asinine sycophants.

India needs a vibrant and visionary leadership that has the courage and capability to meet the challenges facing India. Enough of the ongoing political cantata that is taking India nowhere.

YOUTUBE